Big hair, running shoes and short skirts were, and still are, a familiar sight, not only in rural America on a Saturday night, but at 8:45 am on the main street of any urban center. Working Girl is a fable, a lesson, and a sharp comedy about one such girl.
Melonie Griffith, in her defining role, plays Tess, a girl with ambition, who wants to work in the big leagues. Job after job, she seems to fail, not because she can't do the work, but because she won't put out for the boss. Finally she lands a job as an assistant to a powerhouse woman, Katherine Parker, played wonderfully by Sigourney Weaver. Sadly Tess must learn that women can back stab as good as any guy can.
Tess gets her opportunity to shine, when a skiing accident in Europe keeps Katherine away. Immediately she partners with lady killer Jack Trainer (Harrison Ford) in order to put to work a corporate merger.
Working Girl borders on being dated but it manages to capture the 'me decade' so well that it is still interesting (and certainly relevant). Supporting performances from Joan Cusak, as the kooky friend, and Alec Baldwin, as the frustrated lover, compliment the story.
Carly Simon's now classic song, Let the River Run, plays throughout the film bringing some sentiment to a story that is loaded with laughs.
Weaver should have won the Oscar for her role as an over-the-top bitch who smiles as she digs the knife in just a bit further. It's her performance however, and the story line itself, that suggests a dangerous myth, that women in corporate society are vicious. I'm not denying that many women are, I just think it ought to be made clear, that they learned their tricks from men!
Melonie Griffith, in her defining role, plays Tess, a girl with ambition, who wants to work in the big leagues. Job after job, she seems to fail, not because she can't do the work, but because she won't put out for the boss. Finally she lands a job as an assistant to a powerhouse woman, Katherine Parker, played wonderfully by Sigourney Weaver. Sadly Tess must learn that women can back stab as good as any guy can.
Tess gets her opportunity to shine, when a skiing accident in Europe keeps Katherine away. Immediately she partners with lady killer Jack Trainer (Harrison Ford) in order to put to work a corporate merger.
Working Girl borders on being dated but it manages to capture the 'me decade' so well that it is still interesting (and certainly relevant). Supporting performances from Joan Cusak, as the kooky friend, and Alec Baldwin, as the frustrated lover, compliment the story.
Carly Simon's now classic song, Let the River Run, plays throughout the film bringing some sentiment to a story that is loaded with laughs.
Weaver should have won the Oscar for her role as an over-the-top bitch who smiles as she digs the knife in just a bit further. It's her performance however, and the story line itself, that suggests a dangerous myth, that women in corporate society are vicious. I'm not denying that many women are, I just think it ought to be made clear, that they learned their tricks from men!