Working Girl

Working Girl is a 1988 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols, written by Kevin Wade, and starring Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, and Melanie Griffith. Its plot follows an ambitious secretary from Staten Island who takes over her new boss's role while the boss is laid up with a broken leg. The secretary, who has been going to business night school, pitches a profitable idea, only to have the boss attempt to take credit. The film's opening sequence follows Manhattan-bound commuters on the Staten Island Ferry accompanied by Carly Simon's song "Let the River Run", for which she received the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. The film was met with critical acclaim, and was a major box office success, grossing a worldwide total of $103 million. Working Girl was nominated for six Academy Awards in 1989, including Best Picture, Best Director for Nichols, and Best Actress for Griffith, while both Weaver and Joan Cusack were nominated for Best Supporting Actress. The film also won four Golden Globe Awards (from six nominations) in 1989, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Actress – Musical or Comedy for Griffith, and Best Supporting Actress for Weaver. Plot Tess McGill is a 30-year-old working-class woman from Staten Island who dreams of climbing the corporate ladder to an executive position. Despite holding a business degree earned through evening classes, her boss and male co-workers at the stockbroker firm in lower Manhattan where she works as a secretary treat her like a bimbo, even though they benefit from her intelligence and business instincts. After reaching her limit with her boss's humiliations, Tess dramatically quits.