Since buying Working Girl on DVD, I've watched it with various people at least five times. For those who haven't seen it, the plot (without giving too much away) is as follows: Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) is a bright young secretary struggling to make it in the business world in New York City, but her ideas are stolen (unbeknownst to her) by her boss, Katherine Parker (Sigourney Weaver), who passes them off as her own. After Katherine injures her leg while skiing, Tess discovers what Katherine has done and decides to bend the rules a little by putting into action what had been her own idea in the first place. It's similar to Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead in that Tess has to pretend that she's some kind of business big-shot, while actually learning the rules of the game along the way. She also gradually falls in love with the man she's working with - Jack Trainer (Harrison Ford) - and things become progressively more complicated.

I think it's my favourite romantic comedy of the '80s. The script is smartly written, in my opinion, and I love the music - not to mention the fabulously big '80s hair and shoulder pads. ;) The plot is well-executed and it hits all the right emotional buttons (for me, at least) at the right times; I am able to build a real sympathetic bond with Griffith's character in particular. Also, Sigourney Weaver - who is one of my favourite actresses - is a lot of fun as the chic and charming, but devious and condescending, boss. Unlike most romantic comedies, this one does not focus all that much on the romance between Tess and Jack - it's important, of course, but it really is Tess's story that the movie is trying to tell (as you might imagine from the title).

I suppose you could say that the whole movie is a very optimistic celebration of capitalism - there's a whole "you-can-make-things-happen" spirit that pervades it, which I tend think of as very '80s (though not exclusively '80s, of course). At the end, when Tess is finally rewarded by being given a managerial position, the camera pans away from her office to reveal hundreds of offices just like hers throughout New York. I suppose it's meant to suggest that her story of struggle and success is just a microcosm of the city - just one example amongst millions of possible examples. Oh, and one thing I find particularly poignant about this movie (and the end sequence in particular) is that there are a lot of dramatic shots of the Twin Towers; I believe that some of the office scenes were even filmed inside one of the WTC towers (I don't think it was one of the big ones though).

So, um, does anyone else enjoy this movie? :)

I loved this movie.  It was funny and entertaining.  I especially like the soundtrack hit "Let the River Run" by Carly Simon 8)

Yeah I really like it too.

Back in the days before  Melanie messed with her face.................

What a nicely written review. It has always been one of my faves and I too enjoy the Carly Simon theme song.

Its the epitome of corporate 80s films and the "wrong side of the tracks" girl making it big on the other side of the tracks. It was a good comedic role for Sigourney and I loved Harrison in it. Also great role by Joan Cusack who stole so many scenes !!

You are right about the lovingly shot scenes of the twin towers. I bought the dvd and watched it only a few days after Sept11 to give my brain a break from all the tragedy on TV that week - only to be confronted by all those shots of the film. Then I watched Legal Eagles - same shots from the same angle !!!

I haven't seen it, but now I'll add it to the Blockbuster queue...

It would be interesting to do a study of '80s movies and the way they portrayed capitalism and yuppieism, particularly in NYC, the capitol of '80s yuppieism. I know movies like Wall Street portrayed it in a negative but accurate light, and that Fatal Attraction sort of made a horror movie within that syntax. It's interesting analyzing Fatal Attraction (since the plot, vaguely yuppie family in NYC moving to the suburbs in the late '80s) follows my life (or pre-life, rather) and the lives of alot of people my age. People in the '80s definitely had a mixed interpretation of materialism/the "anyone can make it" corporatization of America...alot of times it was passively or enthusiastically accepting it or even embracing it, and at times it was more cynical, but it permeates much of the popular culture of the era.