Pig Frank Hart is. He abuses the women who work with him in the most heinous ways. When his three assistants catch him in his own home, their productivity soars as they take over the department. But how long can they keep Hart imprisoned?
Nine to Five (1980) Movie Review
The Vietnam veteran drama Coming Home (1978), the nuclear meltdown thriller The China Syndrome (1979), and this comedy, which highlighted the gender inequality plaguing American workplaces, were all produced by Jane Fonda, who accomplished the remarkable feat of fusing her acting and activism throughout the late ’70s.
Comparing Nine to Five to its predecessors in Fonda’s producing oeuvre, it may appear lighthearted at first, but handling the issue with humour turned out to be a wise choice because it garnered a large audience. Nine to Five became somewhat of a modern classic after grossing more than $100 million domestically at a period when that was still an exceptional feat. The image also served as the inspiration for a 2009 Broadway musical in addition to an intermittent 1982–1988 TV series.
The film is cowritten and directed by Colin Higgins, who improved a previous script by Patricia Resnick. It is set in a middle-management division of the fictional company Consolidated Companies. Franklin Hart Jr. (Dabney Coleman), the department’s supervisor, is accurately described by his female subordinates as a “sexist, arrogant, dishonest, hypocritical bigot.” Hart gains the hatred of the film’s three main characters, Judy Bernly (Fonda), Violet Newstead (Lily Tomlin), and Doralee Rhodes, throughout the first act (Dolly Parton). Judy is a new employee at Consolidated, and Franklin criticises her for being incompetent, despite the fact that this is the recent divorcee’s first work.
He snatches Violet’s work products and prevents her from getting the promotion she deserves. He also makes sexual advances on the attractive Doralee while spreading untrue tales about their extramarital affairs to enhance his macho image. The women discuss dreams of retaliation one evening while imbibing in alcohol, which Higgins presents as complex dream sequences. Then there’s a ridiculous showdown when Violent (mistakenly) thinks she’s poisoned Franklin.
After a few unexpected turns in the story, the women find themselves imprisoning Franklin inside his own home while trying to collect information that will catch him and clear them of suspicion.
Higgins had a special talent for composing comedies with Swiss-watch plotlines, as he showed with the ’70s classics Foul Play and Silver Streak. Although Nine to Five is unrealistic and ridiculous, the plot is well thought out. The story ultimately serves as a vehicle for the message that Nine to Five is a fairy tale for female professionals.
In a return to the light comedy she starred in many of her early movies, Fonda uses her performance to tell a tale about self-actualization while delegating the more prominent parts to her co-stars. Parton’s southern charm nearly steals the show, Tomlin roots the movie with his deadpan humour, and Coleman makes a terrific cartoonish villain. Despite its sociopolitical weight, Nine to Five always maintains a friendly and laid-back tone. Nine to Five is a sweet-toothed rallying cry, much like the theme song that Parton penned and recorded while it was being made and later went on to become a No. 1 pop hit.
