I'm on Netflix's watch movies online. I peruse the selections and see "Working Girl" the 1988 movie with Melanie Griffith, Sigourney Weaver and Harrison Ford. I saw it once in the theaters and again on VHS (yes!) about twenty years ago and wondered if it would still make it today. You know, some stories are just dated and don't transcend time as well as others. (La Traviata or even Tosca are very dated classics which probably were great operas at their time, but just can't make the jump to modern day.)
So I'm watching Working Girl with dinner. And half way through, I'm blubbering like a baby in pain. Maybe it's male menopause or something, but the story works. It worked then and it works now. The acting by the principals and the supporting crew was more than adequate. But the story really hits home with this story of a 99%-er who makes good and doesn't forget her roots. AND, the 1%-er gets screwed over as she should. The story is even more poignant in this day and age. Also in this day and age, the intertwining of the characters is even more relevant. The image of New York City, with the sore thumbs that are the Twin Towers makes one contemplate deeply about what we've gained and lost since this 1988 movie.
Of course, as it's a great story, I can imagine it getting a reboot (since Hollywood is so out of new stories to tell). There'll be more web-enabled documents, cell phones zapping information from one end of the globe to the other, texting instead of phone calls, a single secretary for the whole building instead of a secretarial pool… Nonetheless, it worked back then and can work now, if not even better. Even better, make an opera out of it with the backdrop of the Twin Towers standing in for the eternal glow of raw capitalism.
For those who are not familiar with the story, there are three main characters: Tess McGill, played by Melanie Griffith (while she was still un-plasticized), a lower-level secretary with a fire in her belly; Jack Trainer, played by Harrison Ford, Tess's love interest and current-so-to-be-former boyfriend of Katharine Parker and crucial businessman making the deal; and Sigourney Weaver playing the role of the main antagonist, Katharine Parker, the epitome of all the 1%-ers that everyone now hates: conniving, over-deserving, over-ego'ed, undeservedly privileged, unqualified, petulant, unethical, immoral, useless and finally, called on and pwned.
Tess loses her job as a secretary to a stockbroker when he tries to get her to be a fuck-buddy for an arbitrager (Kevin Spacey in one of his earlier roles). Tess, having some gumption and moral spine, quits after calling her boss (Oliver Platt) a pimp. She then lands another secretary job with Katharine Parker. During the whole time, Tess is always on the make for a great business idea and lands a whopper of an idea of getting Trask Industries to invest in a a radio station. She tells Parker the idea and Parker, who extends a hand of professional friendship to Tess, at first dismisses it as a good, but not great idea. In reality, Katharine realizes it as a great idea and steals it from Tess. She writes up some notes to contact Jack Trainer (who is her boyfriend, but that's not revealed at the moment) about making this deal happen.
The next day, Katharine gets fitted for ski-boots and relates to Tess that she's ready to get her boyfriend (no indication that it's Jack) to propose a "merger". She tells Tess what to do while she vacations in Switzerland. Unfortunately for Katharine, she breaks her leg skiing in the alps and is stuck in a hospital there for several weeks.
Tess takes the opportunity to visit Katharine's home to bask in ths wonder of a modern high-flying, jet-setting, go-getting woman. Instead, she finds out that Katharine has usurped her idea of Trask Industries buying out a radio station, and wants to make it happen with Jack Trainer helping along. Pissed at Katharine's duplicity, Tess decides to fight fire with fire and go after Jack instead.
No need for me to cover the whole story: rent it or download it yourself for a fun two hours or so. It's the female-empowerment version of Rocky, except, this time, Rocky wins.
This movie wins on several levels, and that is attested by the fact that the movie was nominated for best picture, as well as best actress and best supporting actress. It's not a film that should even be considered for the best picture: it's a fluff piece intended to make the audience laugh here and there. The movie did win an oscar for best music. Carly Simon's Let the River Run is an inspiring anthem to the dedicated underdog.
How great is this simple story? I was so mesmerized by it that I managed to watch it twice in a row and couldn't stop cheering it on, despite the 1:00AM curfew we have here in San Francisco on unadulterated cheering for the good guys.
So I'm watching Working Girl with dinner. And half way through, I'm blubbering like a baby in pain. Maybe it's male menopause or something, but the story works. It worked then and it works now. The acting by the principals and the supporting crew was more than adequate. But the story really hits home with this story of a 99%-er who makes good and doesn't forget her roots. AND, the 1%-er gets screwed over as she should. The story is even more poignant in this day and age. Also in this day and age, the intertwining of the characters is even more relevant. The image of New York City, with the sore thumbs that are the Twin Towers makes one contemplate deeply about what we've gained and lost since this 1988 movie.
Of course, as it's a great story, I can imagine it getting a reboot (since Hollywood is so out of new stories to tell). There'll be more web-enabled documents, cell phones zapping information from one end of the globe to the other, texting instead of phone calls, a single secretary for the whole building instead of a secretarial pool… Nonetheless, it worked back then and can work now, if not even better. Even better, make an opera out of it with the backdrop of the Twin Towers standing in for the eternal glow of raw capitalism.
For those who are not familiar with the story, there are three main characters: Tess McGill, played by Melanie Griffith (while she was still un-plasticized), a lower-level secretary with a fire in her belly; Jack Trainer, played by Harrison Ford, Tess's love interest and current-so-to-be-former boyfriend of Katharine Parker and crucial businessman making the deal; and Sigourney Weaver playing the role of the main antagonist, Katharine Parker, the epitome of all the 1%-ers that everyone now hates: conniving, over-deserving, over-ego'ed, undeservedly privileged, unqualified, petulant, unethical, immoral, useless and finally, called on and pwned.
Tess loses her job as a secretary to a stockbroker when he tries to get her to be a fuck-buddy for an arbitrager (Kevin Spacey in one of his earlier roles). Tess, having some gumption and moral spine, quits after calling her boss (Oliver Platt) a pimp. She then lands another secretary job with Katharine Parker. During the whole time, Tess is always on the make for a great business idea and lands a whopper of an idea of getting Trask Industries to invest in a a radio station. She tells Parker the idea and Parker, who extends a hand of professional friendship to Tess, at first dismisses it as a good, but not great idea. In reality, Katharine realizes it as a great idea and steals it from Tess. She writes up some notes to contact Jack Trainer (who is her boyfriend, but that's not revealed at the moment) about making this deal happen.
The next day, Katharine gets fitted for ski-boots and relates to Tess that she's ready to get her boyfriend (no indication that it's Jack) to propose a "merger". She tells Tess what to do while she vacations in Switzerland. Unfortunately for Katharine, she breaks her leg skiing in the alps and is stuck in a hospital there for several weeks.
Tess takes the opportunity to visit Katharine's home to bask in ths wonder of a modern high-flying, jet-setting, go-getting woman. Instead, she finds out that Katharine has usurped her idea of Trask Industries buying out a radio station, and wants to make it happen with Jack Trainer helping along. Pissed at Katharine's duplicity, Tess decides to fight fire with fire and go after Jack instead.
No need for me to cover the whole story: rent it or download it yourself for a fun two hours or so. It's the female-empowerment version of Rocky, except, this time, Rocky wins.
This movie wins on several levels, and that is attested by the fact that the movie was nominated for best picture, as well as best actress and best supporting actress. It's not a film that should even be considered for the best picture: it's a fluff piece intended to make the audience laugh here and there. The movie did win an oscar for best music. Carly Simon's Let the River Run is an inspiring anthem to the dedicated underdog.
How great is this simple story? I was so mesmerized by it that I managed to watch it twice in a row and couldn't stop cheering it on, despite the 1:00AM curfew we have here in San Francisco on unadulterated cheering for the good guys.