Monday Movie Meme

This week's movie topic is all about Work...

In honor of the Labor Day holiday here in the U.S. we thought we'd focus this week's topic on movies centered around work - finding a job, getting a job, loving a job, hating a job - you get the idea.

The Bumbles already included Baby Boom, the Diane Keaton movie that popped into my head first. So count this as me seconding their vote for that one. Now here are my other choices:

Broadcast News. Ah, Jane Craig! Holly Hunter personifies how heady the most socially accepted addiction can be -- the need to be "the go-to girl" at work. The exhilaration of pulling it off, right on deadline. The tearful and very private exhaustion. The dependency on a more-than-friends/less-than-lovers "office spouse." The purpose work gives your life. There's a lovely bit of dialog that I keep reminding myself is meant to be funny, but I struggle because it's been echoed in my own professional life countless times. BOSS: It must be nice to always believe you know better, to always be the smartest person in the room. JANE: No, it's awful.

What Women Want. Mel Gibson plays the creative director at a Chicago ad agency. Like me. So where are my two secretaries and expansive expensive account? While this movie contains little nuggets of truth, mostly I enjoy it for all it gets wrong. My favorite: a multi-media presentation for running shoes that takes your breath away. In real life, the computers wouldn't be compatible, or the plug would require an adapter that someone forgot to bring, or the sound wouldn't sync and no one from IT would be available ... No matter how big the account or how famous the client, I always insist on going retro: art boards!

The Best of Everything. An ancient (1950s) soap opera. When I first saw it, in junior high, I thought this is what the adult world would be like. Caroline (my favorite) starts out as a secretary at Fabian Publishing in (of course) Manhattan and eventually works her way up to editor with a wall office. Along the way she meets a suicidal, lovelorn struggling actress, a dumbass, lovelorn country girl, a barren, lovelorn career woman, assorted married men/pigs and a fantabulous, albeit alcoholic, sensitive hero who understands her. It's the kind of movie where women wear white gloves and hats to work and remove their clip-on earrings when they answer the phone. I love it, love it, love it.

To play along yourself, click here.