Ellipsis Movie Of The Week... Working Girl

 

"Sometimes I sing and dance around in my underwear,

 doesn't make me Madonna... never will."

~Cyn (Joan Cusack)

Working Girl

"Let the river run, let all the dreamers wake the nation,

come the new Jerusalem."

The opening credits to, Working Girl, was filmed on a clear morning, in the city of Manhattan, as the sun rose above the Statue of Liberty, and the World Trade Center. Carly Simon sings it's theme, Let The River Run, and we see all those folks arriving to work in lower Manhattan. Wall Street, The World Trade Center stick in my mind, and give me chills when I think about how that must have been like on 9/11. Folks arriving at work to face another day of challenges. It's a strangely beautiful opening, but there is that bit of surreal that definitely reminds you about how life can change in the blink of an eye.

That aside, Working Girl, is a terrific movie, that reminds you that hard work, being able to adapt and take chances can pay off. Whether you are one of those folks who gets up early, heads to work at the crack of dawn, or an old lady like me, who is still finding ways to face every day, that lesson still applies. Hard work pays. Going out on that limb pays. I love Tess McGill's tenacity. I love her wit. And I love that she can stand up for herself, and that when she sets boundaries, she means it! Tess paid her dues, she endures one "sleazoid" boss after another, and being looked down on as a secretary, as she works her way up the ladder in the world of corporations and finance. 

Sigourney Weaver is delightfully nasty as, Katherine Parker, and Harrison Ford is the too good to be true, Jack Trainer. Joan Cusack is fantastic as Cyn, Tess's best friend, who gives Tess the best advice she'll ever get, and Alec Baldwin is perfect as Tess's one thought boyfriend, Mick. This is another  movie with a superior cast including, Olympia Dukakis, Oliver Platt, Nora Dunn, and Kevin Spacey as a sleazoid friend of her sleazoid boss, Lutz, and yet another potentially new sleazoid boss, which is perfect casting because, you know, doing sleazoid is what Spacey does best! If you look close, during Tess's birthday party scenes, you will spot David Duchovny in his first movie!

This film came out in 1988, so I can't believe you haven't seen it, but if you haven't I don't want to give to much of the story away. Watch it. You'll enjoy it. 

Ellipsis Movie Of The Week... Arlington Road

 

You can't ask government to be infallible, but you can ask it to be accountable."

~Michael Faraday (Jeff Bridges)

Arlington Road

1999

How much do you know about your neighbors? Do you ever wonder if you know a genuine domestic terrorist? Is there one live among them? Do you think it's possible for you to know a domestic terrorist when you see one? Honestly, I do scan my own neighborhood, but not so much for what my neighbors are up to, I do it because of the biggest, and scariest domestic terrorists of all... our own country! This movie was made in 1999, and more than likely was inspired by the likes of Timothy McVeigh and the Unabomber, and the movie definitely parallels life in the late 90's but strays only in who the big bad is, back when we still counted on government to keep us safe. In today's life, I feel like I am on my own, and if I ever see ICE or some other government agency harming my neighbor, I will be there as soon as possible, filming every single moment of it! After the murders of Renee Good, and Alex Pretti, and the character assassination doled out by Kristi Noem, characterizing them as Domestic Terrorists, I say count me in! If that makes me one as well, so be it, and now, I guess, if you are reading this post, congratulations, you now know a domestic terrorist!

Watch The Movie.

It's a top notch thriller! It's available right now on Prime.

Ellipsis Movie Of The Week... Mr. Wrong

Tagline...

"He loved her from afar... not far enough!"

Mr. Wrong

Again, I gravitate toward a nonsensical comedy. But in my own defense I found it truly funny, cute in it's own way, and co-stars Bill Pullman, who I have lusted after for 40 years, because not only is he adorable, but he makes me laugh... and that vague, I'm so lost, smile that makes me want to take him by the hand and help him find his way home. How a smile can be both goofy and devastatingly sexy at the same time, I will never know! The story is funny, it's a typical 80's comedy, but it's good for a kick back laugh. The cast is excellent. So why not?

 Watch the funny movie, drool, laugh, repeat!