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I can't help but think that if some of the folks churning out the bad-ass "girl power" nonsense of the naughties were to look back at films like this; they might see a clear demonstration of what real girl power actually is... Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton are three working women at various stages of the corporate food chain - presided over by their womanising , parasitic boss Dabney Coleman. Initially suspicious of each other, they unite over some of Tomlin's teenage son's weed and decide to take matters into their own hands. What follows is at times a laugh-out-loud comedy as they manipulate and reek revenge on their hapless, helpless boss. It could never be called subtle, but it does illustrate clearly that wits and guile are more than enough to achieve their aims without the need for long fight scenes; flashing their flesh and/or continuous bad language. The title song isn't bad, ether...

From the sparkling acting debut of Dolly Parton to the comic genius of Dabney Coleman 9 to 5 is one of the best acted comedies of the 1980s. Jane Fonda and the brilliant Lilly Tomlin round out the lead cast with hilarious performances in this screwball revenge comedies that was one of the first films to champion "girl power". Even the smaller characters like Marien Mercer (as Missy Hart)and Elizabeth Wilson (as office snitch/bitch Roz)get in good one liners and laughs. Rent this movie. No wait - BUY this movie. You can watch it again and again.

I'll take the blame for this: not only am I forty years late to the party, but I'd also underestimated the star power of Dolly Parton; a natural performer who's integral to the success of this movie. On its own, 9 to 5 is a decent comedy, led by the more-than-capable Lily Tomlin, but Parton infuses her scenes with a bubbly independence that really helps sell the feminist message. Dabney Coleman is the consummate company sleaze, the tinpot schemer helming this faceless conglomerate; ideal for the target of such a workplace revenge fantasy.

In less capable hands, this may have fallen flat. But I enjoyed myself and have a newfound (overdye) reverence for The Queen of Nashville.

"Nine To Five" is one of those classic 80s comedies which was what made the decade so fun as far as movies go. Jane Fonda plays Judy, a recently divorced housewife who lands a secretarial job at a corporate office. Lily Tomlin is Violet, the beleagured supervisor at the office who shows Judy the ropes on her disasterous first day. Dolly Parton is Doralee, a secretary whom everyone at the office thinks is using her - ahem - "assets" to get ahead by sleeping with the boss.

Soon these three become best friends and team up after they've gotten fed up with their chauvinistic and smarmy boss Mr. Hart, played to the hilt by Dabney Coleman. Sure, it does delve into zany corniness, such as the scene where they all get high on pot and share their fantasies about how each of them would like to knock off the boss (the funniest is Violet's "Snow White" coffee one, which uses cartoon animation and live action) or the scene where Violet thinks she accidentally poisoned Mr. Hart's coffee with rat poison and tries to steal his supposed dead corpse out of the hospital! This is the kind of movie where you check your brain at the door and take it for what it is.

There are some great one-liners like the one where Fonda tells her ex-husband, who thinks she's having a kinky S&M affair with Mr. Hart, something along the lines of, "If I want to do M&M's, that's fine with me!" The office they work in is reminiscent of the one in "The Apartment". Three very clever characters, great comedic acting from Parton as Doralee and Tomlin as Violet. Jane Fonda, who I never cared much for, was good as the naive Judy. Sterling Hayden has a great cameo at the end as the "Chairman of the Board". A funny revenge comedy about Every Office, U.S.A.. You gotta love the theme song, too. Most recommended!

"9 to 5" is a very funny movie. This is not a comedy of clever and funny dialog. And, it's only somewhat situational. But it's from the situations that it turns into one very hilarious romp. Three ladies at Consolidated have had their fill of their sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical, bigot of a boss. He may think he's hot stuff, but he's no match for Violet, Doralee and Judy.

Of course, for the comedy to work in their getting even with Franklin Hart, he has to be a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical, bigot of a boss that no one in the audience could like but would like to see the girls, er, ladies get even with. And Dabney Coleman is such a boss. He plays the part perfectly. And so do Lily Tomlin, dolly Parton and Jane Fonda play theirs superbly.

This is just a fun movie to watch. Even during the obvious moves by Hart early in the film, because one knows that he will one day get his. One of the aspects that makes this film work well, is that the ladies have fun when they coop up Hart and run the business on his floor in his absence. Rather than their gloating over his captivity, they are still humane and very human and enjoying every minute of their great coup.

The ending is very good. One might have suspected that all the changes the ladies put in place might come back to Hart's credit, but then when the chairman of the board gets in the act, the ladies - and everyone else gets their reward. The funny credits at the end are a fitting close to this entertaining flick.