HotToastyRag
Dabney Coleman is the boss. Under him are floor manager Lily Tomlin and personal secretary Dolly Parton. They don't get any respect, and neither do the other female employees at the company, even though he's less competent than most of his underlings! When Jane Fonda, fresh from a divorce, enters the workforce and gets a taste of his attitude, the three ladies commiserate and become close friends.For any woman who's been disrespected by her boss, felt the pressures of being the breadwinner in the family, or been unfairly treated at work, this movie will be your new best friend. It's absolutely hilarious, but with enough realism to make you feel the sting alongside the characters. Dolly Parton was nominated for an Oscar for her catchy and true-to-life title song, and she'll win you over in the first three minutes of the film. Lily Tomlin becomes the poster child for feminism as she delivers powerful speeches, and Jane Fonda is adorable in her frumpy wig and oversized glasses. On her first day of work, she's reduced to tears because she doesn't know how to work the copy machine. Anyone, man or woman, who's ever had a first job will relate to her in that scene.9 to 5 will keep you quoting Patricia Resnick and Colin Higgins's screenplay long after it's over. You'll pout to imitate Dolly and say, "That hurt my feelings!" and puff out your chest declaring, "Hit the road Buster; this is where you get off!" like Jane—and you'll never look at your coffee sweetener the same way again. This is a great chick flick, and a must-see for any working woman.
thesar-2
What lawyer wouldn't have a field day if Nine to Five happened today?Nine to Five is one of my all-time favorite comedies and as a comedy, with extreme deadpan delivery from Lily Tomlin (Violet) and excellent lines and acting from first-timer-at-the-time Dolly Parton (Doralee,) it still works. Sadly, this is the Stone Age when it comes to office politics and, of course, equipment. This is not to say sexist remarks or promoting males faster than females still doesn't occur, but I cannot imagine, as a whole, it's this blatant.While that's not a flaw, it was what it was 33 years ago, the movie's only flaw that I could concede is that it went on for far too long. It didn't know where to cut or when to end. And still, even with that minor fault, it's still amusing and fun through to the end.I truly loved this movie and it begins solid with one of my all-time favorite movie songs, the same name of the film and sung by the star, Parton. Following that, I loved the fact that the three central characters, Violet, Doralee and Judy (Jane Fonda) weren't exactly friends at first, but become allies when their over-the-top "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" of a boss wrongs them. While the movie was already fun at that point – mainly thanks to, again Tomlin and Parton, this is where the sh|t gets real…funny.From merely complaining, to pot smoking their way into incredible laughs (from both them and us) of their fantasies of getting retribution, to almost and inadvertently bringing one of their ideas to life, these ladies get in deep when trying to deal with the soulless boss.While I stated the movie, sadly, is dated for 1980 or that timeframe, it's also unfortunate that the same stereotypical coworkers exist today. Maybe that's reason #38 why I like this movie so much; I can relate as I've worked in offices since March 1996 and have seen all kinds of these characters portrayed here, in the almost equally hilarious Office Space and in pretty much any Dilbert strip.Now, that said, allow me to make sure I am revealing a positive. These secondary and third-tier characters make the movie even better. They're hilarious ("Atta, Girl" said three times almost back-to-back is one of my favorite lines and so true from the office drunk) and realistic (there's ALWAYS an untrustworthy office spy/boss, kiss-up "Roz" character to deal with.) On the front end, there's also always the sarcastic and down beaten "Violet" (which is usually me,) the optimistic "Doralee" and the newbie, "Judy," who ALWAYS will soon learn the hard way. Now, though I've encountered my share of horrible bosses – as well as awesome human managers, I've never worked under the reigns of the terrible "Mr. Hart" (played deliciously by Dabney Coleman,) although I know they exist as do his superiors as portrayed in this film.I didn't work in 1980 – I was at the young age of ___ then, and my mom was still a stay-at-home mother when this was released, but I know these events in the movie happened in real life and I am glad these talented ladies could theatrically fight for women's rights. It might not have seemed like a political film, and perhaps it wasn't meant that way, but I bet this brought to light a lot of the disgusting things that occurred to the female workers of the late 1970s, early 1980s.Oh, and speaking of that era, I've read and been told countless times that "Jane Fonda was the DEVIL for her war-time actions" prior to the movie's creation. While she wasn't my favorite part or character of the movie, she was still enjoyable in her role. I do my very best to stay out of filmmakers/star's politics. If I didn't, I wouldn't have enjoyed so many Tom Cruise films – and believe me, I have more fun in his action/comedy/suspense films than most actors over the past few decades.On a personal note, it truly pains me to hear someone tell me not to watch Fonda's movies, or worse, wish her dead. Without getting into the details of what she did, or even the reasons why, I don't care one bit. "Did she entertain me when I watched this?" is the only question I should be asking myself and the answer was: yes.I digress. This movie is hilarious, real fun, adventurous and it's one I could watch countless times, like I did as a kid. Highly recommended.Side Note: That song, Parton's Nine to Five, isn't just one of my favorite movie tracks, it's one of my all-time favorite songs. And funny story: when I was a kid and I would, indeed, watch this movie over and over, or listen to that song from one of my mother's, ah-hem, record player, repeatedly, I always thought the first few lines read:Tumble out of bed and stumble to the kitchen; Pouring myself a cup of bitchin'…I was shocked, growing up in a swear-free household, at that word! It truly intrigued me. Until, of course, I grew up, got, what we call now: digital music, clear-sounding movies and, obviously, internet, and learned the true word was: "ambition."Eh, I think both fits.
Jackson Booth-Millard
The title song I have obviously heard many times on the radio, on television and in films, it is probably the only one know I really know from the famous country and western singer, I was interested to see the film that the song came from, and the acting debut for the singer. Basically at Consolidated Companies, three female office workers, secretary Judy Bernly (Jane Fonda), senior office supervisor Violet Newstead (Lily Tomlin) and fellow secretary Doralee Rhodes (twice Golden Globe nominated Dolly Parton) have had enough with their boss. The company boss Franklin M. Hart Jr. (Dabney Coleman) is a sleazy, selfish, sexist, misogynist pig who takes advantage of all his female employees, and the three colleagues plan to get their revenge on him. There are a couple of instances where they may be contemplating killing him, and there is an accident where they think they do, but they settle instead with simply teaching him a lesson by trapping him in his house, making him see the error of his ways. By the end Hart has very much learnt his lesson to treat women much better, and the end credits say that Judy, Violet and Doralee went on to better careers and stuff. Also starring The Asphalt Jungle's Sterling Hayden as Russell Tinsworthy, Elizabeth Wilson as Roz Keith, Henry Jones as Mr. Hinkle, Lawrence Pressman as Dick Bernly, Marian Mercer as Missy Hart and Renn Woods as Barbara. The three female stars all do their vengeful characters as well as they can, the one that stands out for me is indeed Parton, and Coleman is a good choice to be the bastard mistreating them, I will admit it is not the funniest and most original film, it isn't such a bad comedy though. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Song for Parton's title song (also nominated the Golden Globe). Worth watching!
