Beginning montage, when Michael is auditioning for a play:
"So when the Germans started runnin' out of SOAP!, and figured, 'What the hell, we might as well cook up Mrs. Greenwald,' who the hell d'you think stopped 'em?! (Michael stops as he hears some chatter in the darkened theater.) Excuse me, is my acting interfering with your talking?"
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That first confrontation in Fields' office:
"If Stuart Pressman wants a name, that's his business."
"Oh, I see. Terry Bishop is a name."
"No, Michael Dorsey is a name. When you want to send a steak back, Michael Dorsey is a name."
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After Michael/Dorothy has improvised lines and thrown a flowerpot at the wall, he looks at the control booth and says:
"May I say, Mrs. Marshall, in my own defense, that to tell a woman whose husband beats her up like this with a broken arm and a bashed-in face, to go to a shelter so she can get therapy is a lot of...horsesh*t. (To the actress he's playing the scene with) Excuse me. (Back to the booth) I wouldn't do it, would you?"
"I can't act with this."
"Oh, shut up."
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The scene between Ron and Dorothy at Julie's apartment:
"I don't like the way you treat Julie. I don't like the way you patronize her, I don't like the way you deceive her, I don't like the way you lie to her."
"What do you mean?"
"You want me to go on?"
"No, no, I know what you mean. Look, Dorothy, I never promised Julie I'd be exclusive, I never promised her I wouldn't see other women. It's just that I know she doesn't want me to see other women, so I lie to her to keep from hurting her."
(Great look on Michael's face as he realizes that he used that exact justification to Jeff when they were talking about Sandi. Or does he? The look is inscrutable.) "That's very convenient."
"Now, look. If a woman wants me to seduce her.....I usually do. But then she starts acting like I promised her something, then I start acting like I promised her something, and in the end, I'm the one that's exploited."
"Bull sh*t, Ron. You know what? (Whispering) I understand you a lot better than you think I do."
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When Michael tries to give Les the ring back in the bar (Durning's face is excellent in this scene, as he slowly realizes who he's looking at):
"I thought you'd want it back."
"Outside. (Les sweeps his hand across the bar, pushing the ring box back toward Michael.) Give it to me outside."
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And the closing lines of the movie, almost lost under the rising of "It Might Be You:"
"Can I borrow that little yellow outfit?"
"Which one?"
"The Halston?"
"Halston? Oh, noooo. You'll ruin it."
"Michael!"
"Get wine all over it."
"I will not!"
The Falcon flies
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theoriginalskinnyrinny
15 years ago
The rapid fire dialog between George and Michael is wonderful, but there’s a great line when he says something like “God forbid you lose your standing as a cult failure!”
Or
“And John, you say ‘Nurse Charles, are you insane?”
“I see, and who do I say that to?”
(pause) “…Nurse Charles.”
“Ah.” (takes notes)
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Not so much a funny line, but there’s a nicely blocked shot of Dustin Hoffman standing at next to a poster of Samuel Becket. It’s got to be intentional, because it’s almost a profile.
Or when Micheal’s testing for a part and he reads about this romantic scene about Paris and this naked woman, only to reveal a gum chewing male stagehand acting as a stand-in.
__
“We want someone else, OK?!”
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natecore
15 years ago
-I don't want to hurt you.
-I don't mind.
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MountainTiger
15 years ago
why did Terri Garr's character call Tootsie (Dustin Hoffman dressed as a woman) a cow when she was not so tiny herself?
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