A review of the short-lived Working Girl TV series with Sandra Bullock

https://tuneintonight.wordpress.com/2017/05/03/working-girl-1990/

Because Bullock was (and remains) so effective at playing the regular gal who is just awkward and insecure enough that neither men or other women will feel threatened by her, she seemed to be a curious choice to play the role originated by Melanie Griffith, the 80s answer to Marilyn Monroe (blonde, baby voiced, overtly sexy), in the TV adaptation of Working Girl. Nevertheless, she was (or rather, she was second choice, when The Facts of Life‘s Nancy McKeon, an even less suitable replacement for Melanie Griffith, turned the role down), to decidedly unspectacular results.

Working Girl, a mid-season replacement that ran for just four months in 1990, might be one of the most egregious examples of a movie into sitcom spinoff so stripped of its original components that it becomes almost unrecognizable. Other than the title, the name of the main character, the theme song, and the setting, everything that made the movie a clever, timely comedy about a woman, written off as a brainless bimbo, who uses her smarts and scrappy personality to succeed in the business world, is either removed entirely, or given a lesser replacement. Lead character Tess McGill, who in the movie describes herself as having “a head for business, and a bod for sin,” is now just a spunky but humble young woman who seems to succeed at her job mostly because she’s just so darn likeable. Tess’s best friend Cynthia, played by the flawless Joan Cusack? Gone, replaced by a new character, Lana (Judy Prescott), who does little more than crack wise in an accent that makes her sound like a minor character in a episode of The Sopranos. Tess’s sexy thug boyfriend, played by a young, astonishingly handsome Alec Baldwin? Removed in favor of the young, astonishingly irritating Anthony Tyler Quinn. Tess’s sleazy co-worker, played in a memorable early role by Kevin Spacey? Ixnayed for overly earnest go-getter George Newbern. Tess’s silver fox love interest, played by Harrison Ford? Gone entirely.

After all that, it so little resembles the source material that all they needed to do was change the main character’s name and call the show A Lady Executive?!? and no one would have been the wiser. The episode I watched doesn’t even show Tess working until the last two minutes, focusing largely on an interminable “will they/won’t they” plot. It also manages to land two racist jokes within the first five minutes, one having to do with human trafficking, and the other involving a Japanese businessman whose only words in English are “Herro, nice to meet you,” which is pretty impressive even by 1990 standards.