History Film / NineToFive

* PeriodPiece: The '70s setting from the film is maintained; this is reinforced throughout the show with references to 1970s pop culture and technology, such as Violet's son wanting "Something called an [[UsefulNotes/Atari2600 Atari]]" for his birthday.

* ChekhovsGag: Throughout the early first half of the film, Hart keeps sitting on his desk chair, only for malfunction, with Hart loudly complaining to Doralee about getting it fixed. It ends up [[spoiler: saving his life with Hart falling back and knocking himself out just before he would drink his rat-poisoned coffee]].

* SweaterGirl: Doralee wears a few tight sweaters throughout the movie, and she's Dolly Parton in full blonde bombshell mode.

* ChekhovsGag: Throughout the early first half of the film, Hart keeps sitting on his chair, only for it to fall down, with Hart loudly complaining to Doralee about getting it fixed. It ends up [[spoiler: saving his life with Hart falling back and knocking himself out just before he would drink his rat-poisoned coffee]].

* BottomlessMagazines: In Judy's fantasy, she fires several rounds from a double-barrel shotgun without ever re-loading. {{Justified}}, as it's a weed-induced fantasy.

* ChekhovsGag: Throughout the early first half of the film, Hart keeps sitting on his chair, only for it to fall back, with Hart loudly complaining to Doralee about getting it fixed. It ends up [[spoiler: saving his life with Hart falling back and knocking himself out just before he would drink his rat-poisoned coffee]].

* UnfortunateItemSwap: Violet accidentally puts rat poison instead of artificial sweetener in Hart's coffee (they're packaged ridiculously similarly and stored ''together'' in the first place?), and thinks she has poisoned her boss.

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Frank Hart is revealed to be so disliked around the offices of Consolidated Companies (by both men and women) that while the three leads are holding him hostage in his own home (which the other employees don't realize), the only person to actually question Hart's absence is his administrative assistant, Roz, whom Violet sends away on a multi-week training.

* BottomlessMagazines: In Judy's fantasy, she fires several rounds from a double-barrel shotgun without ever re-loading. {{Justified}}, as it's a dream sequence.

* BusinessOfGenericImportance: It's never clear what Consolidated Companies actually ''does'', since the name gives no clues and the main characters spend most of their work time shuffling paperwork related to internal processes like the office decor policy. The fact that Frank's embezzlement scheme involves redirecting merchandise suggests that Consolidated has some kind of physical product, but it's never seen outside of the generic shipping crates.

* MissionImpossibleCableDrop: {{Inverted}}. Rather than anyone hanging from wires to ''avoid'' triggering a trap, the rebellious secretaries rig up a remote-control cable harness for their kidnapped boss, which will reel him up to the ceiling as a trap if he tries to escape.

** After introducing Judy to Hart, Violent gives a subtle one, covering part of his name, saying "He'll always be 'F. Hart' to me."

* PrettyInMink: Mrs. Hart shows up wearing a full-length lynx coat. Unfortunately for her, it seems Mr. Hart would rather buy her expensive clothes than spend much time with her (as he was trying to seduce Doralee when Mrs. Hart shows up).

* SleepingWithTheBoss: Doralee is accused of doing this, and Judy makes it look like that's what she's doing (with the added bonus of BDSM) in order to get rid of her ex-husband Dick.

* UnfortunateItemSwap: Violet accidentally puts rat poison instead of artificial sweetener in Hart's coffee (they're packaged ridiculously similarly, not to mention ''why'' are they stored together in the first place?), and thinks she has poisoned her boss.

* ReassignedToAntarctica: [[AdaptationalContextChange Changed from the film]] to be the more conventional kind; in the stage production, Tinsworthy realizes that the women are behind all the productive changes, and assigns Hart to Bolivia with the intent of getting rid of him.

* ChekhovsGag: Throughout the early first half of the film, Hart keeps sitting on his chair, only for it to fall back because of its old age, with Hart loudly complaining about getting it fixed. It ends up [[spoiler: saving his life with Hart falling back and knocking himself out just before he would drink his rat-poisoned coffee]].

* CigaretteOfAnxiety: Violet's son offers to roll her a marijuana joint to get her mind off her problems at work, which she initially refuses and argues against, but when her son asks how long she's been waiting for the promotion, Violet casually says, "Slip it in my purse." Later on, the joint gets shared with Doralee and Judy in an "old fashioned ladies' pot party" at Doarlee's house where they end up sharing their [[ImagineSpot revenge fantasies]].

'''Hart:''' So I have a few faults; who doesn't?

* ChekhovsGag: Throughout the early first half of the film, Hart keeps sitting on his chair, only for it to fall back because of its old age, with Hart loudly complaining about getting it fixed. It ends up [[spoiler: saving his life with Hart falling back and passing out just before he would drink his rat-poisoned coffee]].

* NoodleIncident: After the trio leave a corpse in the men's restroom, a cleaning lady comes upon it, sighs, and yells to her unseen co-worker: [[ButForMeItWasTuesday "Hey, Vera. We've got another stiff in the john."]]

* PoisonRing: The above poison comes from a large ring Violet is wearing.

* SearchingTheStalls: During Judy's ImagineSpot.

* StealingFromTheTill: The ladies use this as blackmail.

* StereoFibbing: When the ladies are pulled over by the traffic cop, with ''someone's'' dead body in the trunk.

* AdaptationalSexuality: in the musical, Roz is mentioned in the epilogue to fall in love with Frank’s wife.

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Frank Hart is revealed to be so disliked around the offices of Consolidated Companies (by men and women) that while the three female leads are holding him hostage in his own home (which the other employees don't realize), the only person to actually question Hart's absence is his administrative assistant, Roz, whom Violet sends away on a multi-week training.