9 to 5

9 to 5 was released in 1980 and directed by Colin Higgins. Rather than simply retelling the plot, the film is worth revisiting for the characters, conflicts and ideas that give its story its identity.

Home and safety, Authority and Mortality emerge through what the characters face and the choices they make, giving the story more to explore beyond its immediate plot.

He also gives her presents he tells Violet is for his wife, and spreads an untrue rumor that he and Doralee are having an affair, resulting in the staff shunning her. do not begin the film seeing one another clearly, and watching those first impressions break down is a big part of why 9 to 5 still works.

Both work under president Mr. Hinkle and egotistical, sexist vice president Franklin Hart, whom Violet once trained. That detail matters because it shapes the way the characters initially see one another.

When Hart turns down Violet for a promotion in favor of Bob Enright who is below her, she reveals to attractive married secretary Doralee Rhodes a rumor about an affair between Doralee and Hart, leading both women to take the afternoon off drinking at a local bar. From there, the film can concentrate less on explaining the setup and more on what happens between the people inside it.

Jane Fonda plays Judy Bernly. Reserved housewife Judy Bernly must start work as a secretary at Consolidated Companies after her divorce, and is placed under the supervision of experienced and sharp-tongued widow Violet Newstead.

Judy joins them after learning of Hart's dismissal of Maria Delgado after his loyal administrative assistant Roz told him she had disclosed her salary to another employee, which is against his rules.

Unable to think of a way to improve their situation, they spend the evening smoking marijuana at Doralee's house and fantasizing about how they would get revenge on Hart: Judy would shoot him like a hunter does a deer, Doralee would hog tie him and roast him over a slow fire, and Violet would poison his coffee.

9 to 5 has more on its mind than the basic setup suggests. the safety of home sits close to the centre of the film, but it is explored through the characters rather than treated like a lesson.

authority matters just as much. The film keeps challenging the assumptions its characters make about one another, which is where much of its emotional weight comes from.

There is also plenty here about mortality. Those ideas overlap rather than sitting in separate boxes, which helps the movie feel like a story about people rather than a checklist of themes.

9 to 5 could hardly be separated from the decade that produced it. Released in 1980, it carries the attitudes, style and filmmaking rhythms of the 1980s without needing to announce them.

It also sits comfortably within the era's female buddy and crime filmmaking, even if the movie itself is more interesting than any single genre label suggests.

That is part of why it still appears in conversations about 9 to 5 1980 and 1980s movies. The film has become tied not only to its own story but to the wider memory of what 1980s movies felt like.

Watching 9 to 5 now means seeing both what has lasted and what unmistakably belongs to 1980.

What still works best is the human material. Ideas around the safety of home, authority and mortality have not stopped being relevant simply because the clothes, language and cultural references belong to another era.

Some moments inevitably land differently for a modern audience. Revisiting an older film properly means enjoying what still works without pretending every choice has aged equally well.

A large part of that staying power comes from the characters. Judy Bernly, Violet Newstead and Doralee Rhodes, Frank Hart's attractive, married secretary whom he consistently flirts with and sexually harasses. are still useful shorthand for the personalities and pressures the film explores.

9 to 5 has lasted because people continue to recognise something in it. Nostalgia helps, but nostalgia alone does not keep a movie in the conversation for decades.