Discovering good movies, one bad movie at a time


Being on the cusp of a pretty big summer release in the form of Wonder Woman – Carrie’s most-anticipated film of the summer, as you might recall – we’re celebrating history’s most famous female superhero making her big-screen solo debut by discussing a very different kind of strong woman role model with the our top five businesswomen. As for what exactly makes a great movie businesswoman, that’s going to be a matter of some debate.

Carrie shares a gem in the Worth Mentioning segment with What If while Rob bring Denial to the table.

Tim’s absentee ballot and corresponding rationale below:

Only one rule: no prostitutes or madams. With all due apologies to Julie Christie’s fantastic Mrs. Miller.

5. Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh), GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)

Cinema’s greatest badass chick for so many reasons, not least the subplot when she takes over her pathetic second husband’s mill and turns it into a major success. She’s not a nice woman, by any stretch of the imagination, but her endless self-reliance makes her an imposing force in the world of men.

4. Ines Conradi (Sandra Hüller), TONI ERDMANN (2016)

On the list for two reasons: one is Hüller’s flawless performance, dry and ironic and selfless. The other is for maintaining her dignity in the face of one of those “free spirit teaches the pent up businessperson how to have fun” plots; aye, Ines learns to laugh, sing, and strip nude for parties, but she also ends the movie just as serious about her work as she starts.

3. Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford), MILDRED PIERCE (1945)

The anchor of a note-perfect marriage between “woman’s picture” and film noir. Mildred’s fanatical desire to provide for her rotten daughter manifests itself as a killer instinct for running a hash house. It’s as a restaurateur, not as a melodramatic tragedienne, that Mildred comes into her own, and Crawford’s portrayal of effortless confidence and self-possession makes the inevitable crumbling as the film barrels on all the more frustrating and tragic.

2. Judy (Jane Fonda), Violet (Lily Tomlin), and Doralee (Dolly Parton), 9 TO 5 (1980)

We tend to think of it as three working women dealing with their asshole boss, but of course the secret joy of the thing is that when the three heroines have done with dying up Dabney Coleman, they turn out to be far better at running his business than he ever was.

1. Vienna (Joan Crawford), JOHNNY GUITAR (1954)

Crawford’s best performance, Nicholas Ray’s best film, one of the best Westerns ever made, and all of it centers on this one great character, a loner who’s managed to carve a tiny slice of the Arizona wilderness out for herself, and then forced to defend it against a hostile universe. A phenomenal depiction of pure willpower and self-reliance in the face of near-certain doom.

Rob

Working Girl (1988)
Joy (2015)
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Disclosure (1994)
Nine to Five (1980)

Carrie

Pretty Woman (1990)
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
The Intern (2015)
You’ve Got Mail (1998)
Baby Boom (1987)

Tim

Johnny Guitar (1954)
Nine to Five (1980)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Toni Erdmann (2016)
Gone with the Wind (1939)