Weird how it intersects with 'Frances'

I think most people know the urban legend about Jessica Lange being awarded Best Supporting Actress as consolation for losing for Frances in the Best Actress category. The symmetry between the films in terms representation was funny if only because Lange was flanked in the Supporting category by Kim Stanley, nominated for playing the hysterical "mother from hell," and Garr for playing the hysterical "girlfriend from hell."

I hadn't actually seen Frances until this past week. To see it after years of watching sporadically watching Tootsie is an experience, if only because you come to feel such a sympathy and sense of protectiveness towards the Julie Nichols character that it completely rattles our nerves to see her in such an uninhibited role in a situation that you know can only end in tragedy. The only other time I felt this shaken was watching Sophia Loren get raped in Two Women.

But, what really surprised me was how often it intersected with her other prominent work that year, even if Tootsie and Frances are complete opposites in terms of tone, subject matter, and style.

Weirdest moment is when Allan Rich, playing the Paramount Head, tells Frances that her job is "to act" and not be worried about the other aspects of the film, before gripping her cheeks and condescending to her by calling her "tootsie" (which could only have been coincidental as this was done long before Lange was approached by Pollack about the Tootsie project)

But, to be more broad, aren't Michael/Dorothy and Frances really experiencing the same problem? Both strong "women" in an industry that devalues strong women or attractive women, for different reasons. Both butt heads with production and directors for their outspoken nature and their desire for "realism." Michael, an Actor's Studio grad, and Frances, an actress who latched onto the "Group Theater," an early prototype of the Actor's Studio.

There's also similarities between the Julie and Frances characters, in that both are actresses, both have troubled history with the men in their lives, and both are heavy drinkers (although not necessarily alcoholics in either case). There's also what I'd call "the Monroe factor." Lange was already inviting comparisons with Marilyn Monroe, as a conventional "blonde sex symbol," when she signed on for Frances. Frances Farmer, herself, has often warranted comparison with Marilyn for being a "blonde love goddess" whose career was marred by tragedy. Tootsie, meanwhile, warranted comparison strongly with Some Like it Hot, thereby making Frances the "Sugar/Marilyn" of the film. They seemed to strengthen the argument that Lange was somehow the rightful inheritor of Monroe's legacy, even as Madonna was making a pretty successful bid for the title.


And, finally, there's the endings which are eerily similar, both ending with the main character having a somewhat infamous appearance on television (Michael/Dorothy with the "reveal scene" on Southwest General, Frances with her notorious This is Your Life spot). In both cases, Lange's character exits a building and is approached by a man who she hasn't seen for a period of time (Michael, its unclear, but Frances hadn't seen Harry for at least ten years). The film ends with Lange walking off with said man for an uncertain future. We don't know what her relation with Harry really entails, just that she dies alone without him in her life. And, I know that people want to believe for certain that Michael and Julie come together in a romantic sense, but its never made to be entirely clear (I personally don't see it happening, but we just don't know).

Maybe I'm overthinking some of these things (especially with the Marilyn comparison), but overall I think the similarities are pretty eerie. Honestly Lange was so fantastic in both, its hard to believe that Julie and Frances is really the same person.