The Associate (1996)

Whoopi Goldberg (SISTER ACT I & II, EDDIE) handles business her own way in this outrageous comedy hit! Whoopi plays a fast-track executive who starts her own company after a back-stabbing co-worker (Tim Daly, TV's WINGS) nabs her promotion. But when she's locked out of the stuffy corporate world, she invents a dazzling male business partner to sell her ideas! Her wacky plan soon spins wildly out of control, however, when her bogus "associate" becomes Wall Street's hottest financial whiz -- and Whoopi herself must impersonate him! With Dianne Wiest (THE BIRDCAGE) in a hilarious supporting cast, THE ASSOCIATE is a comedy treat you're sure to love!

Associate w/ "The Associate"

I love Whoopi Goldberg. This movie and "Working Girl" show how difficult the glass ceiling can be to overcome. July 9, 2008

One of Whoopi's best flicks. I could not stop laughing.

This movie is extremely well done, and raised some political controversy at the time, with Whoopi being a black woman donning "whiteface" makeup.

While many would see this movie superficially as an illustration of the "glass ceiling" for women in America, I think it is a far richer film with deeper characterizations and poignance.

Whoopi plays a smart, enterprising woman (Laurel Ayers) in an investment/banking firm. However, all of her ideas are usurped by the man (Frank), who epitomizes the sleazy old boy's network, and who takes credit for all of her ideas and hard work. When she is passed up for a promotion, that is the last straw, and she quits the firm to start her own. The clerical assistant (Sally Dugan), wonderfully played by Dianne Wiest, sees the potential in this young woman and encourages her.
When Laurel is unable to get anywhere as she attempts to start her own firm, the excuse always being, " I love the proposal, but my 'associate' would not go for it." She is about ready to throw in the towel, when Sally steps in and gets her an appointment with the hot financier in town....

Laurel realizes that being a black female is not getting her where she needs to go, so she becomes..... an elderly white male..... her newfound success soon gets her on people's radar screens, read 'Frank', and like so many success stories, if you won't be co-opted by them? They will seek to destroy you! On the verge of throwing in the towel, seeing the rat she once worked with taking credit for her work, she finds her mojo, with spectacular and hilarious results. The ultra-exclusive, white male only, club will never be the same. Sometimes the good gals DO indeed finish first!

This movie while being totally hilarious, also touches on themes of believing in yourself. Racism. Sexism. And how we treat others, as Laurel has to confront her own hypocrisy as how she treats her diamond in hiding secretary.

I never get tired of watching this movie, and am always 100% sure that guests to my home 1) have never seen this movie, and 2) thoroughly enjoy it when I show it to them. March 29, 2007

Nicely Done

Today I saw the Associate for the second time while I was grading written assignments. I never grade an assignment until I have read it for the second time, just in case I missed something. When an assignment exceeds my expectation I always comment by saying "Nicely Done". October 24, 2006

You'll Love It!

Whoopi is great as Laurel Ayers, a talented stockbroker/investment officer who gets passed over for a promotion, and her male assistant gets the job instead. Like a lot of women in high-powered firms, Laurel tries to break through the glass ceiling but runs into roadblocks from the Old Boys' Network. She sets about starting her own investment firm, but nobody will do business with her until she invents a male partner by the name of Robert S. Cutty. Hilarity ensues as Laurel has to make excuses to clients why the mysterious Mr. Cutty never attends meetings, never meets clients, never talks to the press.

Dianne Wiest is a great sidekick as Laurel's assistant, a bright woman in her own right who has been kept down in dead-end positions. Timothy Daly is great as the sleazy, no-talent Frank who manages to take credit for Laurel's ideas and steal her promotion right out from under her. As the story progresses, you really end up hating this guy, which shows how good Daly's portrayal was. He never stoops to an extreme caricature of the Bad Guy, and it's quite satisfying he gets his comeuppance in the end.

Very funny film, although I thought the scene where they try to kill off Cutty in his car was a bit silly. All in all, this is a great movie to watch over and over again, and one that still rings true even today for women trying to attain high-powered positions in what is traditionally male domain. August 22, 2006

Girl Power

Laurel Ayres (Whoopi Goldberg) is a stock broker at a high powered male dominated company before her partner forces her to quit her job.

Laurel tries to start up her own company , but nobody in NYC is interested in reading any of her ideas. That is until she invents a new partner Mr. Cutty. Then everybody that is anybody (including the Donald) want to work with her. Or do they?

Laurel gets mad when everybody is more interested in meeting Mr. Cutty than they are her, so Laurel and her assistent Betty come up with a better idea. They trie to kill off Cutty. Unfortunitly things don't work out thanks to Laurels former partner so the night that Cutty is named Business Man of the Year she decides to tell everybody who Cutty really is.

Very Funny Movie. Whoopie Goldberg and Diane Weist are hilarious in it July 30, 2006

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