9 to 5 (1980) 20th Century Fox/Comedy RT: 109 minutes Rated PG (language, comic violence, sexual references, drug and alcohol use) Director: Colin Higgins Screenplay: Patricia Resnick and Colin Higgins Music: Charles Fox Cinematography: Reynaldo Villalobos Release date: December 19, 1980 (US) Starring: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, Dabney Coleman, Sterling Hayden, Elizabeth Wilson, Henry Jones, Lawrence Pressman, Marian Mercer, Ren Woods, Norma Donaldson, Roxanna Bonilla-Giannini, Peggy Pope, Richard Stahl, Ray Vitte. Box Office: $103.3M (US)
Rating: ****
The year was 1980. Ronald Reagan had just been elected President of the United States and the feminist movement was as strong as ever. One of the hot-button topics at the time was the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment). Women were entering the workplace in droves and demanding equal salaries in typically male-dominated environments. One of the first movies to approach this subject was 9 to 5, a hilarious comedy set in a large office run by Franklin J. Hart (Coleman, Tootsie), a “sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot” according to the women who work for him. He’s the kind of boss that literally chases his secretary around his desk. Don’t worry, his day of reckoning is coming.
Newly divorced Judy Bernly (Fonda, Coming Home), working for the first time in her life, gets hired as a secretary at Consolidated Companies. Violet Newstead (Tomlin, Nashville), a widow with four children and Hart’s senior office supervisor, shows Judy the ropes and fills her in on the rules of the office. The most important rule is that salaries are NEVER discussed; it’s a rather touchy subject at Consolidated. She introduces Judy to Hart’s personal secretary Doralee Rhodes (country singer Parton) who everybody believes is having an affair with the boss. He makes the ladies’ lives a living hell. The last straw is when he screws Violet over by giving a promotion he promised her to a man. When Doralee hears the rumor about their affair, she tells him off in a grand way. Judy gets miffed when Hart fires an employee based on information from office snitch Roz (Wilson, The Believers).
The ladies get together and smoke a joint while describing their own fantasy scenarios about killing Hart. They’re vivid and hilarious, the best one being Violet’s animated Disney scenario where she imagines herself as Snow White. Of course, it’s all talk; they wouldn’t actually do it. Or would they? Let’s just say a mix-up between similar looking boxes of sugar substitute and rat poison leads to a hilarious chain of events that results in the girls holding Hart prisoner in his own home. Strangely enough, work is a better place without him.
Although I‘m sure that many of you have seen 9 to 5 at least once in your life, I won’t say anything else about what happens. What I will say is that it became the ultimate female empowerment movie. Even though it’s a comedy, it makes a bold statement about gender politics in the workplace. It touches on other important issues as well- e.g. office day care, staggered hours and, of course, equal pay. At the same time, it’s good-natured and pleasant entertainment in the style of 30s/40s screwball comedies. Sure, it’s extremely far-fetched but who says plausibility is a key ingredient in movie comedy? I saw 9 to 5 when I was 13 and staring my career as regular moviegoer. I never laughed so hard in my life. I still love it. It’s a crazy movie!
It also succeeds because of great performances all around. Coleman is perfect as the rotten, back-stabbing boss who treats women like servants and sex objects. These days, a boss like this would be neck-deep in sexual harassment lawsuits. The three female leads have wonderful chemistry. Parton, in her film debut, shows her acting talents are proportional to her musical abilities, BRILLIANT! She’s the movie’s true life force. While her ample cleavage is used for comedic purposes, writer-director Colin Higgins (Foul Play) doesn’t go overboard with boob jokes. Fonda is great as a woman in transition from housewife to strong independent woman. She doesn’t want a man running her life again, especially not a cretin like Hart. Tomlin, one of the funniest ladies in the industry, is equally great as the efficient office supervisor who really deserves to be the boss. She’s a real asset to the cast. Interestingly, I saw her in The Incredible Shrinking Woman a week later and loved her in it too. Wilson is great as Roz and I think it’s safe to say we’ve all known a Roz at one point. Anybody who has ever worked in an office has come across her type before. She’s an obnoxious, two-faced, sneaky pain in the ass who’s a stickler for the rules of the office. Hayden (The Asphalt Jungle) shows up as Russell Tinsworthy, the Chairman of the Board, who makes a surprise visit to the office near the end of the movie.
9 to 5 is one of the funniest movies that I’ve ever seen even if it is dated. Things have changed so much over the years in regards to women in the workplace. Images of bosses chasing their secretaries aren’t a joke anymore. In many places, it’s a fireable offense. In that respect, 9 to 5 acts as a filmed document of the point in 20th century history when the tide of gender politics began to change. It’s social commentary served in the guise of screwball comedy. Higgins balances the two like a pro. Either way, it’s GREAT!
