Working girl 1988

           Mike Nichol’s 1988 throw back to 30’s and 40’s romantic comedies. The film is lush comfortable and a little misogynist with an unbelievable premise and a make believe aura that is set in a fabled New York City where the only borough is Manhattan and the women who live in Staten Island and take the ferry to the Emerald City every morning all look like clowns with mile high hair and the men are all Guidos who cheat on their women, wear tight pants and have hairdos as wild as the women. The plot concerns a sweet ferry rider commuter played by Melanie Griffith who lives with her cheating dim boyfriend played by a young and very handsome Alec Baldwin. Mel works in the stock market and is bright and alert so naturally she is only a secretary but longs to climb that ladder up. She is attractive and has to endure the sexual come-ons from the likes of Kevin Spacey and Oliver Platt but she puts them in their places.
             She eventually does make it as an assistant to the strong tough boss lady played well by Sigourney Weaver who is the villain of the piece just because she is doing her job well and is serious, so she is a bitch, and gets her comeuppance at the end of the film in a very public and humiliating way. Meanwhile Mel has a great idea for a merger of some kind, and it looks like it was stolen by Sigourney and Melanie gets her revenge when Weaver falls off a mountain during a skiing vacation and breaks her leg. Not very subtle but I guess it works. The rest of the movie is how Melanie changes her looks in a minute and poses as the head of her dept. and offers up this obtuse merger plan as her own. She joins forces with Harrison Ford who is an investment banker or counselor who she meets cute at a party and who by the way is dating Weaver. I’m getting all huffy and puffy here, which is what the movie is huffy and puffy.
       Joan Cussack who plays Melanie’s best friend is made up to look like a freak, mile high teased hair, too much make up, loud vulgar clothes and an outer borough accent that is outer outer here, and she pretty much steals the scenes she’s in even though she looks grotesque and scary. Melanie also has the look of outer borough but she soon becomes chic and glamorous when Joan gives her a cut and dry in the office. Presto. Nichols keeps Griffith’s baby girl voice down and shows her in all sorts of undress throughout the film including some scanty and flamboyant Victoria Secret like under garments and pushes her amble behind in our faces, naturally there is no male nudity or suggestive poses except for a discreet shot or two of Ford and Baldwin shirtless and clueless. Griffith hatches plans and Ford hatches plans and soon they are falling in love, which I didn’t buy for a minute but its all sweet and harmless I guess.  Nichols began his directing career on Broadway doing those sit com like Neil Simon plays but he soon graduated to making serious movies like Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf a hit, and Catch 22 and Day Of the Dolphin big flops. Working Girl was a big hit for him and with The Academy Awards who nominated it for some major prizes including Best Picture and Director.  It’s not a horrible movie and is easy to take. It’s glamorous, humorous and easy on the eyes.