Estelle Getty

A sleazy cable-TV programmer begins to see his life and the future of media spin out of control in a very unusual fashion when he acquires a new kind of programming for his station.

A tough cop's (Sylvester Stallone) seemingly frail mother (Estelle Getty) comes to stay with him and progressively interferes in his life. She buys him an illegal MAC-10 machine pistol and starts poking around in his police cases. Eventually, the film draws to a denouement involving the title of the film and the revelation that even though she seems frail and weak she is capable of strong actions in some circumstances, i.e. when her son is threatened by thugs and she shoots herself in the shoulder.

Michael Dorsey is an unemployed actor with an impossible reputation. In order to find work and fund his friend's play he dresses as a woman, Dorothy Michaels, and lands the part in a daytime drama. Dorsey loses himself in this woman role and essentially becomes Dorothy Michaels, captivating women all around the city and inspiring them to break free from the control of men and become more like Dorsey's initial identity. This newfound role, however, lands Dorsey in a hot spot between a female friend/'lover,' a female co-star he falls in love with, that co-star's father who falls in love with him, and a male co-star who yearns for his affection.