User Reviews

On the first day of the secretary Judy Bernly (Jane Fonda) at the Consolidated Companies, the senior office supervisor Violet Newstead (Lily Tomlin) is in charge to introduce her to the coworkers. Judy was a housewife that has never worked but after her recent divorce, she is forced to find a job. Violet explains that their boss Franklin Hart Jr. (Dabney Coleman) is a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot and his secretary Doralee Rhodes (Dolly Parton) is his mistress. When Violet develops a method to increase the profit of the company, the opportunist Franklin backstabs Violet and presents the wok as if he had made it. Later the chauvinist Franklin does not promote Violet. He also spreads rumors about Doralee and mistreats Judy. When Violet accidentally put rat poison in Franklin´s coffee, he has an accident with his chair, hits his head on the floor, loses consciousness and drops his coffee on the floor. He goes to the hospital and Violet and her friends believe he had died. When Franklin returns to the office, his snitch learns what happened and he blackmails the secretaries that kidnap him. Now Violet administrates the office with Judy and Doralee and they discover that Franklin is stealing Consolidated Companies. How can they prove?

"Nine to Five" is one of the best comedies ever. The timeless story is still very funny thirty-eight years after the release in 1980. Lily Tomlin is one of the best comedians of Hollywood and she shines in this comedy. Jane Fonda is also very funny in the role of an uptight woman recently divorced. The country singer Dolly Parton is the great surprise with a good performance. Dabney Coleman is also great in the role of the chauvinist Franklin Hart Jr. The fantasies of the women of how they would like to kill their boss is one of the greatest moment of this film. The conclusion with Franklin sent of the jungle in Amazon is delightful. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Como Eliminar Seu Chefe" ("How to Get Rid of Your Boss")

I think "Nine to Five" probably resonates more with people of my generation and earlier than it would with kids today--though its appeal still is timeless. I watched the film with my teen, and she laughed her head off at the antics of the film so much that now she wants to go see the play.

Let me digress a bit and say that the quality of this film says a lot to me personally, as I am NOT a fan of Jane Fonda (you may well guess why) yet I heartily recommend the film. Plus, whatever my feelings about the actress and her politics, she did do a good job in the film.

The plot is probably very familiar to most of you, so I won't explore it in any detail. Suffice to say that the boss is an evil sexist pig and three women in his office decide to pay him back for his dastardly ways. Had this just been a film about sexism, it might have come off as preachy. Instead, as it's a rather clever comedy, it seems less preachy and just fun--and still makes its point. My favorite parts are the fantasy sequences (especially the Snow White-inspired one) and I must admit that while it's a wonderful film, it does slow down a lot after Dabney Coleman's character is kidnapped. Still, overall it's a very good film for the whole family that is excellent in every way...and an interesting little time capsule at that.

"Nine to Five" was and still is a good-hearted and slightly dark comedy that will win a place in film history as the debut movie of Dolly Parton. She seemed to be a natural on screen as she basically commands attention from the get go, with her easy yet strong acting style. Partially herself and part her character.

She truly holds her own with comic actress Lily Tomlin and certainly alongside Jane Fonda, who as we know, comes from a very well known acting family.

Fonda is comically brilliant as Judy, who recently divorced is now in the working world for the first time and is very unsure of herself and lacks confidence and is a bit of a pushover. Her scene with the copying machine (Xerox) is a classic.

By the middle of the film, the beginnings of her transformation are well underway, especially dealing with her ex husband, who treated her like a child most of the time.

Tomlin and Violet, is the strongest in the office and has the longest tenure, still gets treated like a 2nd class waitress. Boss Franklin Hart always demanding she get him coffee or take care of his errands.

Still. She does all of the important work for the company and he takes every bit of the credit for himself and does not reward her in any way. She has a son she is trying to raise as well.

"Nine to Five" itself , an office comedy that was filmed in 1979 / 1980 (long before people would have computers or cell phones at their desks, instead of typewriters.) It's just simply very funny, its fantasy sequences are amusing, I liked them.

Tomlin as a nice but naughty Snow White out tp poison Mr. Hart (Dabney Coleman) , Fonda as a big game hunter, who with office staff, are out to take down the boss and then Parton's fantasy of making Franklin Hart the sexually put upon secretary and she the sexist boss.

Dolly Parton contains so much energy and natural exuberance that she was actually able to get audiences to forget about 'her measurements' and recognize her personality. Back at the time of this film, she was a deservedly applauded country superstar (and still is) but many could't look past her 'figure' ..."Nine to Five" changed that.

It's about improbable events happening to these people but It also has a dash of social commentary. That's still important today. Being an employee should not mean you have to be 'at the mercy' of those in charge. Certainly the sexual harassment noted here is something that changed greatly in the years after.

The message in this case has, to do with women's liberation and, specifically, with the role of women in large corporate offices. Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton all work in the same office.

Tomlin is the efficient office manager. Fonda is the newcomer, Parton the kind boss's secretary, nut everybody in the office thinks she's having an affair with the boss. So the other women won't speak to her.

The villain is the boss himself. Played terrifically by Dabney Coleman he's a self-righteous, sexist, racist, arrogant & marrried man lusting after Doralee. She's having none of it!

The three of them have great reasons to hate Franklin Hart (actually the whole office does too.) They team up to take him down.

After the movie introduces new ideas then, like day care, staggered work hours, equal pay, merit promotion), The plot twist becomes that the ladies have found out about the crooked schemes of Mr. Hart...which lead to a plot to get him out of the way, this involving his wife being away for weeks on a vacation.

I wont give away any more after that but as one who saw this in December of 1980 and then in January 1981 at the movies and many times since over the years....

It's always worth a good simple laugh and don't let the somewhat darker aspects throw you, no one dies in this movie, but justice for the Women's Liberation of the era, does get served in a very funny way. This is deliberately a lightweight film, despite its coverage of social issues. We're simply meant to enjoy it.

Here's to being very glad times have changed in office workplaces, here's to Dabney Coleman's wonderful villain and here's to the 3 delightful ladies of 'Nine To Five".

9 out of 10 rating.

( * Body snatching from the hospital put me off a bit. * )