blanche-2 I always enjoy Whoopi Goldberg in films, and the 1996 film "The Associate" is no exception. Based on a French film, it's the story of a Laurel Ayres (Goldberg) who is having trouble "making it" in a man's world, though she's smarter than all of them. After being manipulated and beaten out of a promotion at her old job by slick Frank (Tim Daly), Laurel starts her own company and quickly goes nowhere. She gets some help from an assistant at the old firm, Sally (Diane Wiest) and ultimately decides to make up a male associate, Robert Cutty. It works like a charm, and business is flying in the door. However, everyone is most anxious to meet Cutty, and there comes a point when she has to produce him. And when she does, he's obviously been based on Marlon Brando - the older Marlon Brando.This is an amusing film that could have been hilarious. It does have some great moments, though, and likable characters in Goldberg and Wiest. Other fine performances include those of Daly, Lainie Kazan as a cutting columnist and Eli Wallach as a client. The other problem I have with the film is that it is sorely dated. It's hard to believe that, while sexism still exists, Laurel would have so much trouble from the old boys' network in 1996. Sure enough, as I suspected, the film on which it is based was done in 1979. Remington Steele, a TV series based on the same premise, was produced in the '80s. Surely in 1996, a woman of Laurel's obvious talent would have been more appreciated where she worked and could have launched a successful business without a fake male associate. Anne Mulcahy of Xerox and Ho Ching of Temasek Holdings are only two examples of such powerful executives from the 1990s.Still, it's entertaining and fun, and a reminder that they don't make this kind of comedy anymore.

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.

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.

Claudio Carvalho Laurel Ayres (Whoopi Goldberg) is a very competent financial analyst who is deceived by her colleague Frank (Timothy Daly) in a promotion to VP. She decides to quit her job and open her own investment company. However, being a woman, she feels difficulties to get into this type of business in Wall Street. She decides to pretend she has a male associate in her company, who would be responsible for the advices. Together with her assistant Sally (the lovely Diane Wiest), they pass through funny situations. This pretentiousness comedy recalls the plot of Mike Nichols' `Working Girl', if you consider the storyline of a competent employee who has her own merits credited to another person. The film is not regular, and Laurel Ayres sometimes is bright, but other times she behaves like a stupid. Further, in the present days, it is hard to believe such a prejudice in Wall Street. This DVD has just been released in Brazil. For my surprise, this is a 1996 movie. My vote is six.