This movie popped up on Netflix and having both Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver (as well as a brief showing by my favorite actor, Kevin Spacey), it pretty much became a must-see movie for me. I did read a few summaries and the general consensus made it seem as though this movie would be fairly interesting. However, I have other feelings for this movie that I would like to share.
I suppose this is a movie that you could consider dated due to it being filmed in 1989. The clothing and hairstyles (as well as the obvious Twin Towers in New York) give this movie a heavily antiquated feeling, especially the older office environment of what looks like a securities house. So I had to keep these things in mind while watching this movie as well as possible cultural norms that were accepted around this time.
The movie seems to want to elevate women’s status in the workplace, which was evolving heavily (and still is). But for me, the biggest issue is the main character played by Melanie Griffith (Tess McGill). I had a real difficult time accepting her and the character made the movie VERY difficult to watch at times.
Part of the issue with Tess was that she’s too embedded as an artifact of the time. Her New York accent, the poofy hair, 80s clothes and make up made the character very hard to accept. I realize that part of the social commentary might have been about her gradual transformation from that ditzy appearing blonde bombshell into a professional type. At the same time, I felt that so much emphasis was placed on her superficial appearance that any message about women being elevated in the work place was lost in that. Also, her accent did not make her sound intelligent and actually quite annoying. I don’t know if that was done on purpose but it did little to help sympathy for the character (at least from me).
Another problem about the character and message of the movie was how the boss of a competing firm admired Tess’ “win-at-all-cost” attitude. She was forced to pull her own unethical moves to raise herself in the workplace. Part of that was influenced by Katherine Parker (Sigourney Weaver), which essentially validates poor ethics in business. At the end of the movie, Tess comments that at the top, people can get away with anything. But at the bottom, you have to deal anything to get to the top. Is this a positive message to send to anyone? For me it really disturbed me.
The other major issue I had with Tess was just the whole material outlook of what she seemed to value at the end of the movie. She wants the dedicated private office overlooking the city with her own personal secretary and lofty ideals of handling business. And we see her just prior to that with Jack Trainer as a couple doing idealistic couple things (sharing coffee, making preparations prior to work). Again, there’s an incredible amount of superficiality with what the movie seems to designate as being important in the images of contemporary life.
Now, maybe it’s the Sigourney Weaver fan in me, but I never really felt animosity towards her character. She plays someone I would probably respect if I met her. Charismatic, confident, well spoken, intelligent and savvy. On top of that, she doesn’t really treat Tess all that bad considering that Tess was her secretary. Essentially, she gives Tess a variety of chances but Tess becomes overly ambitious to the point where she feels she supersedes her status above Katherine. My real problem is not with her mind (which I’ll admit that she does show sparks here and there of brightness), but the fact that she really doesn’t earn what she gets. She just takes things by whim. Again, that’s probably Katherine’s fault in terms of providing negative influence. And I understand that at that time, as a woman, you probably had to kick, claw and scratch to get your power in that type of environment. Nonetheless, it still rubs me the wrong way because it sets a future precedent about how things ought to be handled.
As far as performances go, Sigourney Weaver for me was a joy to watch. Of everyone, she was my favorite in the show just because of how she protrudes that lady boss character. I really enjoyed her interactions with Harrison Ford, even if they were brief. It’s a sort of Alien(s) meets Star Wars hidden fandom that thrills me in seeing both stars interact on screen. In the case of Harrison Ford, it felt awkward watching him at times. Maybe it was the source material but it periodically seemed he would stumble over his lines or that his heart wasn’t 100% into the role. But it really wasn’t his best effort as far as I’m concerned. And Kevin Spacey always manages to steal scenes. It’s a pity that he didn’t have more scenes in the movie since he really pushes a role no matter what it is.
Overall, I find it amazing that Melanie Griffith was praised for her work here. Maybe it was the period where people felt more sympathy towards that type of character. But the character itself is just too dated and falls flat. Sigourney Weaver though remains timeless and for me at least remained the only real bright spot in the movie. The script just plodded along too much for my taste with the silly romance subplots that did nothing to endeavor me towards Tess. I felt she just was too bratty at times and any actual intelligence she possessed was killed off through bad costumes and her accent.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.