Nine to Five

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.

Three miserable women (Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda) take it upon themselves to get back at their evil boss (Dabney Coleman) in this hilarious little film. Rat poison, crazy dream sequences and S&M-styled equipment are the main calling cards in this amazingly creative little comedy. Parton's title song is also strong and it received an Oscar nod in 1980. Impressive comedic fare. 4 stars out of 5.

I never saw 9 TO 5 when it played in the theaters but saw it soon after on video. I was like 14 years old back then and I remember enjoying the film very much, even if I didn't get all the misogynistic humor and women's lib stuff. Fast forward to 2006 and I decided to buy 9 TO 5 on DVD and see the fun again. After all, I haven't seen this one on TV in a LONG time and my local BLOCKBUSTER is sorely lacking a "classics" catalog. I knew in my mind that some of the movies you hold so dearly when you're a kid simply don't "cut it" when you see them all grown up. I am very pleased to say that 9 TO 5 has stood the test of time quite well and its "it's a corporate world" underpinnings couldn't be more appropriate now a days. The movie was cleverly written and directed and the humor develops naturally without looking forced or too acted out. It's the story of recently divorced Judy Bernly (Jane Fonda). Her ex husband ran away with his secretary and now Judy, ironically, finds a job being one. The company is called Consolidated Companies, which by the way, we never really know what they do or what they sell. We only know that it is a big company and that each floor of the high building is a "division". Frank Hart (played wonderfully by Dabney Coleman) is the villainous boss and head of the division. He is, as his right hand aide might put it, an "egotistical bigot". Hart's overwhelming tyranny makes his aide, Violet, to snap and with her go Judy and Dorlee (Dolly Parton), his voluptuous personal secretary. The trio spend the afternoon together drinking and smoking pot and jokingly thinking how each of them would "kill" their boss if they had the chance. The movie visualizes each of the secretary's outlandish fantasies and this part of the movie is one of the most entertaining and hilarious. Next day it's back to the real world and back to the daily grind. From here on each of the secretaries' fantasies take real form in some way or another making the movie even more fun. You'll have to see the rest to know what I mean. Despite being a 25 year old movie, 9 TO 5 stands the test of time perfectly, with only some of the cars and some of the clothing fashion looking a bit dated. It is a very well made, fast paced comedy that never bores. My wife loved it and she had never seen it before (she was barely a year when this came out!). 9* out of 10!!!

This has to be a true classic movie for anybody. Parton, Fonda, Tomlin play the three main characters set in a big business office block, "Consolidated". Dolly Parton is excellent, portraying the country girl, Jane Fonda as the divorced housewife's first job role, and Lily Tomlin as the bosses stepping stone. The film is full of one line crack jokes which can be missed on the first time you watch it. Do watch the movie a few times, and soon you'll pick up on how funny the lines are "Violet, did you get my Memo?", "I did Roz, I tore right through it".

Later in the film the plot is well underway and animation is combined successfully with Tomlin's scene of a Snow White type character!

I loved this film, and my laserdisc copy is always on the top of the pile. A good all rounder to be watched over and over, and I sometimes find myself using those punch lines.

Dolly Parton provides the "9 to 5" opening music, which sets the movie off to a good pace.

"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!