Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

vincentlynch-moonoi I'm surprised this film wasn't a bit more successful (it lost a ton of money) and better regarded than the rating it gets here. Overall, I enjoyed it.I thought Whoopi Goldberg was great as a struggling and then successful financial adviser. I wasn't clear -- was that her as Robert Cutty, or a stand-in? A real treasure here is the supporting part by Diane Weist as the secretary. Every time I see her I think what a treasure she is.The other supporting actors do their jobs, but hardly stand out. It is nice to see Eli Wallach as a rich businessman...he was 80 when he made this film, and although always a supporting actor, he always did a fine job. Tim Daly was appropriately sleazy in his role. And, it was nice to see Bebe Neuwirth (who most people recognize as Frazier Crane's wife) in a different part.Overall, the plot was handled nicely, with the overarching moral lesson being that in all walks of life there will be people who are inherently talented, but sometimes go unrecognized if they don't fit the usual racial (or other) pattern. The one part of the plot where things sort of fell apart was Robert Cutty's appearance at the hotel; this was sloppy and just didn't feel right. And blowing him up in a car -- the man who didn't even exist -- also seemed a bit slapstickish. But aside from those two areas, the script was pretty good.No, it's not the greatest comedy film ever made, but it's pretty decent and had a good moral point. Recommended, though it may not find its way to your DVD shelf.

dwpollar 1st watched 5/9/2007 - 4 out of 10(Dir-Donald Petrie): OK comedy drama with Whoopi Goldberg playing a character reminiscent of the Robin Williams man to woman transformation character, Mrs. Doubtfire, but opposite, of course. Whoopi's character is a wall street investment associate in a firm where the men usually rule the roost. She is up for a promotion to Vice President, but loses it to her partner, primarily because he's a man who knows how to play to the higher-ups wim's. She quits and starts her own investment firm and invents an elderly white male partner named Robert S. Cutter and starts becoming very successful despite the fact that the companies never meet the illustrious Mr. Cutter, but instead Whoopi does all the work, and he's always traveling around the world and never available. Eventually, Cutter has to show himself and what we get is Whoopi in a pretty amazing transformation done by her cross-dressing friend. The transformation is so well done that it's hard to tell that it's Whoopi behind the wig, mask and the rounded-out body. The transformation isn't the problem in this movie, it's just that it has very few opportunities for Whoopi's comedic talents to come thru. Dianne Weist is actually very good in a supporting role as Whoopi's mega-talented secretary and Whoopi isn't bad in her performance with what she's given but the screenplay is very flat and un-inspired. This could have been a good expose on women in this field and how they're unable to penetrate the upper ranks but it doesn't come across that it has any desire to be much of anything which is very disappointing. I'd love to see Goldberg & Weist together again in a better film -- so maybe this will happen someday.

jotix100 Never having seen this film, we decided to take a chance with it. We were quite surprised to learn this Hollywood film is based on a French one, "L'associe", written for the screen by Jean Claude Carriere and based on Jenaro Prieto's novel "El Socio". Daniel Petrie, its director is working with Nick Thiel's adaptation, which appears to have been a vehicle for its star, Whoopi Goldberg.Some comments have compared this movie with "Working Girl", a film that also dealt with a smart woman working in the financial world, one of the themes in "The Associate". We are introduced to an intelligent woman, Laurel Ayers, who happens to have three things going against her, she is black, a woman, and is intelligent enough to merit a promotion in the Wall Street firm she works for. Unfortunately, it comes as no surprise that Laurel is passed and her co-worker, Frank, gets the good job and becomes her boss.The film is mildly funny, as Laurel goes to make a name for herself by creating a "silent" partner, Mr. Cutty, who is never seen. The financial world is all in a frenzy to meet him, and the hilarious appearance at the Plaza Hotel, instead of making things clear, contributes to his myth.Ms. Goldberg is delightful to watch. Dianne Wiest makes an impressive appearance as the loyal Sally, who is an under appreciated woman. Timothy Daly is perfect as the egotistical Frank. The supporting cast is good. Bebe Neuwirth, Eli Wallach, Austin Pendelton, and a funny Lanie Kazan as a financial gossip writer.While the film is predictable, it offers some funny moments.

rawigur I just watched this film on TV, and I wasn't that impressed. "Interlink will make internet look obsolete" and out of date lines like that didn't help either. But the main problem of the film is that its TO ridiculous to be believable. Being a comedy its supposed to be a bit ridiculous, but having every single character except Whoopi's be total idiots is to much. And the applaud sequence at the end, ugh, thats to lame to even comment upon =/ .The topic of the movie (women having a hard time in the business world) is perhaps a good one, but the way its done is way to bad.I give it 3-4 out of 10.