Honestly, it’s kind of wild to think about how a movie from 1980 still feels like it was written about our current LinkedIn feeds. If you haven’t watched the film 9 to 5 lately, you might remember it as just a goofy comedy where Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin try to kidnap their boss. It’s way more than that. It was basically a revolutionary manifesto wrapped in a polyester suit.
Most people think of it as a lighthearted romp. It isn't. Not entirely. It’s a biting satire of corporate culture that, frankly, hasn't changed as much as we’d like to believe. Sure, we have Slack and Zoom now, but the "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" played by Dabney Coleman? He’s still lurking in plenty of C-suites.
The Weird Reality of How 9 to 5 Actually Happened
The backstory of this movie is actually cooler than the plot itself. Jane Fonda was the driving force. She’d been doing some serious activist work and started a group called "9to5" for female office workers. She didn't want to make a boring documentary. She wanted a movie that people would actually pay to see in a mall.
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She brought on Lily Tomlin and then, in a stroke of absolute genius, recruited Dolly Parton. This was Dolly’s first movie. Think about that. She was already a country superstar, but she’d never stepped foot on a film set as an actress. She told Fonda she’d only do it if she could write the theme song. She ended up using her acrylic fingernails as a percussion instrument to get that typewriter clicking sound. It worked. The song became an anthem for every person who has ever felt like a "cog in the machine."
When they were filming, the chemistry was weirdly perfect because they were all so different. Fonda was the serious one. Tomlin was the improv genius. Dolly was... well, Dolly. She memorized the entire script, not just her lines, because she didn't know how movies were made and thought she had to know everyone's parts.
Why the Workplace Satire Still Stings
We talk a lot about "quiet quitting" or "hustle culture" today, but 9 to 5 was tackling this stuff before those terms existed. The movie focuses on three women: Judy (the "new girl" played by Fonda), Violet (the passed-over veteran played by Tomlin), and Doralee (the misunderstood secretary played by Parton).
They are all being crushed by Franklin Hart Jr. He’s the villain, but he’s also a symptom of a broken system. The scene where Violet finds out she lost a promotion to a man she actually trained? That still happens. All the time. A 2023 study by McKinsey & Company on "Women in the Workplace" shows that for every 100 men promoted from entry-level to manager, only 87 women are promoted. The "broken rung" is a real thing.
The film's most radical move wasn't the kidnapping. It was what happened after they took over the office.
The Policy Changes That Were Way Ahead of Their Time
While Hart is tied up in his own house, the women start running the show. They implement changes that seemed like science fiction in 1980:
- Job sharing: Letting two people split one full-time role.
- Flexible hours: Letting people start and end their days at different times.
- Office daycare: Recognizing that workers have lives outside the cubicle.
- Equal pay: Actually paying people for the work they do, regardless of gender.
Here’s the kicker: in the movie, productivity goes through the roof. It wasn't just a "nice" thing to do; it was better for business. It took the real world decades to catch up. Many companies are still fighting against these exact concepts today.
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The Controversy You Probably Forgot
It wasn't all sunshine and hit songs. When the film 9 to 5 came out, some critics were annoyed. They thought the "darker" elements of the fantasy sequences—where the women imagine killing their boss—were too much. One scene involves Lily Tomlin dressed as a Snow White-style character putting poison in Hart's coffee. It’s dark stuff.
But that’s why it worked. It captured the genuine, simmering rage of women who were tired of being called "girls" and being told to fetch coffee when they were actually running the department. It gave people a way to laugh at their frustration without losing the edge of the argument.
The movie also dealt with sexual harassment in a way that was pretty blunt for the era. Doralee (Dolly Parton) is constantly harassed by Hart, who tells everyone they are having an affair. The way she finally confronts him—threatening to "turn him into a soprano"—is iconic, but the underlying issue was a very real, very legal struggle at the time.
Examining the Legacy and the "Lost" Sequel
For years, there was talk of a sequel. All three original leads were down for it. They even had a script in the works around 2018 or 2019. But eventually, the project was scrapped. Why? Some say the script just wasn't right. Others think the world had changed too much.
But did it?
We saw a documentary called Still Working 9 to 5 come out recently (around 2022) which reunited the cast and looked at how little has actually moved the needle on the Equal Rights Amendment. It’s a bit of a gut punch. You watch this funny movie from the 80s and then realize we’re still arguing about the same basic stuff.
What You Should Do Now
If you want to apply the spirit of 9 to 5 to your own life or career, don't kidnap your boss. Obviously. Instead, focus on the structural stuff the movie highlighted.
- Check the data: If you’re in a leadership position, look at your pay scales. Are people being paid for their title or their gender?
- Advocate for flexibility: The "9 to 5" doesn't really exist anymore for many of us—it’s more like 24/7. Pushing for "core hours" or flexible schedules can actually prevent burnout and increase output.
- Mentorship matters: Violet (Tomlin) taking Judy (Fonda) under her wing is the heart of the film. Finding someone to show the ropes to isn't just "nice"—it's how you build a resilient team.
- Re-watch the film with fresh eyes: Look past the 80s hair and the giant calculators. Pay attention to the power dynamics. It’s a masterclass in seeing the invisible labor that keeps most companies running.
The movie isn't just a relic. It’s a blueprint that we’re still trying to finish building.