Working Girl is a 1988 American romantic comedy drama film directed by Mike Nichols, written by Kevin Wade, and starring Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Cusack, and Melanie Griffith.
The secretary, who has been going to business night school, pitches a profitable idea, only to have her new boss attempt to take credit.
[4] The film was met with critical acclaim, and was a major box office success, grossing a worldwide total of $103 million.
[6] Tess McGill is a working-class woman from Staten Island who dreams of climbing the corporate ladder to an executive position.
Tess then lands a job as an administrative assistant to Katharine Parker, a young associate in Mergers and Acquisitions.
While there, Tess discovers meeting notes that reveal Katharine plans to pass off the Trask Industries idea as her own.
With her boss away, Tess decides to use Katharine's connections and clothes to move ahead with her merger plans.
With the help of her friend Cyn, Tess cuts her hair and borrows Katherine's stylish clothing to look more professional.
The night before, she attends a dinner on Katharine's behalf, hosted by Trainer's firm in an attempt to say hello prior to their meeting.
Tess eventually leaves and he follows, taking her back to his apartment after she passes out in a cab from a combination of Valium and alcohol.
Tess leaves early the next morning, believing them to have slept together, to attend her meeting with Trainer and is surprised to see he is the man from the previous night.
Although Tess lacks confidence during the meeting with Trainer and his associates and leaves thinking it was a failure, Jack soon arrives at her office, telling her they did not sleep together and that he wants to move forward with her idea.
However, Tess is tempted to confess the truth about the idea's origins, but she demurs after discovering Jack is also involved with Katharine, whom he planned to break up with before her injury.
Katharine returns home on the day of the merger meeting, and while Tess is helping her get settled, Katharine brings up the Trask merger, saying she was intending to take it to Jack and give Tess credit eventually, but was restricted due to Jack's strict ethical code preventing him from looking at other's work without verifying the source after being accused of stealing himself.
Screenwriter Kevin Wade was inspired to write the screenplay after visiting New York City in 1984 and witnessing throngs of career women walking through the streets in tennis shoes while carrying their high-heels.
[7] Melanie Griffith read the screenplay for Working Girl over a year before the production began, and expressed interest in playing the role of Tess McGill.
"[8] Nichols was so determined for Griffith to have the part that he threatened to drop out of the production if the studio, 20th Century Fox, would not hire her.
"[10] After Nichols realized that Griffith had arrived on set high on cocaine, the shoot was temporarily shut down for 24 hours.
[11]Three weeks after filming was completed, Griffith entered a rehabilitation facility to receive treatment for her addiction.
[26] In her review for the Washington Post, Rita Kempley described Melanie Griffith as "luminous as Marilyn Monroe, as adorable as one of Disney's singing mice.
[28] In his review for Time, Richard Corliss wrote, "Kevin Wade shows this in his smart screenplay, which is full of the atmospheric pressures that allow stars to collide.