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Working Girl Customer Reviews (28 - 30 of 31 Reviews)

Who's afraid of Sigourney Weaver?
Working girl Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith, sporting some serious hair) is continuously being mistaken for a "coffee, tea or me?" kind of person when in fact she works hard, reads widely and studies nights to get ahead in the business world. But the sexist, class-conscious business world just won't take her seriously. Finally she hooks up with Katherine Parker (Sigourney Weaver), a successful but vulturous deal-maker with an elevated opinion of herself who knows how to use people. They set up a mentor relationship with Tess getting the coffee and Katherine spouting the words of wisdom. When Tess comes up with a good business idea, Katherine steals it.

Enter soon after Jack Trainer (Harrison Ford) and we have our triangle. Katherine has broken her leg skiing and Tess has to fill in for her. When Tess discovers that Katherine has ripped off her idea, she decides to assume Katherine's accouterments, including her lavish apartment, her wardrobe, her hairstyle, and as it turns out, her boyfriend. Will she succeed, and will she find true love and happiness with the leading man? Inquiring minds want to know.

Director Mike Nichols, auteur of a number of film land successes of more than average sophistication, including Postcards from the Edge (1990), The Graduate (1967), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966), etc. with help from screen writer Kevin Wade and Melanie herself, manages to create enough sympathy for Tess that we want her to win. Sigourney Weaver does such a fine job of being a kind of sociopathic villainess that we want her to lose. Guess what happens?

While this is not on the same level as the three Mike Nichols flicks mentioned above, either in terms of cinematic significance or craftsmanship, it is clever and witty at times, and the story is one that most American women will find easy to identify with. And of course the winner gets Harrison Ford, displaying his usual bodice-busting charm. Only problem (aside from some smarmy pandering to a chick flick audience) is that the chemistry between Melanie Griffith and Harrison Ford is lacking.

See this for Mike Nichols whose direction here can be described as just a working guy trying to make a buck and not doing a bad job of it.

3.5 out of 5
Melanie Griffith received her first big film breakthrough in this 1988 hit. Griffith stars as Tess McGill, a hard-working office woman who just can't get the position at the top she completely deserves. But after her boss (Sigourney Weaver, in one of her best roles) steals Tess' idea, Tess poses as her boss and leads the company while flirting with popular businessman Harrison Ford. This is one of Mike Nichols' greatest films, and his directing is excellent; his look at the Big Apple is outstanding. Kevin Wade's witty script provides non-stop entertainment; of course, there's also excellent performances by all three stars and a great soundtrack by Carly Simon, whose theme, "Let the River Run", won an Academy Award. The film was also nominated for Best Actress in a Leading (Griffith) and also Supporting Role (Joan Cusack); Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Weaver); Best Director (Mike Nichols); and, while WORKING GIRL is a very entertaining and fun comedy, it still doesn't anywhere near deserving the "Best Picture" Academy Award it was nominated for.

Pulling oneself up by the bootstraps!
This is a story about a bright, but frustrated secretary. She finds herself stuck in a beingness that she doesn't want. Without much education, she proves that she is very bright, and by her own ingenuity learns to play with the "big boys" of the world of finance.

I loved watching our vulnerable yet strong heroine fight her way to the top, without sacrificing her femininity.

Harrison Ford, Melanie Griffith, and Sigourney Weaver all give great performances.

I was a little surprised that this otherwise PG-type movie had a few instances of nudity - that could easily have been dispensed with. I wish they had cut out the nudity, because it would really be a good movie for young teen girls to see.

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