The Secret of My Succe$s (1987)

A talented young man can't get an executive position without rising through the ranks, so he comes up with a shortcut, which also benefits his love life.

Director:

Herbert Ross

Writers:

Jim Cash (screenplay), Jack Epps Jr. (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael J. Fox, Helen Slater, Richard Jordan

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael J. Fox	...	Brantley Foster / Carlton Whitfield
Helen Slater	...	Christy Wills
Richard Jordan	...	Howard Prescott
Margaret Whitton	...	Vera Prescott
John Pankow	...	Fred Melrose
Christopher Murney	...	Barney Rattigan
Gerry Bamman	...	Art Thomas
Fred Gwynne	...	Donald Davenport
Carol Ann Susi	...	Jean (as Carol-Ann Susi)
Elizabeth Franz	...	Grace Foster
Drew Snyder	...	Burt Foster
Susan Kellermann	...	Maureen
Barton Heyman	...	Arnold Forbush
Mercedes Ruehl	...	Sheila
Ira Wheeler	...	Owens (as Ira B. Wheeler)

Storyline

Brantley Foster, a well-educated kid from Kansas, has always dreamed of making it big in New York. On his first work day in New York, he is fired in a hostile take-over and learns that jobs - and girls - are hard to get. When Brantley visits his distant uncle, Howard Prescott, who runs a multi-million-dollar company, he is given a job in the company's mail room. Then Brantley meets Christy Wills, who happens to be one of the top executives. Brantley sees how poorly the company is being run and decides to create a position under the name Carlton Whitfield, to influence and improve the company's operations. Soon things get unexpectedly out of hand, not in the least because of his aunt, his girl and leading a double life.

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Plot Keywords:

corporation | yuppie | business takeover | 1980s | office worker | 

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Taglines:

There's no such thing as an overnight success. Brantley Foster took two weeks.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 April 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Secret of My Success

Filming Locations:

599 Lexington Avenue, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,766,452, 12 April 1987, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$66,995,879

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$110,996,879

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rastar Pictures,Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Quoted from the American Film Institute: "A three hundred-acre estate on the Hudson River near Mount Kisco, New York, one hour from midtown Manhattan, was used for the Prescott estate sequences."

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Goofs

When Brantley is reluctantly having a drink with Vera at her mansion, he tosses his drink over his shoulder emptying his glass. In the next shot his glass has booze in it again.

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Quotes

Grace Foster: Take this. It's Uncle Howard's phone number in New York.
Brantley Foster: I've got an uncle in New York?
Grace Foster: My cousin Ellen married his half-sister's nephew, before she got bit by that dog and died.

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Connections

Spoofed in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006)

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Soundtracks

Gazebo
Written, Performed and Produced by David Foster
David Foster appears courtesy of Atlantic Records

User Reviews

The definitive 1980ies move

Except maybe the red lamp on Michael J. Fox's table at his New York appartement: it's totally Seventies.

This movie is a very light, very enjoyable, a veritable document of the upbeat economic spirit that created the cesspool we're currently swimming through. College boy from Kansas arrives at the big city, loses his job before starting it, and still makes it big whilst shagging the boss's wife while he's at it. Great use of Yello's Oh Yeah track. Simply astounding cinematography.

And lots of Texas big hair.

Overall, a flashy, light, entertaining movie. Nuff said.