DVD
Upcoming Release Calendar
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Best / Worst of the Decade
Recent DVD/Video Releases
60
9
xx
Across the Hall
56
Adam
37
Amelia
73
Amreeka
35
Babysitters, The
70
Big Fan
57
Boys Are Back, The
81
Bright Star
71
Bronson
60
Brothers at War
55
Brothers Bloom, The
45
Burning Plain, The
xx
Carriers
64
Che
57
Chelsea on the Rocks
66
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
23
Couples Retreat
54
Dare
68
Departures
19
Downloading Nancy
55
Endgame
39
Fame
30
Final Destination, The
27
Gamer
50
Give Me Your Hand
46
Halloween II
73
House of the Devil, The
94
Hurt Locker, The
55
I Can Do Bad All By Myself
17
I Hate Valentine's Day
26
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
83
In the Loop
58
Invention of Lying, The
47
Jennifer's Body
41
Little Ashes
80
Lorna's Silence
33
Love Happens
67
Michael Jackson's This Is It
xx
Ministers, The
67
Moon
59
More Than a Game
49
New York, I Love You
66
No Impact Man
47
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning
28
Pandorum
68
Paranormal Activity
85
Passing Strange
63
Perfect Getaway, A
44
Peter and Vandy
54
Pontypool
35
Post Grad
30
Saw VI
79
Serious Man, A
36
Serious Moonlight
76
Soul Power
40
Spiral
39
St. Trinian's
33
Stepfather, The
45
Surrogates
47
Time Traveler's Wife
43
Tru Loved
61
Trucker
47
Weather Girl
67
Whip It
28
Whiteout
73
Zombieland
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Working Girl
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 17 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 2 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Romance
Written by: Kevin Wade
Directed by: Mike Nichols
Release Date:
Theatrical: December 23, 1988
DVD: April 17, 2001
Running Time: 109 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
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.
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Closer Postcards from the Edge Primary Colors Silkwood The Birdcage The Graduate What Planet Are You From?
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database
What The Critics Said
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...
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.
Read Full Review >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]
Time Richard Corliss
Intoxicating. [19 Dec 1988, p.78]
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.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Rita Kempley
A delectable reworking of the ultimate girl's myth, a corporate Cinderella story with shades of a self-made Pygmalion.
Read Full Review >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]
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]
The New York Times Elvis Mitchell
The film, like its heroine, has a genius for getting by on pure charm. [21 Dec 1988]
San Francisco Chronicle Judy Stone
An amusing trifle. [21 Dec 1988, Daily Datebook, p.E1]
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]
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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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]
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.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
Griffith's talent, energy, and sexiness give it some drive and punch.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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]
What Our Users Said
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.
Irene N. gave it a9:
Intelligent, witty underdog-finds-success-and-romance-in-the-big-bad-business-world romantic comedy. The entire cast is very good, but this is really Griffith's movie; I wish she could get more intelligent scripts such as this one.--Irene A. Norris
Pat C. gave it a 7:
Formula piece, but with some neat anecdotes and one-liners, plus a genuine feel for being on the edge of the envelope in the corporate world. Gives new depth and meaning to having an office with a window.
