The "Back to Work" Edition

Hi all!I know I missed a golden opportunity here by not making this a Harry Potter post in honor of his (and J.K.'s) birthday, but I'm honoring the fact that I got a stinkin' JOB instead!  Okay, okay, it's a freelance gig, but in stark contrast to my last five months, I'm showering daily and making money.  It's glorious for everyone involved.So I give to you....my "Back to Work" edition.  Enjoy!

Working Girl - released in 1988I've never seen this movie before.   Now that I have, I feel like I didn't miss much.This movie is like a study in 80's hairdos.   I'm sure a huge percentage of this film's budget was for AquaNet.  Holy shit.  This movie is basically watching a hard working, smart Jersey girl climb her way up the corporate ladder by pretending she's not just a secretary while her boss (Sigourney Weaver)  is laid up with a broken leg. She does this largely by getting rid of her horrendous 80's hairdo.  Seriously, her bangs were like a foot high flap raising from her forehead.  And everything turned around for her when she cut that shit off.  She also has the help of a man (hello, it's the 80's) in the form of Harrison Ford.  Now, I love me some Harrison, but sometimes (maybe always?) he's not the best actor in the world.  I know, I know.  This is sacrilege.  He's handsome and all that (I love him.  He knows.) but much of his acting style is "looking perplexed". This is in good contrast to our heroine Melanie Griffith's acting style which is constant throat clearing.  She has a kind of scratchy voice, but she seriously clears her throat in EVERY scene.  Maybe she has a goiter?  And I have a hard time buying her being smart.  Sorry.  It just doesn't ring true.  I mean, she says to Harrison when she meets him "I have a head for business and a bod for sin".  Bod. Gah.Sigourney Weaver is maybe my favorite character in this film.  She's bitchy and backstabby, but she plays it perfectly.  She has this fabulous line when she's telling Melanie Griffith something about getting her boyfriend to marry her.  It's all businesslike and then she says "And I am, after all, me."  It's pretty great.There are a ton of amazing actors who were clearly just beginning their careers because they have tiny parts.  Joan Cusack and Alec Baldwin both have healthy secondary roles but Kevin Spacey has a tiny part as a douchey, coke snorting coworker, Olympia Dukakis is an office manager with one scene and both Riki Lake and David Duchovny have teeny tiny walk ons (he's "party goer" and she's "bridesmaid").  To be clear, I'm not saying David Duchovny is an amazing actor.  Just that he had a tiny part in this film.I will also put forward that I think in nearly every film Harrison Ford is in they have written in a scene explaining his scar.  I'm not disputing that it's a sexy scar, it's just interesting that they always write it in. (In fact, it's from a minor car accident.  Did y'all know he used to work at a Bullocks?  It's amazing what you learn...)This movie did really well commercially.  The main song (written and performed by Carly Simon) won an Academy Award.  Maybe it needed to be seen in the  80's to really be enjoyed.  I don't know, I feel like I missed this particular bus.I read that the scenes of her office building lobby were filmed in one of the World Trade Center buildings and there is one shot where she's looking at the NYC skyline and there are the towers all lit up.  Seeing films when the buildings are still there always give me a chill at how arresting and epic they made the skyline, immediately followed by a true and deep sadness.(I suggest pairing this film with a big shot (or more) of Tequila Gold - that's what they call it in the movie.)

9 to 5 - released in 1980Although this film is 35 years old, it's still thoroughly enjoyable.  Jane Fonda is always lovely and classy, Lily Tomlin is perfect as the completely capable but overlooked employee and Dolly Parton is just generally adorable and charming.  I honesty thought this wasn't going to hold up watching it now, but I still liked it.Apparently this film originated from an idea that Fonda had because a friend of hers had started an organization called 9 to 5, dealing with woman office workers. This is back in the day when they were primarily secretaries - getting their bosses coffee, picking up their dry-cleaning, filling their cars with gas.  Wow, right?  I guess it was a tricky film to write because although it's classified as a "labor film" she didn't want it to be preachy and depressing (and let's face it..labor films tend to be just that).It remains funny, even though it's dated.  I nearly spat out my Coke Zero when I saw typewriters and dictaphones!  But one thing struck me.  Why can we make a computer fit on a fucking phone, but we STILL CAN"T CREATE A CONSISTENTLY FUNCTIONING COPIER?????  Mind blowing.Dabney Coleman plays their super scummy boss and he's really great.  He's a complete asshole or as they describe him "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot".  I think he's really funny, particularly when the woman are having their fantasies of getting rid of him.  All the fantasies are extremely silly (they have smoked a joint so they are a giggly, hungry mess..the scene is pretty cute) but my favorite is Lily Tomlin's.  She dreams of being a Snow White character, who, aided by a gaggle of 2D animated woodland creatures, poisons the boss's coffee.  Oddly, I'm having a hard time finding out who did the animation for this.  According to IMDB there was a supervisor and one animator and Wikipedia doesn't have anything.  Shameful.This is Dolly's first film role.  Again, she was really charming in it.  She doesn't read as a secretary though, with her false eyelashes and 3 inch long nails.  Ain't no way those fingers could type!We've come a long way, baby...but judging by the professional world I live in, we ain't there yet. The movie ends with the three of them being pretty proud of all the foreward-thinking changes they implemented in the office (day care, job sharing, etc).  Then they say something like "oh, but we didn't get equal pay" and they all sort of shrug like "well ya can't have everything!".  Grrrrr.(I suggest pairing this film with a hand rolled joint.  Puff, puff, pass people.)

My takeaways:#1 - I wish I could say everything about these films are incredibly archaic, but there is still a difference between men and women in the workplace.  And if you don't believe me, ask a female animator.#2 - I'm incredibly grateful to be working, but I fear that Cosmo might lose his newly formed skills at doing a High Five.#3 - Seriously, you ALL were amazing to me while I was a "lady of leisure" and I may be one again someday so in the meantime let's make hay while the sun shines!  Drinks on me!!

xoxo....hashtagSueslife