'9 to 5' Turns 35, and It's Still Radical Today

[marmar]

from Rolling Stone:


'9 to 5' Turns 35, and It's Still Radical Today
A generation after '9 to 5,' screenwriter Patricia Resnick reflects on sexism in Hollywood and how most Americans would kill to work 9-to-5 today




December 19th marks 35 years since the release of 9 to 5, the cult comedy that brought together Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin with Dolly Parton in her film debut as Miss Doralee Rhodes, a kind-hearted secretary who fantasizes about lassoing her "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" boss and roasting him on a spit.

Tomlin stars as Violet Newstead, a working widow and mother of four who's passed over for promotions despite her obvious qualifications. The project was conceived of by Jane Fonda, who was inspired by the work of Karen Nussbaum, an old friend from the anti-war movement and founder of 9to5, an organization still in the business of advocating for working women. Fonda cast herself as the uncharacteristically mousy Judy Bernly, a nervous divorcee who can't figure out who she is, never mind how to run the copy machine. Sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot boss Franklin Hart Jr. is played to smarmy mustachioed perfection by Dabney Coleman.

The plot of 9 to 5 feels nothing short of radical, even (and perhaps especially) today. Mr. Hart spends his days harassing Doralee by telling her she's much more to him than "just a dumb secretary." He lies about sleeping with her, and purposefully knocks pencils on the floor so she'll lean over and pick them up. He insults Judy, and bullies Violet by demanding she fix his coffee. After learning she lost out on a promotion to a man she trained, Violet confronts Mr. Hart. "Spare me the women's lib crap," he replies.

Mr. Hart is soon made to pay. After a coworker gets canned for comparing salaries — technically a protected activity since the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 — Violet, Judy and Dolly head to the bar to drown their sorrows in birdbath-sized martinis, smoke a joint and spin revenge fantasies about their boss. The next day, Violet accidentally stirs rat poison into Mr. Hart's coffee. Hijinks ensue, and eventually they kidnap him. ....................(more)

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/9-to-5-turns-35-and-its-still-radical-today-20151218#ixzz3umrtlIMw

[yeoman6987]

1. That's amazing it's 35 years old.

[valerief]

2. I remember actually working 9 to 5 decades ago.

A person could afford to live in or near the city (where the jobs were) and take public transportation to and from work.

In the 80s, I worked for a startup and got into crazy hours, but in the 90s, I had to buckle down to regular hours and found that 40 hours a week was no longer the norm. It got even worse in the aughts.

Now, I'm old and not employed. But I remember 9 to 5 and subways and being home by 6:30 pm. That's inconceivable today.

[Cal Carpenter]

3. It really is, and it stands the test of time

I happened to re-watch it a few months back (I think it was on Netflix streaming or something) and expected it to be so dated and cheesy like most 80s movies are when I see them now. But aside from some hair and clothes being kinda hilariously retro, the movie overall was still so relevant and hilarious and dark and well-done. And the chemistry, comic timing, etc between the actors is excellent. I loved it.

But it's also a reminder of how far we haven't come. Sigh.

[bigwillq]

4. Such a great movie (nt)

[niyad]

5. just watched it again a few weeks ago. still love it, still completely relevant.