9 to 5 1980
9 to 5 was a big deal when it came out, finishing third at the 1981 box office. The song by Dolly Parton was also a big hit on radio. Still, I never saw the movie, but picked it out from someone’s collection using a Screen Pass. It is a pretty silly movie. It feels a little like a sitcom episode with all of the usual office world clichés and the philandering boss who takes credit for the work of his underlings. There is a good part in the middle at the hospital and then the last third is almost painful as the women wait for evidence to pin on the boss while the audience waits for there to be any point to the movie at all. I think the movie means well, but the message is pretty basic and the comedy just doesn’t work that well. The cast is good and Dabney Coleman is perfect as the jerk of a boss, but the writing and probably the directing is terrible. It may have benefitted from being topical at the time while women were making strides in getting equality at the workplace, but there is very little to make this a good watch now.
Written: 10 Jul 2022