Working Girl

"I've got a head for business and a body for sin."
—Tess McGill

This 1988 comedy, directed by Mike Nichols, shows that even if you come from the wrong side of the Hudson, you can make it in business so long as you've got the balls to see through a good idea.

Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) is desperate to be taken seriously and recognized for her brains and business skill, and hopes to rise from the typing pool of Petty Marsh. Given one last chance after blowing out "Bob from Arbitrage" , she's made PA to Katharine Parker (Sigourney Weaver) in Mergers & Acquisitions. Katharine is willing to accept input and ideas from her, and is intrigued by Tess's big idea that would save a large company from a foreign takeover. Katharine then breaks her leg while away skiing in Switzerland, and she asks Tess to look after things in her absence. Tess soon discovers that Katharine is going to try to pass off Tess's idea as her own to the CEO of the threatened company. On top of this, she discovers her boyfriend (Alec Baldwin) is also cheating on her. Tess sets out to do a deal by using her idea herself and teams up with Jack Trainer (Harrison Ford) to close the deal before Katharine's return. The two slowly fall for each other little knowing that the other is Katharine's boyfriend/secretary...

Working Girl was one of the more financially successful and critically acclaimed comedies of 1988. It was nominated for six Oscars: Best Actress for Melanie Griffith, Best Supporting Actress for both Joan Cusack and Sigourney Weaver, Best Director for Mike Nichols, and Best Picture. Carly Simon won the Best Original Song Oscar for "Let the River Run". The film also won four Golden Globes, with Melanie Griffith and Sigourney Weaver each winning for acting, Carly Simon for her song, and the movie as a whole for Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical. The movie also inspired a short-lived 1990 NBC Sitcom of the same name, starring none other than Sandra Bullock as Tess McGill.

Tropes used in Working Girl include:
  • Academy Award: Nominated for six, ended up winning one. Details above.
  • Ambition Is Evil: Very much averted with Tess. While her actions are ethically questionable to say the least, the film portrays her as only "doing what she has to do" to climb the corporate ladder without the "right" background or connections. Katherine, on the other hand.
  • Black Bra and Panties: Tess, also with matching garter belt and stockings!
  • Broken Bird: Jack Trainer, due to his Backstory.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive / There Are No Good Executives: Mostly averted. The only obviously corrupt executive is Katharine. Oren Trask in particular seems to be an honest, intelligent, all-around good guy who just happens to be a rich CEO.
  • Devil in Plain Sight: Katharine Parker starts off as Bitch in Sheep's Clothing but once Tess discovers her true colors the Devil is revealed.
  • Eighties Hair: Most of the secretaries and the women on Staten Island. Joan Cusack, to the extreme. Also Melanie Griffith in the early parts of the movie. Averted with Katharine, whose hairstyle would be seen as perfectly normal and professional even in 2011.
  • Face Palm: When Katharine breaks in on the mergers meeting, Jack and Tess mirror each others' face palms.
  • Fan Service: Melanie Griffith has a couple of nice lingerie scenes (see Black Bra and Panties above). Sigourney Weaver's aren't bad either. And then Harrison Ford provides Fan Service both for the audience and his typing pool as he changes shirts while talking on the phone. The typing pool even gives him a round of applause in appreciation.
  • Foot Popping: Seen in the scene where Tess and Jack fall for each other.
  • Important Haircut/Expository Hairstyle Change: Tess cuts her hair in order to look like the sophisticated executive she's impersonating, hoping to become--and eventually is at the film's conclusion.
  • Indy Ploy: Jack gets into the act in getting Tess to dance with Trask. Bonus points that Jack is Indiana Jones.
  • Insufferable Genius: Katharine has a very high opinion of herself and isn't afraid to let other people know it. She has a degree from Wellesley, speaks fluent German to the owner of a Swiss ski resort in order to get the tower suite, and freely praises herself as a trailblazer for women in the business world. By the end of the movie, she may actually be Too Clever by Half...
  • Ivy League: Jack Trainer has a BA in business administration from Dartmouth and an MBA from Harvard. Tess gets told that her lack of this trope is one of the things holding her back.
  • Lingerie Scene: Several of Griffith and Weaver.
  • Little Black Dress: Tess borrows one from Katharine's closet to wear to the Dewey Stone reception. She becomes light-headed when she discovers that the dress costs $6000.
  • Meaningful Name: Petty Marsh. It lives up (or down) to its name. No wonder Tess wants out.
  • Never Gets Drunk: Jack Trainer seems to be a Type 1 of this trope.
  • New York City: The setting of the movie. Most of the business action takes place in Manhattan. Tess and her friends are from Staten Island, and most of the scenes involving her personal life are set there. The movie was shot on location in both places.
  • Noo Yawk Accents: Joan Cusack, dear God. Tess is aware of hers and is taking speech classes to make her accent less noticeable. Note how the accents are much thicker on the characters from Staten Island than on the ones from Manhattan.

Cyn: "Whaddya need speech class foe-wa? Ya tawk foine!"

Mick: "Tess! It's Not What It Looks Like. [beat] Actually, it is what it looks like, but I Can Explain!"

  • Pimped-Out Dress: Giant Poofy Sleeves and disco blue tulle make for a hideous bridesmaid dress. But, hey! it matches the leisure suit tuxedos...
  • Plucky Comic Relief: Joan Cusack as Tess's friend Cyn, particularly when she pretends to be Tess's secretary.
  • Plucky Office Girl: Tess McGill is one of the trope namers.
  • Pretty in Mink: Katharine's sable coat that Tess borrows.
  • Rags to Royalty: Tess goes from being an unappreciated, overworked secretary with both a job and relationship that appear to be going nowhere. By the film's end, she's pulled off a major business merger, finally gotten a position at a major firm, and is living with Jack.
  • Sharp-Dressed Man: Jack Trainer.
  • Shirtless Scene: Harrison Ford provides Fan Service to his typing pool. Alec Baldwin also has a couple, showing off his Carpet of Virility.
  • The Triple: Cyn, flirting with Jack Trainer while pretending to be Tess's secretary.

Cyn: "Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Me?"

  • Umbrella Drink: Jack Trainer gets two of them while he and Tess crash the Trask wedding. Both of the drinks are for him.
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