'', aka '''''9 to 5''''', is a
1980 Comedy Movie based on a 1968 play starring
Jane Fonda ,
Lily Tomlin ,
Dolly Parton , and
Dabney Coleman and a television series of the same name starring
Rachel Dennison ,
Rita Moreno , and
Valerie Curtin .
It is about three working women living out the fantasy of getting even with, and their successful overthrow of, the company's autocratic, "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" boss.
''Nine to Five'' was an across the board hit, grossing
USD$ 103,290,500 in the
U.S. alone.
Three women are victimized by "the system" and their boss (Coleman) in a large, heartless American corporation. Violet (Tomlin) is passed up for promotions she rightly deserves, Doralee (Parton) is lusted after by her lascivious boss and Judy (Fonda) is shocked by the events going on around her, but, being a new hire, is powerless to do anything.
One day the women smoke a
Marijuana joint and fantasize about getting back at their boss, Frank Hart (Coleman). Violet fantasizes about poisoning him, Doralee dreams of riding up in a sexy cowgirl outfit and treating him as a piece of meat just as he treats her, and Judy contemplates doing away with him ''a la'' big game hunter.
Later, purely by chance, each woman gets to live out a motif of her fantasy when Violet thinks she has accidentally poisoned Hart. This sets off a series of events which culminates in the women imprisoning Hart in his own home while the women pursue getting evidence of his embezzling from the company.
While Hart is confined, the women succeed in making changes at the office that arouse the attention of the company
Chairman Of The Board .
The movie inspired two short-lived television sitcoms which aired from
1982 to
1983 and from
1986 to
1988 . The shows, which aired on
ABC (1982-83) and in first run syndication (1986-88), featured Parton's younger sister,
Rachel Dennison in Parton's role;
Rita Moreno and
Valerie Curtin took over Tomlin and Fonda's roles, respectively. In the second version of the show,
Sally Struthers replaced Moreno.
- The movie's theme song, "9 To 5" , became one of Parton's biggest hits of the decade. It was nominated for several awards, including the Academy Award For Best Song . It won the 1981 People's Choice Award for "Favorite Motion Picture Song", and two 1982 Grammy awards (for "Country Song of the Year" and "Female Country Vocal of the Year".)
- At the same time, newcomer Sheena Easton was enjoying her first major hit in Great Britain with a song also titled "9 To 5" . Due to the success of Parton's song, Easton was forced to rename her recording "Morning Train (9 to 5)" for its North America n release.
- This was Dolly Parton's first film.
In a TV interview broadcast on
BBC1 in the
UK in
2005 , the movie's stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton all expressed interest in starring in a sequel. Fonda said if the right script was written she would definitely do it, suggesting a suitable name for a
21st Century sequel would be ''24/7''. Parton suggested they had better hurry up before they reach
Pension able age.
On an interview aired 30 September 2005 of the
CNN 's ''
Larry King Live '', Parton revealed that she was writing the songs for a
Musical stage adapation of the film ''9 to 5''. A workshop for the show is expected to start in summer
2006 with the
Play to premiere in fall
2007 .
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