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When Working Girl came out at Christmastime of 1988, the film really had only two headlining stars: Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver. The film provided a Star-Making Role for Melanie Griffith (whose star has since faded somewhat), and lead supporting actor Alec Baldwin was in the process of becoming a minor star over the course of several films. As you will see below, however, the film is a gold mine of Retroactive Recognition and Hey, It's That Guy! goodness.

Actor Allusion: Katharine (Sigourney Weaver) steps off the helicopter carrying a giant stuffed gorilla. Earlier in 1988, Weaver starred in Gorillas in The Mist.
All-Star Cast: By means of Retroactive Recognition. Only Ford and Weaver were big stars at the time, but the film is a gold mine of Retroactive Recognition and Hey, It's That Guy! goodness. Plus, a number of the supporting actors and minor players are still quite active and recognizable today. See the Trivia page for more details.
Billing Displacement: Lead Melanie Griffith gets third place in the film, behind bigger names Harrison Ford (doesn't appear until about a half hour in) and Sigourney Weaver (shelved during Act 2).
- Diagonal Billing: Harrison Ford, the biggest star, takes the upper-left billing slot on the box art and film posters while lead Melanie Griffith takes the lower but center position. As a star name but supporting character to both, Sigourney Weaver is on the same billing plane as Ford, above Griffith, but on their right.
Dawson Casting: A very borderline example of this trope. When Tess and Katharine first meet, Tess has just celebrated her 30th birthday a few days earlier, while Katharine is turning 30 the following week. Melanie Griffith was actually 30 at the time of filming, but Sigourney Weaver was 38, and her character looks, sounds, and acts substantially older than Griffith's. Of course, given Katharine's incredible vanity, she could very well be lying about her age.
Hey, It's That Guy!: Several!
- FBI Director Larry Moss, from Season 7 of 24, in which he was Renee Walker's boss, is also a guest at Tess's birthday party.
- Jim, the junior executive who comes on to Katharine at her office party, is Edward Norton's boss in Fight Club.
- Tess's secretary near the end of the movie has shown up in a lot of recurring roles on television, including, but by no means limited to, Picket Fences, Judging Amy, Freaks and Geeks, Felicity, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Crossing Jordan, Everybody Loves Raymond, CSI, ER, Prison Break, Monk, Brothers and Sisters, Big Love, and most recently Harry's Law. Let's not even get started on the number of one-off roles she's done. At the time of Working Girl, her only other credits were Moonstruck and the short-lived NBC sitcom Easy Street with Loni Anderson.
- Doreen is Joe Pesci's girlfriend at the Copa in Goodfellas. She's the one who almost gives Pesci a heart attack when she talks about how a girl could find a talented black singer like Sammy Davis Jr. attractive.
- Oren Trask is Hollis Nye from Damages and Judge Joseph P. Terhune from Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.
- Bitsy, the heavyset bridesmaid with whom Harrison Ford dances in order to let Tess talk to Oren Trask, is Kathy Geiss from 30 Rock and Mayor Sue Hallinan on The Onion News Network.
Certified Crowning Music Of Awesome: Carly Simon won an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a Grammy for "Let the River Run". At the time it was the only song ever to win all three awards. As of 2011, the only other song to achieve this was "Streets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen.
The Actor Swap Is Coming...: Harrison Ford and Alec Baldwin are the two male leads in this film. Less than three and a half years after Working Girl, both actors had played CIA analyst Jack Ryan in separate adaptations of Tom Clancy novels.
Star-Making Role: For Melanie Griffith.
What Could Have Been:
- Meryl Streep, Robin Duke, Ellen Barkin, Kim Basinger, Catherine O'Hara, Kathleen Turner, Cher, Goldie Hawn, Whoopi Goldberg, Debra Winger, and Shelley Long were considered for the role of Katherine.
- Michelle Pfeiffer, Brooke Shields, Geena Davis, Carrie Fisher and Lorraine Bracco were considered for the role of Tess.

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 When ''[[Working Girl]]'' came out at Christmastime of 1988, the film really had only two headlining stars: [[Harrison Ford]] and [[Sigourney Weaver]]. The film provided a [[Star-Making Role]] for Melanie Griffith (whose star has since faded somewhat), and lead supporting actor Alec Baldwin was in the process of becoming a minor star over the course of several films. As you will see below, however, the film is a gold mine of [[Retroactive Recognition]] and [[Hey, It's That Guy!]] goodness.
+* [[Actor Allusion]]: Katharine ([[Sigourney Weaver]]) steps off the helicopter carrying a giant stuffed gorilla. Earlier in 1988, Weaver starred in ''[[Gorillas in The Mist]]''.
+* [[All-Star Cast]]: By means of [[Retroactive Recognition]]. Only Ford and Weaver were big stars at the time, but the film is a gold mine of [[Retroactive Recognition]] and [[Hey, It's That Guy!]] goodness. Plus, a number of the supporting actors and minor players are still quite active and recognizable today. See the [[Working Girl/Trivia|Trivia page]] for more details.
-* [[Retroactive Recognition]]: several actors who have since gone on to bigger and better things stand out in the cast list:
+* [[Billing Displacement]]: Lead Melanie Griffith gets third place in the film, behind bigger names Harrison Ford (doesn't appear until about a half hour in) and Sigourney Weaver (shelved during Act 2).
-** Alec Baldwin: 1988 was a big year for Alec Baldwin. He entered the year with [[Hey, It's That Guy!]] status, and then along came the [[John Hughes]] flick ''[[Shes Having A Baby]]'', followed by ''[[Beetlejuice]]'', ''[[Married to the Mob]]'', and ''[[Working Girl]]''. A little more than a year later he would [[Star-Making Role|break out into stardom]] as Jack Ryan in ''[[The Hunt for Red October]]''.
+** [[Diagonal Billing]]: [[Harrison Ford]], the biggest star, takes the upper-left billing slot on the box art and film posters while lead Melanie Griffith takes the lower but center position. As a star name but supporting character to both, Sigourney Weaver is on the same billing plane as Ford, above Griffith, but on their right.
-** David Duchovny: ''[[Working Girl]]'' was his first ever film credit. Look for him in the back of the closet in the upper left at Tess's surprise birthday party. See him again in the credits billed as one of four "Tess's Birthday Party Friends".
+* [[Dawson Casting]]: A very borderline example of this trope. When Tess and Katharine first meet, Tess has just celebrated her 30th birthday a few days earlier, while Katharine is turning 30 the following week. Melanie Griffith was actually 30 at the time of filming, but [[Sigourney Weaver]] was 38, and her character looks, sounds, and acts substantially older than Griffith's. [[Fridge Brilliance|Of course, given Katharine's incredible vanity, she could very well be lying about her age.]]
-** Oliver Platt: Tess's coworker Lutz from early in the movie, in only his 3rd ever movie credit.
-** Kevin Spacey: Coke-snorting Bob Speck from Arbitrage. Spacey was a last-minute replacement to play the role, being picked up in the limo with a copy of the script on the back seat for him to learn on the way to the shoot. He had a recurring role on the 1980s crime drama ''[[Wiseguy]]'' at the time, but mostly was doing bit parts in movies and one-off roles on other TV shows.
-** Joan Cusack as Tess's friend Cyn. Cusack was most famous at the time for being on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' in the 1985-86 season, as well as a few bit parts in other movies. She has worked steadily ever since in television and movies, including the ''[[Toy Story]]'' movies, in which she provides the voice of Jessie the Cowgirl.
-** Nora Dunn as Ginny. This was the first movie Dunn ever appeared in. She was best known at the time for being a current regular on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''. Dunn was on ''[[SNL]]'' from 1985-1990. She also has had steady work in minor roles in television and films ever since.
-** Olympia Dukakis as the Personnel Director for Petty Marsh, who ends up placing Tess with Katharine Walker. Dukakis was most famous at the time for winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress playing Cher's mother in ''[[Moonstruck]]'' the previous year, and for being the cousin of 1988 Democratic Presidential Nominee Michael Dukakis. She went on to play roles in ''[[Steel Magnolias]]'', the ''[[Look Who's Talking]]'' movies, and ''[[Mr. Holland's Opus]]''.
-** A 19-year-old Ricki Lake as a bridesmaid at the Trask wedding. She's only on screen long enough to point out fellow bridesmaid "Bitsy" to [[Harrison Ford]]. Earlier in 1988 she played the lead role in [[John Waters]]' ''[[Hairspray]]'', and went on to a long and steady career in television, including a six-year run as a talk show host.
 * [[Hey, It's That Guy!]]: Several!
 ** FBI Director Larry Moss, from Season 7 of ''[[24]]'', in which he was Renee Walker's boss, is also a guest at Tess's birthday party.
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 * '''Certified Crowning Music Of Awesome''': Carly Simon won an Oscar, a Golden Globe, ''and'' a Grammy for "Let the River Run". At the time it was the only song ever to win all three awards. As of 2011, the only other song to achieve this was "Streets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen.
 * '''The [[Actor Swap]] Is Coming...''': [[Harrison Ford]] and Alec Baldwin are the two male leads in this film. Less than three and a half years after ''[[Working Girl]]'', both actors had played CIA analyst Jack Ryan in separate adaptations of Tom Clancy novels.
+* [[Star-Making Role]]: For Melanie Griffith.
+* [[What Could Have Been]]:
+** [[Meryl Streep]], Robin Duke, Ellen Barkin, Kim Basinger, Catherine O'Hara, Kathleen Turner, Cher, Goldie Hawn, Whoopi Goldberg, Debra Winger, and Shelley Long were considered for the role of Katherine.
+** Michelle Pfeiffer, [[Brooke Shields]], Geena Davis, Carrie Fisher and Lorraine Bracco were considered for the role of Tess.
 {{reflist}}
 [[Category:Working Girl]]