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Movies for Women Who Like to Kick Ass in the Office

Traffic was brutal. You spilled coffee on your button-down. Now your boss is asking for that report you thought was due next week. It’s not yet noon and your head already feels heavier than the Poland Spring refills stacked near the watercooler. Days like this call for some Rocky Balboa-size motivation. As soon as that clock strikes quittin’ time, make a beeline for your sofa, order some takeout, and pop in one of these cinematic classics starring kick-ass career gals who broke the rules and succeeded. Use that for motivation.

Yael Kohen

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His Girl Friday (1940)

his girl friday, cary grant, rosalind russell, movies, working women, cubicle coach, movies for women who kick ass, alpha females his girl friday For anyone contemplating giving up the career to get hitched and have kids, catch this flick starring Rosalind Russell as Hildy Johnson and dreamy Cary Grant as her fast-talking, conniving, and charming editor (and ex-husband). Hildy yearns to marry her fiancé Bruce (Ralph Bellamy), settle down in the \'burbs, and have some kids. But try as hard as she may, Hildy hates to miss a scoop.

Norma Rae (1979)

norma rae, sally field, movies, working women, cubicle coach, movies for women who kick ass, alpha females norma rae What do you do when you work a minimum-wage job at a cotton mill in the 1970s South? Well, if you’re Norma Rae (Sally Field) in this Academy Award-winning film of the same name, you piss off management and unionize, of course.

Nine to Five (1980)

nine to five, lily tomlin, dolly parton, jane fonda, movies, working women, cubicle coach, movies for women who kick ass, alpha females nine to five, lily tomlin, dolly parton, jane fonda So, your boss is a pigheaded sexist? Well, you may want to resist the urge to mimic the three disgruntled female employees — the brilliant Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, and Jane Fonda — of Consolidated, a generic corporation helmed by a painfully arrogant Dabney Coleman. In a comeuppance almost biblical in its savory justice, their kill-the-boss fantasies come true, resulting in requisite mayhem and hijinks. Of course, kidnapping the boss may land you in jail. But at least you can have the fantasy.\r\n

Broadcast News (1987)

broadcast news, holly hunter, movies, working women, cubicle coach, movies for women who kick ass, alpha females broadcast news, holly hunter Who doesn’t love watching tightly wound up television news producer Jane Craig (Holly Hunter) run a newsroom? You’ll get a sneak peek at the shenanigans newsies pull for the big scoop and savor a smart, sassy woman aware of her powers. After a hard day, you’ll be gratified to share your tears with Hunter — in private, of course.

Working Girl (1988)

working girl, melanie griffith, sigourney weaver, harrison ford, movies, working women, cubicle coach, movies for women who kick ass, alpha females working girl, melanie griffith, sigourney weaver, harrison ford Staten Island native Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) is a secretary at a posh Wall Street firm, working for the well-bred and conniving Katharine Parker (Sigourney Weaver). She thinks Katharine is going to give her the big break just because she’s a woman. And women understand women, right? How naive. We cheer when she declares, “I\'m not gonna spend the rest of my life working my ass off and getting nowhere just because I followed rules that I had nothing to do with setting up, okay?” Amen to that.

Erin Brockovich (2000)

erin brockovich, julia roberts, movies, working women, cubicle coach, movies for women who kick ass, alpha females erin brockovich, julia roberts Will the real Erin Brockovich please stand up? A real-life story about an unemployed, single mother of three who, after getting into some trouble, winds up as a file clerk at a law firm, finds some old records that don’t add up, and does some investigating into fishy activity at a power company. Court battle ensues. Julia Roberts nabbed an Oscar for the title role.

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