History Film / WorkingGirl

* OhCrap: Katherine's expression when Trask asks her how she came up with the idea for the merger, which she can't do, because it wasn't her idea.

* HighPoweredCareerWoman: Tess's goal in the film is to become this, while Katherine Parker already is one. Where Tess's drive is portrayed as empowering, Katherine comes at it more from an AmbitionIsEvil standpoint.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Katherine presents herself as a [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure tough, but fair boss]] when she first meets Tess and mostly treats her with respect, but she is also quick to steal Tess' ideas snd throw her under the bus at the first available opportunity.

A pre-stardom Creator/KevinSpacey has one scene as a lecherous, coke-sniffing arbitrager.

* YourCheatingHeart: Tess walks in on boyfriend Mick with a local girl. And Jack technically cheats on Katherine with her--while he tells Tess that he's been planning to break up with her, he's still involved with her when he and Tess sleep together.

Tess [=McGill=] (Creator/MelanieGriffith) is desperate to be taken seriously and recognized for her brains and business skill, and hopes to rise from the typing pool at the Wall Street investment firm Petty Marsh. Given one last chance after blowing out "Bob from Arbitrage", she's made personal assistant to Katharine Parker (Creator/SigourneyWeaver) in Mergers & Acquisitions. Katharine is willing to accept input and ideas from her, and is intrigued by Tess's big idea that would save a large company from a foreign takeover. Katharine then breaks her leg while away skiing in Switzerland, and she asks Tess to look after things in her absence. Tess soon discovers that Katharine is going to try to pass off Tess's idea as her own to the CEO of the threatened company. On top of this, she discovers her boyfriend (Creator/AlecBaldwin) is also cheating on her. Tess sets out to do a deal by using her idea herself and teams up with Jack Trainer (Creator/HarrisonFord) to close the deal before Katharine's return. The two slowly fall for each other little knowing that the other is Katharine's boyfriend/secretary...

A pre-stardom Creator/KevinSpacey has one scene as a lecherous, coke-sniffing stockbroker.

* FaceDeathWithDignity: "Firing", rather, but Katherine responds to Trask chewing her out by calmly telling him that she won't be spoken to like that and stalking into her office.
* FacePalm: When Katharine breaks in on the mergers meeting, Jack and Tess mirror each other's Face palms.

* InsufferableGenius: Katharine has a very high opinion of herself and isn't afraid to let other people know it. She has a degree from Wellesley, speaks fluent German to the owner of a Swiss ski resort in order to get the tower suite, and freely praises herself as a trailblazer for women in the business world. By the end of the movie, she may actually be TooCleverByHalf...

* LiarRevealed: Katherine's intrusion of the merger meeting exposes Tess as merely Katherine's secretary, forcing Tess out of the deal. Tess pays her back in kind by pulling this trope as well, explaining to Trask how she reached the idea of the merger, which exposes that Katherine knows nothing of the particulars of the deal, since it wasn't her idea like she claimed.

* NeverGetsDrunk: Jack Trainer seems to be a Type 1 of this trope.

* OhCrap: Katherine's expression when Trask asks her how she came up with the idea for the merger, which she can't do, because it wasn't.

* PimpedOutDress: GiantPoofySleeves and disco blue tulle make for a hideous bridesmaid dress. But, hey! it matches the leisure suit tuxedos...

* RagsToRoyalty: Tess goes from being an unappreciated, overworked secretary with both a job and relationship that appear to be going nowhere. By the film's end, she's pulled off a major business merger, finally gotten a position at a major firm, and is living with Jack.

* IvyLeagueForEveryone: Jack Trainer has a BA in business administration from Dartmouth and an MBA from Harvard. Katherine, as mentioned above, wnet to Wellesley, one of the Seven Sisters colleges (essentially, the Ivy League for women). Tess gets told that her lack of this trope is one of the things holding her back.

* DarkReprise: Katherine' s words of encouragement sound unbelievably condescending once Tess learns what kind of person she really is.

* FanService: Creator/MelanieGriffith has a couple of ''nice'' [[LingerieScene lingerie scenes]] (see BlackBraAndPanties above); lampshaded by Tess, who suggests to Mick that for a change, he should get her something she can wear outside the bedroom. Sigourney Weaver's aren't bad either. And then Creator/HarrisonFord provides FanService both for the audience and his typing pool as he [[ShirtlessScene changes shirts]] while talking on the phone. The typing pool even gives him a [[CrowningMomentOfFunny round of applause in appreciation]].

''Working Girl'' was one of the more financially successful and critically acclaimed comedies of 1988. It was nominated for six Oscars: Best Actress for Creator/MelanieGriffith, Best Supporting Actress for both Joan Cusack and Sigourney Weaver, Best Director for Mike Nichols, and Best Picture. Music/CarlySimon won the Best Original Song Oscar for "Let the River Run". The film also won four Golden Globes, with Griffith and Weaver each winning for acting, Simon for her song, and the movie as a whole for Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical. The movie also inspired a short-lived 1990 NBC sitcom of the same name, starring none other than Creator/SandraBullock as Tess [=McGill=]. A ScreenToStageAdaptation, with music my Music/CyndiLauper, was announced in 2017.

* CardboardBoxOfUnemployment: When Tess gets fired, she carries one of these boxes with her.

!!'''This film contains examples of:'''

---> "It's not even leather!"

--->'''Cyn:''' "Whaddya need speech class foe-wa? Ya tawk foine!"

--->'''Mick:''' "Tess! It's NotWhatItLooksLike. [beat] Actually, it ''is'' what it looks like, but ICanExplain!"

--->'''Cyn:''' "Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Me?"

Tess [=McGill=] (Melanie Griffith) is desperate to be taken seriously and recognized for her brains and business skill, and hopes to rise from the typing pool at the Wall Street investment firm Petty Marsh. Given one last chance after blowing out "Bob from Arbitrage", she's made personal assistant to Katharine Parker (Creator/SigourneyWeaver) in Mergers & Acquisitions. Katharine is willing to accept input and ideas from her, and is intrigued by Tess's big idea that would save a large company from a foreign takeover. Katharine then breaks her leg while away skiing in Switzerland, and she asks Tess to look after things in her absence. Tess soon discovers that Katharine is going to try to pass off Tess's idea as her own to the CEO of the threatened company. On top of this, she discovers her boyfriend (Creator/AlecBaldwin) is also cheating on her. Tess sets out to do a deal by using her idea herself and teams up with Jack Trainer (Creator/HarrisonFord) to close the deal before Katharine's return. The two slowly fall for each other little knowing that the other is Katharine's boyfriend/secretary...

''Working Girl'' was one of the more financially successful and critically acclaimed comedies of 1988. It was nominated for six Oscars: Best Actress for Melanie Griffith, Best Supporting Actress for both Joan Cusack and Sigourney Weaver, Best Director for Mike Nichols, and Best Picture. Music/CarlySimon won the Best Original Song Oscar for "Let the River Run". The film also won four Golden Globes, with Griffith and Weaver each winning for acting, Simon for her song, and the movie as a whole for Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical. The movie also inspired a short-lived 1990 NBC sitcom of the same name, starring none other than Creator/SandraBullock as Tess [=McGill=]. A ScreenToStageAdaptation, with music my Music/CyndiLauper, was announced in 2017.

* EightiesHair: Most of the secretaries and the women on Staten Island. Joan Cusack, to the extreme. Also Melanie Griffith in the early parts of the movie. Averted with Katharine, whose hairstyle would be seen as perfectly normal and professional even today.

* FanService: Melanie Griffith has a couple of ''nice'' [[LingerieScene lingerie scenes]] (see BlackBraAndPanties above); lampshaded by Tess, who suggests to Mick that for a change, he should get her something she can wear outside the bedroom. Sigourney Weaver's aren't bad either. And then Creator/HarrisonFord provides FanService both for the audience and his typing pool as he [[ShirtlessScene changes shirts]] while talking on the phone. The typing pool even gives him a [[CrowningMomentOfFunny round of applause in appreciation]].

''Working Girl'' was one of the more financially successful and critically acclaimed comedies of 1988. It was nominated for six Oscars: Best Actress for Melanie Griffith, Best Supporting Actress for both Joan Cusack and Sigourney Weaver, Best Director for Mike Nichols, and Best Picture. Music/CarlySimon won the Best Original Song Oscar for "Let the River Run". The film also won four Golden Globes, with Griffith and Weaver each winning for acting, Simon for her song, and the movie as a whole for Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical. The movie also inspired a short-lived 1990 NBC sitcom of the same name, starring none other than Creator/SandraBullock as Tess [=McGill=]. A ScreenToStageAdaptation, with music my Music/CindyLauper, was announced in 2017.

''Working Girl'' was one of the more financially successful and critically acclaimed comedies of 1988. It was nominated for six Oscars: Best Actress for Melanie Griffith, Best Supporting Actress for both Joan Cusack and Sigourney Weaver, Best Director for Mike Nichols, and Best Picture. Music/CarlySimon won the Best Original Song Oscar for "Let the River Run". The film also won four Golden Globes, with Griffith and Weaver each winning for acting, Simon for her song, and the movie as a whole for Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical. The movie also inspired a short-lived 1990 NBC sitcom of the same name, starring none other than Creator/SandraBullock as Tess [=McGill=].

Referred to [[WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers in some circles]] as the "sassy sister film to ''Film/DieHard''."

It often considered the "sassy sister film to ''Film/DieHard''." [[WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers In some circles]].