"9 to 5" (1980)

for me it was just the opposite. I watched it a few years ago, decades after I saw it the first time. I had forgotten how funny it is.

I saw this movie with friends when it came out too. It was just one more in a long line of movie disappointments. I didn't think it was all that that funny. It was just way too over the top. And even 45 years ago, its premise seemed dated.

It's a product of its time, but Lily, Jane, and Dolly had great chemistry. Yes, the movie stalls a bit in its third act, but the entire body snatching scenario is still hilarious. To this day, I laugh out loud when Dolly peeks out from behind the open car trunk and says, "Judy, could you come back here a second?"

Snappy dialogue and the cast was excellent.

R2 Exactly. I kept waiting for 'the funny' to happen, and it never did. It was comedy lite.

"Let's be '9 to 5'"

[Quote] I'm not sure why this is considered one of the greatest comedies of all time (according to various lists).

What list are those OP? I'm not aware that this film or Private Benjamin are considered one of the greatest comedies of all time by anyone.

I saw it when it first came out, too. I've never had the slightest desire to see it again. I'm sure I laughed a bit when I watched it but as others have said, it was just too over the top. I wasn't a big fan of Private Benjamin either but I have watched that one again since I first saw it when it came out.

People who don't find "9 to 5" funny are dead inside.

"I've killed the boss. You don't think I'm gonna got fired for a thing like that."

9 to 5l is one of my all-time favorite movies. Seriously, you need to turn in your gay card if you don't like it.

Jennifer Aniston is reportedly eyeing to cast Ariana Grande, Zendaya & Sydney Sweeney for a ‘9 to 5’ remake.

Aniston is also set to star in the film as well as producing the remake.

"Oh my god, I'm a murderer."

"Violet, you're not a murderer."

"I'm a murderess."

I'd say we're a pretty happy bunch.

BonJOUR, BONjour… BONJOUR!

[quote] Jennifer Aniston is reportedly eyeing to cast Ariana Grande, Zendaya & Sydney Sweeney for a ‘9 to 5’ remake.

Let me guess: Sydney as Dolly, Zendaya as Lily and Ariana as Jane.

Holy merde!

Holy merde!

What was Roz's job title? I can't remember. Was she the office manager?

A lot of the acclaim was for the women in the workplace scenario, standing up to a sexist boss, female friendship etc. moreso than the comedy. Probably one of the first to take career women seriously and go beneath the “office slut”, etc stereotypes.

"Thanks, Roz, I know just where to stick it."

She was Franklin Hart’s Executive Assistant.

Thanks r21. What was Dora Lee's job title?

She was his secretary.

It's a perfect movie. Better than Tootsie as an example of story structure

9 to 5 after a while feels like an extended sitcom. The fantasies of the 3 after smoking pot are silly. Likewise Private Benjamin stops being fun after she moves to France.

I love the theme song. Dolly did a good job capturing what the film was about. Shame it came out the same year as "Fame." The song deserved an Oscar though I am glad Fame one. It's iconic.

Hey Vera, we got another stiff in the john

I love when Dolly tries to smother Dabney in her tits.

"That's right, I'm a doctor. What am I talking to you for? Piss off!"

"Yes, I'm a doctor. What did you think I was, a beautician?"

the fact that OP said they "recorded it off TCM" made me discount the entire thread

"If I want to play S&S and M&M and all those other bondage games, or even smoke pot, that's my business!"

I loved that movie so much as a kid. I probably saw it 200 times when it was on cable. It seemed like that played along with The Incredible Shrinking Woman (another one of my favorites) on a constant loop back then. I rarely watch a movie twice as an adult.

I'm with you, OP. We're the same age. It's funny, but not all that. R3 is correct. The body snatching is quite funny.

There was a reason why I wanted to see the movie when it came out. I had figured out I was gay, and I had also discovered I like guys tied up and gagged. The scenes with Dabney Coleman all trussed up had me fixated. Good one, though OP...he was a Poor Man's Burt Reynolds.

Coleman was good in "Buffalo Bill" a few years later.

R7 From IMDB Trivia:

"This picture ranks seventy-fourth on the American Film Institute's list of "America's 100 Funniest Movies." When released in the United States of America and Canada, it was in the top three movies."

"The movie became a blockbuster and a cult hit as well, and is now known as one of the funniest movies ever made."

"One of the most popular sub-genres in Hollywood is the workplace comedy. Colin Higgins's 9 to 5 (1980) is considered one of the absolute best and is still highly regarded today as a landmark feminist film."

Every time I have some copy machine malfunction, I picture the scene with Jane Fonda. And the hat

Fonda was the one who wanted this film made, and handpicked Tomlin and Parton for their respective roles (even though Parton never acted in anything before). She just knew Parton would be perfect (and she was).

She had a back-up plan, though. If Tomlin said no, she had Carol Burnett to take the role as Violet. And if Parton said no, she had Ann Margaret lined up to play Doralee. I think those two would've been just as funny.

R31 Sure, Jan.

R35 For a top 100 comedy it has an unimpressive 58 Metascore and a 69% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Time Out London

Despite an excellent and promising cast, this Hollywood attempt at a mainstream feminist comedy is flabby and bland...Complacent, and even worse, not very funny, despite the efforts of the ever-excellent Tomlin.

The New York Times Vincent Canby

The three actresses make an attractive team, but neither the screenplay, by Colin Higgins and Patricia Resnick, nor the director, Mr. Higgins, uses them very effectively. It's clearly a movie that began as someone's bright idea, which then went into production before anyone had time to give it a well-defined personality.

Washington Post

For all the trouble taken, Nine to Five comes out as a very ordinary situation comedy about three bubble heads seeking revenge on a boss who is a big old meanie. The justice of the cause, the abilities of the actresses, the intrinsic interest of the scene -- these are all lost in the frantic efforts to cram in satire, social commentary, slapstick and sexual oppression. There is such a thing as working too hard. [19 Dec 1980, p.19]

I don't know R37. Without Dolly, I'm not sure how well that film would've done. There'd likely be a different theme song and movie title too.

The movie title was taken from an organization of working office women, founded in Boston in the mid-70s, to bring changes to the office environment (which is what the movie is loosely based on). After the movie, there were franchises of the organization popping up in major cities (including mine). After a few years, most of them started shutting down as the workplace culture started changing.

Jane said that Dolly would come to the set with her wig and makeup on at 5 or 6 in the morning. Nobody ever saw her without a wig and makeup.

Jane brought it to TV as well, with Rita Moreno, Jane Curtin’s cousin and Dollys sister starring. Phoebe snow sang the song and Jane appeared in one episode playing an efficiency manager.

Also, being unfamiliar with movie production, Dolly said she memorized the entire script and thought it would be filmed in sequential order, from beginning to end. She had no idea different sequences were shot at different times and was surprised to find out the first scene she would be filming would be one of the movie's final scenes.

Very enjoyable movie.

R44 Yes, and Fonda had to keep reminding her to 'watch what she ate' (Parton was getting bigger during the shooting) because she would have to fit back into some earlier costumes (dresses) later on in the schedule for re-shoots, etc. Parton didn't realize that (and admitted her weight fluctuated throughout the scenes).

Colin Higgins was my favorite director of that era with 9 to 5 and Foul Play. He also wrote the screenplay for Harold and Maude.

It is one of my comfort movies and one of the few that I own a copy.

Wow, the responses on this thread are surprising to me.

I’ve always considered 9 to 5 to be a timeless comedy.

As another poster stated, it’s also a comforting piece of nostalgia for those of a certain age.

I’ve loved this movie since I was a kid. The last time I rewatched it a few years ago, I did find parts of it a bit creaky but overall still a lot of fun.

Looks just like skinny and sweet, except for the little skull and crossbones

R47 I also loved "Foul Play," which he directed two years before "Nine to Five."

"Kojak! Bang bang!"

If Carol Burnett had taken the role of Violet, I wonder if they would have kept the 'pot scene' and references in the movie ? At the time, she was starting to deal with her daughter Carrie, and the drug problem she was just starting with (which would get out of hand a few years after).

In Roger Ebert's review, he raved about Dolly (and yes, I know, he loved big tits.). He said when you watch her, she is always paying attention to what's happening around her, even if she's not the center of attention.

I think about that a lot when I'm watching a movie and get bored. Is such-and-such actor really playing attention or just calculating his paycheck?

Tom Cruise, for example, only looks engaged when he's the focus

Jane Fonda in this looked just like Dustin Hoffman as Dorothy in Tootsie. As a 8 year old I thought the resemblance between the two was uncanny.

In pre-production Lucy was Jane Fonda's first pick for Violet, Lucy was keen on the idea but at some point between pre and production, she got cold feet.

Lucy would only play Violet if Gale Gordon played Mr. Hart.

I actually could see Bea Arthur as 'Roz', the long-time office manager who kept 'the girls' in line. Bea was in her late 50s at the time - it could've worked.

Elizabeth Wilson was perfect as Roz.

Both Bea and Betty White both looked to be in their late 70s for 50 years.

[quote]Colin Higgins was my favorite director of that era with 9 to 5 and Foul Play. He also wrote the screenplay for Harold and Maude.

He also wrote Silver Streak which is overlong but has a lot of funny moments. And it features Valerie Curtin who would play Judy Bernley in the sitcom version of 9 to 5

I wonder if this scene from Foul Play could ever be done today

I feel like Datalounge is the sort of workplace where everyone is either Roz or Margaret Foster.