Working Girl: It felt like a waste if time
Directed by Mike Nichols
“Sometimes I sing and dance around the house in my underwear. Doesn’t make me Madonna. Never will.”
Cyn
Set in New York City, we follow the journey of an ambitious secretary that wishes to take life by the reins and ceases to be taken advantage of by those around her. Whether it be her male co-workers at the stockbroker firm or her sleazy boyfriend – Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) makes a few abrupt decisions which lands her in an advantageous position that seemed too good to be true. Tess finds herself as an administrative assistant to Katharine Parker (Sigourney Weaver) a young associate in Mergers and Acquisitions. Seeming to have found a way to be recognized for her innovative ideas and ambition, Tess is encouraged by Katharine to share her ideas – which inevitably leads to deceit and thievery as she discovers that her ideas are not attributed to her. She schemes up an opportunity to present her ideas for a merger, but it comes along with deceit much to her friend Cyn’s (Joan Cusack) chagrin. She pretends to be someone she’s not, essentially re-inventing herself until the time runs out. Insert Jack Trainer (Harrison Ford), who is currently dating Parker (which we find out later), but does not care as he pursues Tess.
My issue with the film lies in several places, the first being the unnecessary nudity without warning. The gratuitous explicit scenes did nothing to add to the plot and proved to be annoying. Katharine is in the wrong for attempting to take the credit for all of Tess’ ideas, but the film attempted to make it seem as though Weaver’s character was completely tyrannical without reason as if Tess hadn’t uprooted her whole life and taken her man with her. Ford and Griffith’s characters lack the necessary chemistry if it was meant to be a romantic movie. Lastly, it was meant to be funny, right? The leads of a movie are meant to be likable, but it all just seemed too contrived. I would not opt for a re-watch.
The Island Cinephile 
