Nine to Five (1980)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Colin Higgins

Writers:

Patricia Resnick (story)
Colin Higgins (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

19 December 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Getting even is a full-time job.

Plot:

Three female employees of a "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" find a way to turn the tables on him.

Plot Keywords:

Women | Airplane | Desk | Buxom | Divorcee

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Jane Fonda	...	Judy Bernly
Lily Tomlin	...	Violet Newstead
Dolly Parton	...	Doralee Rhodes
Dabney Coleman	...	Franklin M. Hart Jr.
Sterling Hayden	...	Russell Tinsworthy
Elizabeth Wilson	...	Roz Keith
Henry Jones	...	Mr. Hinkle
Lawrence Pressman	...	Dick Bernly
Marian Mercer	...	Missy Hart
Ren Woods	...	Barbara
Norma Donaldson	...	Betty
Roxanna Bonilla-Giannini	...	Maria Delgado
Peggy Pope	...	Margaret Foster
Richard Stahl	...	Meade
Ray Vitte	...	Eddie Smith

Also Known As:

9 to 5

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

UK:AA (original rating) | Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

10431 Bellagio Rd, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

IPC Films

Trivia:

Plans for a sequel were considered throughout the 1980s, but no storyline was ever settled upon.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Judy is in the Xerox room, the rear part of the machine begins filling in more copies. They are one color in one shot but then as they start flying out, they are a mixed up with several colors.

Quotes:

Violet: One thing you should know about dear old Roz... She's the eyes, ears, nose, and throat of Mr. Hart. Anything she hears, he hears.
Judy: You mean she's a... a company spy?
Violet: I wouldn't exactly say that, I'd just say that if you want to gossip in the ladies' room, I'd check under the stalls, first, for her shoes.

Movie Connections:

References "The Love Boat" (1977)

Soundtrack:

Nine To Five

Cheesy 80s fun!

"Nine To Five" is one of those classic 80s comedies which was what made the decade so fun as far as movies go. Jane Fonda plays Judy, a recently divorced housewife who lands a secretarial job at a corporate office. Lily Tomlin is Violet, the beleagured supervisor at the office who shows Judy the ropes on her disasterous first day. Dolly Parton is Doralee, a secretary whom everyone at the office thinks is using her - ahem - "assets" to get ahead by sleeping with the boss.

Soon these three become best friends and team up after they've gotten fed up with their chauvinistic and smarmy boss Mr. Hart, played to the hilt by Dabney Coleman. Sure, it does delve into zany corniness, such as the scene where they all get high on pot and share their fantasies about how each of them would like to knock off the boss (the funniest is Violet's "Snow White" coffee one, which uses cartoon animation and live action) or the scene where Violet thinks she accidentally poisoned Mr. Hart's coffee with rat poison and tries to steal his supposed dead corpse out of the hospital! This is the kind of movie where you check your brain at the door and take it for what it is.

There are some great one-liners like the one where Fonda tells her ex-husband, who thinks she's having a kinky S&M affair with Mr. Hart, something along the lines of, "If I want to do M&M's, that's fine with me!" The office they work in is reminiscent of the one in "The Apartment". Three very clever characters, great comedic acting from Parton as Doralee and Tomlin as Violet. Jane Fonda, who I never cared much for, was good as the naive Judy. Sterling Hayden has a great cameo at the end as the "Chairman of the Board". A funny revenge comedy about Every Office, U.S.A.. You gotta love the theme song, too. Most recommended!