Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Working Girl

I've always liked Mike Nichols. He knows how to get good if not great performances out of his actors (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate, Closer). Then again, what else do you expect from someone who started out on Broadway?

His 1988 film Working Girl is another showcase of actors. To think the daughter of one of Hitchcock's blondes and two outer space badasses would be responsible for starring in this smart satire of sex and the workplace.

The two leading ladies are Melanie Griffith and Sigourney Weaver. Both are on completely different ends of the business world. Griffith is a novice but she knows what she's doing. Weaver is a professional but she doesn't have a clue as to what she's doing. It's fun to see these two on screen.

The leading man is Harrison Ford, who is actually really great here. Bear in mind that he did a number of action movies throughout the 1980's (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Blade Runner), so it's nice to see him in a lighter role.

All in all, Working Girl is a really good movie. The one major put-off is the 1980's fashion. (Seriously, they thought huge hair and shoulder pads looked good?) Still, a comedy that's smart and focuses on a woman that's not a sexpot is a rarity these days.

My Rating: ****1/2

3 comments:

  1. This is a film that over the years, I couldn't get tired of watching. I enjoy the hell out of it. Notably for the cast that includes Joan Cusack and Alec Baldwin.

    I agree about the 80s fashion, yikes!

    Someone give Melanie Griffith a comeback!

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  2. I love Working Girl. I think it is such a product of its time but that's the charm.

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  3. Ha, the fashion is such a distraction! But a good movie, for sure. Love Baldwin's brief role.

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