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29 reviews in total

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22 out of 25 people found the following review useful:
Underrated., 8 June 2002

Author: (lanina6667@hotmail.com) from Sydney, Australia

Too many people/reviews comment negatively on this movie and so, even though I would normally not post my comments on this site, I felt the need to create some *balance* here. This movie is well done, honest, and we ALL need more American movies that sway away from the usual "man-saves-world" trend. Credit to Whoopi and the other actors for choosing these roles. Acted well. It just plain _worked_. It's obvious that I am not too spiffy at this movie-critic role (duh), but as a 16 year old teenager who is unfamiliar with all the movie-jargan yet knows very well when she sees an underrated movie, I tell anyone reading this to watch this movie. And to those who don't think very highly of it, slap yourselves across the face and directly compare the quality of THIS to some of the more popular titles out there... I personally think that 'The Associate' would be better and deserves a much higher rating.

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15 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Working executive girl, 5 August 2005

Author: jotix100 from New York

Never having seen this film, we decided to take a chance with it. We were quite surprised to learn this Hollywood film is based on a French one, "L'associe", written for the screen by Jean Claude Carriere and based on Jenaro Prieto's novel "El Socio". Daniel Petrie, its director is working with Nick Thiel's adaptation, which appears to have been a vehicle for its star, Whoopi Goldberg.

Some comments have compared this movie with "Working Girl", a film that also dealt with a smart woman working in the financial world, one of the themes in "The Associate". We are introduced to an intelligent woman, Laurel Ayers, who happens to have three things going against her, she is black, a woman, and is intelligent enough to merit a promotion in the Wall Street firm she works for. Unfortunately, it comes as no surprise that Laurel is passed and her co-worker, Frank, gets the good job and becomes her boss.

The film is mildly funny, as Laurel goes to make a name for herself by creating a "silent" partner, Mr. Cutty, who is never seen. The financial world is all in a frenzy to meet him, and the hilarious appearance at the Plaza Hotel, instead of making things clear, contributes to his myth.

Ms. Goldberg is delightful to watch. Dianne Wiest makes an impressive appearance as the loyal Sally, who is an under appreciated woman. Timothy Daly is perfect as the egotistical Frank. The supporting cast is good. Bebe Neuwirth, Eli Wallach, Austin Pendelton, and a funny Lanie Kazan as a financial gossip writer.

While the film is predictable, it offers some funny moments.

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17 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
Fun movie, 30 June 2005

Author: eastern_fate from United States

I gave this movie a 10 not because it's perfect, not because it's the best movie I've seen, but because the way it made me feel when I watched it. I love Whoopi and she does a great job in this movie, as she does on any other movie she made. Her personality just shines. I used to think that "actors" can really learn any role and they can be whoever they were needed to be. But Whoopi fits this role perfectly. I couldn't have thought of a better actress to fit the character.

The movie is funny. The bad guy always gets it and it has a happy ending. Sounds a bit cliché, but isn't that how we all want it to end? This is a perfect screening for the stay-at-home moms or housewives.

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8 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
A Fun Movie, 11 January 2006

Author: Scoval71 from New York, NY

Very funny. Very entertaining. Very well done movie. Excellent acting and a lot of fun. I enjoyed it. Whoopi Goldberg is perfect in the part of a financial analyst who seems to get no where in a man's world until she creates an maginary partner only to find that the imaginary partner--a man--is taking all the credit for her hard work. I thought the idea and the concept were imaginative and well done. Dianne Weist is perfect in her part as is Tim Daly. You know a movie is funny when Lanie Kazan is in it--remember her as Freida in the Nanny. I recommend The Associate for all. It's a family film as well and you will be glad you saw it!!!

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14 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
Women - Bravo, 17 March 2003
Author: Brandy-28 from Los Angeles

I think the only reason people hate this movie is because it shows women making men look stupid and foolish - as if it needs to take a leap to do that. Playing their own game against them and winning.

This movie was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it completely.

I would watch it over and over again.

Truly wonderful.

Remember Waiting to Exhale. Men hated that movie too, because it made them look bad and told the truth. This movie told the truth.

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7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Woman Can Make It to the Top Spot but Men Aren't That Bad, Are We?, 24 January 2008
Author: Jizdenky from Fraggle Rock

For me, 'The Associate' makes a decent one-time watch. It starts on a promising note with a female black lawyer trying to make it in the man's world. However, at some point as the plot moves, it fails to engage and it's quite clear what will happen in the end. The point 'The Associate' tries to make is that woman can make it on top but it (perhaps unintentionally) presents the men under a negative light. Some of the male characters are presented as stereotypical chauvinists. There are some funny moments that bring a few chuckles but not much that would make one laugh out loud. The best scenes are the ones with Wiest and Goldberg together. Wiest is adorable as the sweet and smart Dugan and Goldberg is adequate as Ayres. However, Goldberg has played several such roles and done numerous similar movies before and even though she's very versatile, she hardly presents anything new in 'The Associate'. I would like to see more of her and Wiest in better movies.

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8 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Great and Funny movie 9/10, 2 January 2003

Author: ilan from nijmegen, NL

The low rating this movie got here is very strange since statistically , I think, the user rating should reflect the movie resonance/quality quite well - however not in this case.

This evening I watched The Associate for the 4th time and I loved it even more then ever.

Its funny and very cleverly crafted.

I will dare and say - a must see.

9/10

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Entertaining, mostly intelligent and funny, 8 March 2005
Author: vchimpanzee from North Carolina

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I saw the ending of this film before I saw anything else, so I was misled as to the exact nature of what was going on. As a result, there were more surprises than I expected. And some plot twists that I didn't see coming. So for me seeing the entire film was like watching a Columbo murder mystery--I knew what the result was going to be, but not how the movie would get there.

Having said that, I think Whoopi Goldberg did a wonderful job. Her scenes as 'Robert Cutty' were especially good, even though the movie turned out to be more about explaining his absence rather than actually showing the mystery man.

But I really enjoyed Laurel's efforts to come up with ideas and get the ideas into the hands of those who counted. She had to be so creative to get anything done, even making up a name for her partner under pressure. Like Robin Williams' character in 'Mrs. Doubtfire', she used the first name she saw, as a bartender poured Cutty whiskey.

And the makeup job, if that is what it was, looked almost as professional as Mrs. Doubtfire's. Goldberg was quite convincing as a slightly effeminate Wall Street whiz.

Dianne Wiest did an outstanding job as Sally, the secretary to Frank and later Laurel. Yes, I said secretary. I'm sick and tired of hearing the word 'assistant' used for the position. As long as one doesn't work for the likes of Frank, the term 'secretary' does not have to refer to a meaningless job where one is unappreciated. And Sally made the most of her job with Laurel, becoming much more than 'just' a secretary.

Eli Wallach did a great job as Fallon, one of the Wall Street suits who finally had to listen to Laurel--but only because of Cutty. Bebe Neuwirth also shined as one of the people who allowed Laurel to pass along 'secrets' and make Cutty look good. Timothy Daly, on the other hand, just made Frank look like a jerk. Fine, they achieved their goal if that's what it was, but to me it was a performance that belonged in a bad TV-movie. Don't misunderstand; I like bad TV-movies like this and I liked to hate Frank, but this was a well-done theatrical film.

The plot twists were interesting if not particularly realistic, though I have to wonder if a person could get in real trouble for what Laurel did. The SEC did not know precisely what she was doing, and it was never made clear whether they cleared her, though in a movie I suppose anything's possible.

Overall I was very happy.

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7 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
sad account of the way it is..., 22 February 2004

Author: FilmLabRat

Don't usually like Whoopie starrers, but she really does herself proud in this funny but sadly true account of discrimination against women in the business world (and others - academic, entertainment, etc.). Amusing and clever film, but you have to be a working woman to really appreciate its truth and poetic justice.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Whoopi does it up right, but Diane is right behind her!, 21 November 2004
Author: mepittman-1 from central Indiana, USA

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Very mild spoilers....

This film is a fun romp through all kinds of business world clichés - which are only clichés because they are all so true! I'm a WG fan all the way and I especially loved her in this film (she had ME believing for a few minutes here and there that she really was a white man!) But Dianne Wiest was absolutely THE BEST in this movie. I just loved her character, and as always DW is likable, funny, sweet-natured, a little timid on the surface, but UNDERNEATH is a hotbed of energy and fire in the belly. And yet always so understated. I especially love her line pointing out that she and Whoopi have no way to get home after their attempt to fake Robert's death in a car explosion - the line delivered so quietly and matter-of-factly: "We came in THAT car." FUN FUN FUN movie! One to watch over again - more than once.

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