Working Girl (1988)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Mike Nichols

Writer (WGA):

Kevin Wade (written by)

Release Date:

21 December 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Drama

Tagline:

For anyone who's ever won. For anyone who's ever lost. And for everyone who's still in there trying.

Plot:

When a secretary's idea is stolen by her boss, she seizes an opportunity to steal it back by pretending she has her boss's job.

Plot Keywords:

Boss | Secretary | Pretending | Business | Career

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 6 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Harrison Ford	...	Jack Trainer
Sigourney Weaver	...	Katharine Parker
Melanie Griffith	...	Tess McGill
Alec Baldwin	...	Mick Dugan
Joan Cusack	...	Cyn
Philip Bosco	...	Oren Trask
Nora Dunn	...	Ginny
Oliver Platt	...	Lutz
James Lally	...	Turkel
Kevin Spacey	...	Bob Speck
Robert Easton	...	Armbrister
Olympia Dukakis	...	Personnel Director
Amy Aquino	...	Tess' Secretary
Jeffrey Nordling	...	Tim Rourke
Elizabeth Whitcraft	...	Doreen DiMucci

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:S | France:U | Peru:14 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:R (Certificate N° 29266) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

7 World Trade Center, World Trade Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

An original trailer showed a scene not in the finished movie, where Katharine asks Tess to spray her red dress with anti-static, before Katharine's welcome party.

Goofs:

Continuity: Tess places a ruler on a newspaper page to tear out an article about Orin Trask's daughter. In the close-up shot, the ruler suddenly changes to a different design.

Quotes:

Tess McGill: What if he doesn't?... pop the question?
Katherine Parker: I really don't think that's a variable. We're in the same city now, I've indicated that I'm receptive to an offer, I've cleared the month of June... and I am, after all, me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Law & Order: Working Mom (#7.14)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

THE LADY IN RED

Wonderful, fun, feel good comeuppance tale

This is a fabulous movie. Maybe not rocket science, but clever enough! It has an engaging plot, an extremely empathetic heroine, a villainous boss, a cheatin' boyfriend, and a handsome new love interest just stepping into the picture. Get your popcorn ready for the comeuppance story of a lifetime.

The tale revolves around a smart secretary named Tess McGill, who wants to get ahead in the Big Apple but is beaten down by her nasty boss, Katherine, who steals her ideas and passes them off as her own. Fortune smiles on Tess when Katherine breaks her leg during a skiing holiday and Tess is able to 'take charge'...that is, until her boss, who recovers all too quickly, returns. Of course there is also a romance brewing here in the form of a handsome investment banker named Jack Trainer, who just happens to be her boss's boyfriend.

Harrison Ford is his typical dashing, magnetic self in the role of Jack Trainer, but it is the two ladies that make this movie. Signourey Weaver is absolutely villainous as an employee's 'worst nightmare' boss, a lady (no, not a lady) high up the corporate ladder, but lacking any semblance of integrity or kindness toward anyone below her in that ladder. You will be itching to see this nasty snob get her comeuppance.

Above all, Melanie Griffith is brilliant in the role of Tess, every viewer's favorite downtrodden secretary. She's a woman with all the intelligence and skills needed to succeed in the corporate world, but is ill used by those above her who put her down. Many employees out there will identify with Tess, having at some point in their lives been ill treated by a boss, whether male or female, with at least shades of Katherine. Furthermore, Tess will surely gain viewer sympathy regarding her unfortunate experiences with her sleazy live in lover, Mick.

The scene featuring the Staten Island ferry is beautifully done, accompanied as it is by Carly Simon's wonderful Oscar winning song, 'Let the River Run'. What an amazing voice! This is really a fantastic, fun movie. You can't help but love it.