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29 out of 38 people found the following review useful: The best come-uppance story ever!, 14 April 2001 Author: budmassey (cyberbarrister@gmail.com) from Indianapolis, IN
You know you've had a boss like this. Someone who stole your ideas, used you to advance their career, and did everything to keep you from getting the credit you deserve. I think of him every time I watch this movie, and although he got his come-uppance, as such people usually do, this one is still more satisfying.Griffith is a little annoying as the giggly secretary with ambition, but it works. Weaver is the greatest comedic villain since Cruella DeVille. You know she's going to fall, and she does in more ways than one. While she's mending broken bones from a ski trip, her secretary finds a memo capitalizing on her idea the boss had pooh-poohed as a "secretary's notion."In her boss's absence, Tess (Griffith) uses her boss's name, her office, her home, even her clothes, to break into the rarefied New York mergers and acquisitions world. She even falls for the boss's boyfriend.Alas, the boss is a fast healer and comes home early. She finds an entry in her secretary's day planner, and it hits the fan.It's hard to believe this gem was written by the same writer who inflicted Meet Joe Black on us, but we can forgive him. Harrison Ford is at the top of his game as the boyfriend, but Joan Cusack almost walks away with this one, as usual. Joan is the best comedic supporting actress around. Weaver has one of the the greatest one-liners of all time. When asked if she's sure her boyfriend will propose, she says "We're in the same city now. I've indicated I'm receptive to an offer. I've cleared the month of June. And I am, after all, me." The go-go 80's may be long gone, along with the power suits, the BIG hair, the Perrier, and the bull market, but this hilarious and heartwarming comedy still works without relying on nostalgia or sentiment!
25 out of 34 people found the following review useful: A dated but enjoyable satire, 25 March 1999 Author: Chris Regan (tcr@bu.edu) from Boston
Watching Working Girl ten years after its release, it's hard not to dismiss it as a dated satire of the corporate world of the 1980's. At the same time, that's part of the movie's charm. Even though ten years has made the costumes, hair, and production design irritating, the charm and intelligence of Mike Nichols' Cinderella story still shine through. As does the quality of the performances, which are also revealing a decade later. Harrison Ford makes a perfectly likable romantic lead while Alec Baldwin and Kevin Spacey offer amusingly smarmy comic performances. But the actresses walk away with the movie. Joan Cusack is hilarious in a scene-stealing turn as a Staten Island secretary, and Sigourney Weaver is great as a shrewd and conniving career woman. The brilliance of Weaver's performance is how slyly and genuinely she plays her villianous character, often decieving the audience as she decieves the characters in the movie. And finally there is Melanie Griffith who gave a star-is-born performance as the big-haired secretary who falls in love with Ford's merger specialist and smartly climbs her way up the corporate ladder after Weaver stabs her in the back. Griffith earned an Oscar nod for this performance (as did Cusack and Weaver for theirs) and it's a testament to how funny, sexy, and wonderful she is in the part that even after numerous flops and odd career moves, she's still a well-known movie star ten years later (For an opposite side at this scenario look at Jennifer Beals in Flashdance or Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing, both of whom became big stars and then fell off the face of the earth). Nichols' direction is smart, as is Kevin Wade's clever screenplay, and the light and funny romantic comedy leads up to a surprisingly suspenseful and enormously satisfying climax. All-in-all, a satisfying and amusing entertainment.
12 out of 17 people found the following review useful: Bright, feel-good comedy...George Cukor - move over!, 10 September 2007 Author: niborskaya from NYC
It's up there with any of screwball comedies of the 30s... Carole Lombard, Jean Arthur, Margaret Sullivan. a modern classic...and that's not hyperbole!I've been watching this movie every now and again for almost 20 years (ye gads!), and it's always entertaining. Tonight, I noticed how effective and subtle an actress Melanie Griffith can be when she's directed well. She's a real jewel in this film. Sweet, sexy, smart with a "brain for business and a bod for sin". Mike Nichols clearly loved filming her. Her expressions are priceless. Watch for the wonderful scene when Harrison Ford and she are walking to the elevator and he's asking her out. That face of hers as the elevator doors close is just heavenly. That's Mike Nichols craft/artistry.Sigourney Weaver also does a masterful job as a two-faced shark business woman. What's so wonderful about her character, the writing, is that Katherine doesn't have a conscience. She's crafty and slick and manipulative, but she's not out to hurt anyone, just put herself first. It's too bad if anyone get's in her way. She's not nasty, but there is no question that she is the most important person in the universe. It's interesting, too, how her duplicity is reflected in her wardrobe. Most of the professional women in the movie are dressed in ultra-conservative boxy business attire, but Katherine/Sigourney dresses sophisticatedly and elegantly. She knows how to play both sides, the professional yet still sexy professional. She's so powerful in herself that she doesn't feel like she has to dress like a man just because she's in a male- dominated career (mergers/acquisitions). yes, she's a monster/ogre, but as she states, "This is BUSINESS".Harrison Ford is his usual witty, slightly befuddled nice guy. He's the James Stewart of the baby boomer generation.Joan Cusack is a phenomenon with her iridescent eye-shadow and Bozo hairdo. I think has the funniest line in the movie-a warning to Tess: "You know, sometimes I sing and dance around the apartment in my underwear. Doesn't make me Madonna....never will". that's rich.Look for Ricki Lake at the wedding.I put this movie in the same category as Moonstruck, Educating Rita, Shirley Valentine. Transformation movies. I suppose you could call them modern day Cinderella Stories, but it's more about the women saving themselves as opposed to waiting for Prince Charming.It's a pleasure to see this movie. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
9 out of 12 people found the following review useful: One of my favorite comedies is sweet and funny., 7 November 1999 Author: bob canning from sonoma county, ca
How can you go wrong with this delightful comedy? Besides having a great cast headed by Melanie Griffith, there's Harrison Ford (in one of the rare romantic comedies that suits his talents), Sigourney Weaver and wonderful Joan Cusack. And Olympia Dukakis, Alec Baldwin and Kevin Spacey are in it too (don't blink)! A great musical score and Oscar winning song by Carly Simon, all directed by Mike Nichols, I give this two thumbs up, and a 10!
8 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Wonderful, fun, feel good comeuppance tale, 2 April 2006 Author: roghache from Canada
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.
11 out of 17 people found the following review useful: Coffee, Tea, Me?, 10 July 2000 Author: Boyo-2
With a cast that includes Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, Alec Baldwin, Oliver Platt and Kevin Spacey, its a minor miracle Joan Cusack got any attention at all. But she did get attention, and a well-deserved Oscar nomination. She is completely hysterical and is one of the best reasons to see this fairy tale set against the big bad world of Wall Street. Her best scene is when she masquerades as Melanie's secretary and makes an offer to Harrison "Coffee, Tea, Me"?
6 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Who's afraid of Sigourney Weaver?, 28 April 2003 Author: Dennis Littrell (dalittrell@yahoo.com) from SoCal
Working girl Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith, sporting some serious hair) is continuously being mistaken for a "coffee, tea or me?" kind of person when in fact she works hard, reads widely and studies nights to get ahead in the business world. But the sexist, class-conscious business world just won't take her seriously. Finally she hooks up with Katherine Parker (Sigourney Weaver), a successful but vulturous deal-maker with an elevated opinion of herself who knows how to use people. They set up a mentor relationship with Tess getting the coffee and Katherine spouting the words of wisdom. When Tess comes up with a good business idea, Katherine steals it.Enter soon after Jack Trainer (Harrison Ford) and we have our triangle. Katherine has broken her leg skiing and Tess has to fill in for her. When Tess discovers that Katherine has ripped off her idea, she decides to assume Katherine's accouterments, including her lavish apartment, her wardrobe, her hairstyle, and as it turns out, her boyfriend. Will she succeed, and will she find true love and happiness with the leading man? Inquiring minds want to know.Director Mike Nichols, auteur of a number of film land successes of more than average sophistication, including Postcards from the Edge (1990), The Graduate (1967), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966), etc. with help from screen writer Kevin Wade and Melanie herself, manages to create enough sympathy for Tess that we want her to win. Sigourney Weaver does such a fine job of being a kind of sociopathic villainess that we want her to lose. Guess what happens?While this is not on the same level as the three Mike Nichols flicks mentioned above, either in terms of cinematic significance or craftsmanship, it is clever and witty at times, and the story is one that most American women will find easy to identify with. And of course the winner gets Harrison Ford, displaying his usual bodice-busting charm. Only problem (aside from some smarmy pandering to a chick flick audience) is that the chemistry between Melanie Griffith and Harrison Ford is lacking.See this for Mike Nichols whose direction here can be described as just a working guy trying to make a buck and not doing a bad job of it.
8 out of 13 people found the following review useful: Brilliant film comedy (warning: spoilers below), 27 August 2002 Author: Alain English from London, England
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Right from the opening burst of Carly Simon's magnificent theme song, the audience is taken on a fairy-tale comedy ride with one working-class girl and her striving to get ahead in the competitive business world of New York's money market.Tess McGill (Melanie Griffiths) is a Staten Island Secretary working for a pair of sleazy bosses in an uptown New York shares company. Never once taking her astute business ideas seriously, they set her up with what she thinks is a job opportunity, but is really an opportunity for a lecherous colleague (a then unknown Kevin Spacey) to try and sleep with her. Angry, she publicly humiliates them and is fired but a sympathetic Personnel Director (Olympia Dukakis) puts her to work for a female boss Katherine Parker(Sigourney Weaver), who works in Mergers and Acquisitions. Although apparently helpful and sincere, Tess discovers her new boss has been stealing some of her ideas and claiming them as her own. When her boss is injured in a skiing accident, Tess takes over her office and sets about putting together a deal with one of her own ideas........The acting is excellent on all fronts in this picture. Melanie Griffiths imbues her character with an increasingly confident but very genuine charm. Sigourney Weaver is perfect is her stuck-up, patronising superbitch of a boss. Harrison Ford is also on form here as the man in both their lives, a charming yet almost stuffy man who constantly fears losing his job. Odd, however, that he should receive top billing when he only appears about half-way through the film.The three leads are given tremendous support in the form of Joan Cusack as Tess's best friend who fears she is getting left behind in the wave of her friend's ambition. Other notable players include Nora Dunn as Katherine's snooty colleague and Philip Bosco as an industry tycoon, who gets the film's funniest line at the film's satisfying finale.The script by Kevin Wade is excellent, with plenty of funny one-liners and double-entendres. His portrayal of office life may seem a little bit too romantic at times, in spite of the rich business detail with which he imbues it, but this a comedy so this is entirely forgivable.The whole movie is wonderfully accentuated by a rousing score. Carly Simon's theme tune beautifully captures the film's themes of hope, ambition and fair play.Enjoyable and exhilarating comedy.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful: Brilliant, characterful romantic thriller, 29 October 2008 Author: Framescourer from London, UK
I'm not a notable Melanie Griffith fan by any means but it must be said that she is brilliantly cast in the role of the small time heroine in the Big Apple. Harrison Ford is surprisingly effective as the hunk-on-a-stick; it is not surprising in the slightest bit that Sigourney Weaver is an effectively insidious megalomaniac bitch. This is also the first in a slew of flicks for Joan Cusack's long line of effective supporting girlfriends.Mike Nicholls is a sharp director and succeeds in not only capturing the look of the trapping and tawdriness of the free market explosion but also its unutterably tedious underbelly. Kevin Wade's script is the snappy dramatic and satirical motor at the film's heart to which Nicholls defers. A unimpeachable feelgood movie - although I can't help feeling a sorrow from Nicholls on behalf of his characters who, as in Billy Wilder's The Apartment remain trapped even after the happy ending. 7/10
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Yeah, Right!, 9 July 2006 Author: dgz78 (dgz78@yahoo.com) from United States
How could someone that directed The Graduate, Carnal Knowledge, Catch-22, Biloxi Blues, heck even Silkwood, put out such mindless fluff as this. The idea that all those people at the bottom of the organization chart can do as good a job or better than those at the top if they just get the chance should be left to Frank Capra. At least Capra could put a sentimental spin on the story to make it appealing.Ford, Weaver and Griffith aren't Stewart, Hepburn and Grant but their talents could be put to better use than this story.The best part is seeing the hairstyles from the 80's. You just don't see big hair like that anymore. Anyway, this is a long way from The Graduate or Virginia Woolf.
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