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Parents' Guide to

Working Girl

By Heather Boerner, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Sexed-up '80s corporate tale with stellar cast.

Movie R 1988 115 minutes
Working Girl Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 14+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Alice H.
Alice H. Adult
May 21, 2017
age 14+

Working Girl - a romance with a good moral.

Melanie Griffiths plays Tess, a secretary who just can't hold a job, most recently after giving her misogynistic boss a telling off. She gets a new job where she finds her boss is a woman her age who promises that their working relationship will be one of positivity and growth. On her birthday ski trip, her boss breaks her leg leaving Tess to her own devices. Tess discovers the supposed godsend of a boss was planning to steal her idea. Tess sets out to claim what is hers using her knowledge of the world around her and falls in love along the way. Warning: Minor nudity throughout. Time stamps: intersexism/cissexism 11 minutes in, infidelity and graphic sex/nudity 29 minutes in, misogynistic compliment 35 minutes in
Unknown Agent
Unknown Agent Adult
November 17, 2015
age 15+

Good

Some Nudity
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Staten Island-raised working-class woman Tess (Melanie Griffith) is determined to put her brilliant business mind to work. She tells a personnel director (Olympia Dukakis), "It took me five years of night school, but I got my degree and I got it with honors. I know I could do a job." But no one will seem to let her, from her sexist stockbroker boss who pimps her out under the guise of work promotions to the female boss who tells her they're equals but stabs her in the back. When her latest boss, Katharine (Sigourney Weaver) steals her idea for a corporate merger, Tess gets her revenge. Taking advantage of her Katharine's absence, she masquerades as her corporate equal and starts to broker the deal herself. But can she really do what she's been telling people she can do? And can she deal with the strong attraction she has to her acquisition partner (Harrison Ford)?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (5 ):

WORKING GIRL is a screwball comedy filled with terrific performances. There are some iconic lines in the film: "I have a mind for business and a bod for sin," Tess tells Jack upon first meeting; Cyn (Joan Cusack) yelps at seeing the price of a dress Tess is stealing from Katharine, "Six thousand dollars?!? It's not even leather!" The laughs are there, but for the right mature audience that can handle all the sexual content and the questionable ethics.

Today's teens will probably look at Working Girl as an artifact from our ratted hair and shoulderpad past, complete with unironic mullets and really high-waisted pants. But it's also an artifact of the greedy '80s, told with enough humor and gentle spirit from star Melanie Griffith to make it a kinder, gentler Wall Street.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the ethics questions this film brings up. Is it ever OK to pretend to be someone you're not to get what you want? What about lying to people and stealing their ideas? How are humor and over-the-top characters used to lampoon this greedy era?

Movie Details

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