Working Girl (1988)
79%RT Audience Score: 67%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
9 wins & 17 nominations total
A buoyant corporate Cinderella story, Working Girl has the right cast, right story, and right director to make it all come together
If you’re looking for a movie that’ll make you feel like you can conquer the world, Working Girl is it. Melanie Griffith’s scrappy Staten Island secretary-turned-Wall Street whiz is the ultimate underdog story, and watching her rise to the top is nothing short of inspiring. Plus, Sigourney Weaver and Harrison Ford are surprisingly hilarious in their supporting roles. It’s a fun, feel-good movie that’ll leave you feeling like you can take on anything.
Production Company(ies)
Paramount Pictures,
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
7 World Trade Center, World Trade Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1988
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 53m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 21, 1988 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 17, 2001
Genre(s)
Comedy/Romance
Keyword(s)
starring Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, Alec Baldwin, Joan Cusack, Philip Bosco, Kevin Spacey, Oliver Platt, David Duchovny, directed by Mike Nichols, written by Kevin Wade, produced by Douglas Wick, comedy, romance, R rating, $62.2M box office, reviewed by Richard Corliss, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Variety Staff, Dan Fienberg, Nell Minow, Janet Maslin, Rene Jordan, Nicholas Bell, Mike Massie, David Nusair, Kathi Maio, Working Girl, New York City, receptionist, conniving boss, business tip, investment broker, major deal, injured leg, exact revenge, pretend to be boss, rise from secretary to Wall Street whiz, positive message, Carly Simon soundtrack, Let the River Run
Worldwide gross: $102,953,112
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $263,605,400
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 557
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 28,746,500
US/Canada gross: $63,779,477
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $163,303,607
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 469
US/Canada opening weekend: $4,718,485
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $12,081,404
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 894
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $28,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $71,692,357
Production budget ranking: 591
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $38,606,334
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $153,306,710
ROI to date (est.): 139%
ROI ranking: 802
Harrison Ford – Jack Trainer
Sigourney Weaver – Katharine Parker
Alec Baldwin – Mick Dugan
Joan Cusack – Cyn
Philip Bosco – Oren Trask
Director – Mike Nichols
Producer – Douglas Wick
Writer – Kevin Wade
Director(s)
Mike Nichols
Writer(s)
Kevin Wade
Producer(s)
Douglas Wick
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
9 wins & 17 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Original Song Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (45) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (38) | Rotten (7)
How will the working class be educated to survive and thrive in the computer age? This intoxicating movie has an answer: let her strut her outer-borough wisdom from Wall Street to the Pacific Rim. Watch her fatten portfolios as she melts hearts.
January 13, 2010
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Griffith’s talent, energy, and sexiness give it some drive and punch.
May 27, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Working Girl is enjoyable largely due to the fun of watching scrappy, sexy, unpredictable Melanie Griffith rise from Staten Island secretary to Wall Street whiz.
May 27, 2008
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Wait… Sigourney Weaver and Harrison Ford can be funny? And Melanie Griffith can act? Crazy!
September 10, 2005 | Rating: 4/5
Dan Fienberg
Zap2it.com
TOP CRITIC
June 30, 2004 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Movie Mom
TOP CRITIC
Working Girl, always fun even when at its most frivolous, has the benefit of the cinematographer Michael Ballhaus’s sharp visual sense of board room chic, and of supporting characters who help carry its class distinctions beyond simple caricature.
May 20, 2003 | Rating: 4/5
Janet Maslin
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
Elegant, sophisticated, frigid, and hot. A nostalgic reminder, between champaign and vision, of the fine delusions of Carey Grant, Irene Dunne, and Myrna Loy in the thirties. [Full review in Spanish]
June 15, 2022
Rene Jordan
El Nuevo Herald (Miami)
A buoyant, emotionally gratifying underdog story, one that manages to be touching despite any of its minor follies
October 29, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com
It never tries to be too dark, even though audiences will suspect an appropriately mature resolution for the setup.
September 8, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
… a fairly conventional setup that’s employed to predominantly entertaining effect by Nichols…
April 23, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Some would call that a happy ending. I’m not one of them.
September 5, 2019
Kathi Maio
Sojourner
Mike Nicols’s comedy is frothy, fast-moving and impeccably put together.
April 11, 2019
Hilary Mantel
The Spectator…
Plot
Tess McGill is a frustrated secretary, struggling to forge ahead in the world of big business in New York. She gets her chance when her boss breaks her leg on a skiing holiday. McGill takes advantage of her absence to push ahead with her career. She teams up with investment broker Jack Trainer to work on a big deal. The situation is complicated after the return of her boss.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for Working Girl.
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