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Working Girl
20th Century Fox
FILM:
MPAA RATING: R
Starring
Melanie Griffith,
Harrison Ford,
Sigourney Weaver,
Alec Baldwin,
Joan Cusack,
Philip Bosco,
Nora Dunn,
and
Oliver Platt
Ambitious secretary Tess McGill (Griffith) makes her up the corporate ladder with a little creative deception by "taking over" when her boss Katherine Parker (Weaver) breaks her leg on a ski trip.
| GENRE(S): |
Romance
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Kevin Wade
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Mike Nichols
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: April 17, 2001
Video: September 19, 1995
Theatrical: December 23, 1988
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
109 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |
The film won the Best Song Oscar at the 1989 Academy Awards for Carly Simon's "Let the River Run."
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
One of those entertainments where you laugh a lot along the way, and then you end up on the edge of your seat at the end.
100
USA Today
Mike Clark
Though Weaver is by all accounts (mine included) in the real-life “none-nicer'” class, I've always suspected she might be great as a shrew. She is. [21 Dec 1988, Life, p.1D]
100
Time
Richard Corliss
Intoxicating. [19 Dec 1988, p.78]
91
Entertainment Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum
The movie was a major success for Melanie Griffith, sure, but it was as the secretary's boss ... that Weaver combined all of her star qualities, pulled in laughs, and took home an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
90
Washington Post
Rita Kempley
A delectable reworking of the ultimate girl's myth, a corporate Cinderella story with shades of a self-made Pygmalion.
90
Los Angeles Times
Sheila Benson
Working Girl is the sparkling success that it is because of the sheer irresistibility of Melanie Griffith. [21 Dec 1988, Calendar, p.6-1]
88
Chicago Tribune
Gene Siskel
Griffith gives the fullest performance of her career; Weaver, the most likable, even though she's the villain of the piece. Michael Nichols directs his best film in years. [23 Dec 1988, Friday, p.A]
80
The New York Times
Elvis Mitchell
The film, like its heroine, has a genius for getting by on pure charm. [21 Dec 1988]
75
San Francisco Chronicle
Judy Stone
An amusing trifle. [21 Dec 1988, Daily Datebook, p.E1]
70
The New Republic
Stanley Kauffmann
Wade, presumably with Nichols's urging and aid, has tricked up most of the picture with plotting that scuttles the realism of the beginning, strangles any serious view of the theme, and ends up ludicrously incredible. [30 Jan 1989, p.28]
70
Variety
Staff (Not Credited)
This is not a laugh-out-loud film, though there is a lighthearted tone that runs consistently throughout, Griffith's innocent, breathy voice being a major factor.
70
TV Guide
Staff (Non Credited)
Funny, touching, and ultimately tremendously buoyant--reflecting the optimism engendered by the short-lived 1980s economic boom—Working Girl is a "feel good" movie with some intelligence.
63
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
The movie's basic message is that lying and conniving are perfectly all right - as long as you're a swell person inside, like the pert character we're watching here. Working Girl is a fun movie in many ways - don't get me wrong. [25 Jan 1989, Arts, p.11]
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Rick Groen
The laughs in Working Girl are the laughs of near-recognition - just good enough to make us wish they were much better.
60
Chicago Reader
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Griffith's talent, energy, and sexiness give it some drive and punch.
60
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
A subplot involving Griffith and first boyfriend Alec Baldwin becomes the-subplot-that-wouldn't-go-bust, and comic scenes sometimes go bankrupt because they just hold their stock too long. Light entertainment like this should zip along like those financial quote boards.
30
The New Yorker
Pauline Kael
Nichols must have a cummerbund around his head: the directing is constricted – there's no visual inventiveness or spontaneity. And in his hands the script has no conviction. [9 Jan 1989]
 The average user rating for this movie is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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