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

Color:

Color

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:

Michelle Pfeiffer and Meryl Streep were considered for the roles of Tess and Katharine, respectively. Brooke Shields wanted badly the role of Tess, after she graduated from Princeton, she wanted to play a serious movie role. Geena Davis and Carrie Fisher were the other choices to play Tess. Robin Duke, Ellen Barkin, Kim Basinger, Catherine O'Hara, Kathleen Turner and Debra Winger were also considered to play Tess. Diane Lane and Sarah Jessica Parker were also in talks to play Tess.

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:

Cyn: Sometimes I sing and dance around the house in my underwear. Doesn't make me Madonna. Never will.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Lizzie McGuire: Working Girl (#2.5)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

THE MAN THAT GOT AWAY

"If you wanna be taken seriously, you need serious hair."

Bubbly New York fantasy set in the advertising business world gives Melanie Griffith her finest couple of hours as an actress. Put-upon secretary, involved in a disheartening relationship with a jerk, finds the opportunity to improve both her work situation and her love life when she masquerades as her own boss and teams with a handsome business exec to land a major account. Mike Nichols-directed fluff has some wincing, mean-spirited jokes and a female "boss from hell", played by Sigourney Weaver, whom we never quite understand (she's sneaky and she's shallow, but is she vicious? and does she deserve the harsh treatment the screenwriter levels on her?). Griffith seemingly had her role as Tess tailored to her innate, golly-gee perkiness, and she has some very fine scenes with leading man Harrison Ford and gal-pal Joan Cusack, but the gist of the plot (attempting to sell a conglomerate on radio advertising) seems a bit thin, and the wrap-up is pure sitcom. ** from ****