Wer ist Mr. Cutty?

Very funny. Very entertaining. Very well done movie. Excellent acting and a lot of fun. I enjoyed it. Whoopi Goldberg is perfect in the part of a financial analyst who seems to get no where in a man's world until she creates an maginary partner only to find that the imaginary partner--a man--is taking all the credit for her hard work. I thought the idea and the concept were imaginative and well done. Dianne Weist is perfect in her part as is Tim Daly. You know a movie is funny when Lanie Kazan is in it--remember her as Freida in the Nanny. I recommend The Associate for all. It's a family film as well and you will be glad you saw it!!!

I gave this movie a 10 not because it's perfect, not because it's the best movie I've seen, but because the way it made me feel when I watched it. I love Whoopi and she does a great job in this movie, as she does on any other movie she made. Her personality just shines. I used to think that "actors" can really learn any role and they can be whoever they were needed to be. But Whoopi fits this role perfectly. I couldn't have thought of a better actress to fit the character.

The movie is funny. The bad guy always gets it and it has a happy ending. Sounds a bit cliché, but isn't that how we all want it to end? This is a perfect screening for the stay-at-home moms or housewives.

Never having seen this film, we decided to take a chance with it. We were quite surprised to learn this Hollywood film is based on a French one, "L'associe", written for the screen by Jean Claude Carriere and based on Jenaro Prieto's novel "El Socio". Daniel Petrie, its director is working with Nick Thiel's adaptation, which appears to have been a vehicle for its star, Whoopi Goldberg.

Some comments have compared this movie with "Working Girl", a film that also dealt with a smart woman working in the financial world, one of the themes in "The Associate". We are introduced to an intelligent woman, Laurel Ayers, who happens to have three things going against her, she is black, a woman, and is intelligent enough to merit a promotion in the Wall Street firm she works for. Unfortunately, it comes as no surprise that Laurel is passed and her co-worker, Frank, gets the good job and becomes her boss.

The film is mildly funny, as Laurel goes to make a name for herself by creating a "silent" partner, Mr. Cutty, who is never seen. The financial world is all in a frenzy to meet him, and the hilarious appearance at the Plaza Hotel, instead of making things clear, contributes to his myth.

Ms. Goldberg is delightful to watch. Dianne Wiest makes an impressive appearance as the loyal Sally, who is an under appreciated woman. Timothy Daly is perfect as the egotistical Frank. The supporting cast is good. Bebe Neuwirth, Eli Wallach, Austin Pendelton, and a funny Lanie Kazan as a financial gossip writer.

While the film is predictable, it offers some funny moments.

For me, 'The Associate' makes a decent one-time watch. It starts on a promising note with a female black lawyer trying to make it in the man's world. However, at some point as the plot moves, it fails to engage and it's quite clear what will happen in the end. The point 'The Associate' tries to make is that woman can make it on top but it (perhaps unintentionally) presents the men under a negative light. Some of the male characters are presented as stereotypical chauvinists. There are some funny moments that bring a few chuckles but not much that would make one laugh out loud. The best scenes are the ones with Wiest and Goldberg together. Wiest is adorable as the sweet and smart Dugan and Goldberg is adequate as Ayres. However, Goldberg has played several such roles and done numerous similar movies before and even though she's very versatile, she hardly presents anything new in 'The Associate'. I would like to see more of her and Wiest in better movies.

THE ASSOCIATE ***1/2 Talented, competent executive Whoopi Goldberg decides to handle business her own way by starting her own Investments company after a nasty team player (Tim Daly) steals her job promotion. The story quickly makes us sympathetic disbelievers in Goldberg's success, however, as female discrimination hinders her from getting clients. What she plans on doing is nothing short of unlikely and strangely entertaining: Making up a wholly fictitious male associate and pretend all of her ideas are his. Her bond with Dianne Wiest, an endearing secretary who eventually starts working for her, enriches their characters as Goldberg finesses between managing her coming-of-renown business now that there is a "man" in charge of the whole thing, and dealing with the anti-feminist preferences of the Investments/Marketing business. When the third act is reached, the star actually has to impersonate the man she has made up...which makes for one of the funniest scenes when sexy stock-broker Bebe Neuwirth tries to seduce "him." Lots of fun.