meaning of ending

What did Tess do that was so dreadful?

What did Tess do that was so dreadful? What a silly question; that's like asking what Leona Helmsley or Oliver North did wrong. Sure, Tess had the swell idea and all, but she sunk down to Katherine's level by being dishonest and misrepresenting herself. In the real world, many ppl., esp. a secretary would be fired for doing that; it's called dishonesty. It's like a school teacher misrepresenting herself as the principal or a waiter misrepresenting herself as the restaurant owner. Both are wrong and both of them would most likely be fired.

I mostly watched it for laughs since it was a bit ridiculous also. The thing I'd warn my daughters and nieces, however, before they saw it, is the underlying message that if you're a woman, esp. a pretty young woman, you need to resort to dishonesty and deceit to get ahead...that's not a lesson we'd want girls growing up learning or boys for that matter.

In real life, Tess would have been fired and that would have been it...she also would have been ineligible for unemployment. I object to the film's subtle message that dishonesty pays and honesty and hard work doesn't.

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No, it isn't the only way to get ahead and nice guys and gals don't always finish last; that's a myth. You can get ahead in the world without resorting to dishonesty, using your friends, or tearing others down. I've done it and so have most of my friends and my family. It usually takes longer and is a harder climb, but it's well worth the struggle, since then you can look back and know that you've retained your integrity and decency and truly earned your position thru hard, honest work and fighting fairly. Even double the achievement if you've risen above someone like Katharine or Tess and refused to sink to their level, but continued to be fair and decent despite others' indecency and poor integrity. Tess sacrificed her integrity; if I'd done what Tess had done, I would feel as if it were an empty accomplishment and would not feel right about trampling over others to get what I wanted. It's a lesson that I do not want my daughters learning.

The problem with your statement is it's old fashioned.

I don’t think so…there is nothing really “old-fashioned” about keeping your dignity and not sinking down to the level of people like Katharine while at the same time standing up for your rights and working hard to get ahead.

Take a look at shows and films like Cagney and Lacey and the Harry Potter series…both of them very realistic and the heroes face discrimination (esp. Chris Cagney and Mary Beth Lacey) and also have to deal with nasty people undermining them…but never do they sink to the other person’s level nor do they meekly lie down and tolerate it.

They rise above the other and fight back and word hard and triumph in the end. I especially invite you to see the old Cagney and Lacey series…it ran about the same time as Working Girl.

The two main women deal with a male-dominated workplace and co-workers as awful as Tess’ co-workers. In some ways, those two have a much harder time than Tess ever does…many of the male officers try to undermine them; both women are humiliated and ridiculed a number of times, but they both keep their dignity and still manage to battle sexism and other nonsense…not by tearing others down, but by working hard, being assertive without being aggressive and holding their ground.

It takes time, but they make it in the end and by the end of the re-union films, they’d moved ahead, kept their decency and integrity, and not only have lots to be proud of, but can see that they have opened many doors for other women in the NYC police force.

People in big business rarely play by the rules, look at Wall Street.

It’s more a matter of keeping your dignity and integrity than following any “rules.” And true, many big business people don’t play by rules and yes, sometimes do the wrong, immoral thing. But just because the “majority” of people do a particular thing doesn’t make it right.

Tess didn't have to do what she did but if she didn't then Katherine would have stolen her idea and made out like a bandit.

Tess had several other options besides sinking to Katharine’s level of dishonesty and basically committing identity theft in order to fight back and prevent Katharine from making off with her idea.

Cyn actually says so much when she tells Tess that what she’s doing isn’t right, that she could find herself fired. She tells Tess point blank that she’s being a total imposter…and Cyn is right.

One thing Tess could have done when she found out about Katharine stealing her idea was to confide in Cyn off the job, maybe had a good cry, then gotten good advice from Cyn, then maybe gotten some of the other females working under Katharine to band together and reveal Katharine’s theft and to stand up to Katharine; Tess did not have to fight Katharine all alone.

Cyn APPEARED to be this undereducated, “low-class” secretary, but actually Cyn was pretty smart and observant; I say she was just about the only intelligent character of the series and she sure made a lot of sense. It’s too bad Tess ended up essentially using her, then dissing her.

I don't feel like she did anything worse to get ahead, like she said in the movie to Trask "You can bend the rules plenty once you get to the top, but not while you're trying to get there. And if you're someone like me, you can't get there without bending the rules."

But Tess didn’t do any better than Katharine either. Katharine stole her idea, sure and was dishonest, but Tess was no better…she stole Katharine’s identity and was every bit as dishonest.

It wasn’t a matter of “bending rules”; it was a matter of keeping one’s integrity while fighting injustice and discrimination.

Tess completely missed the point; her morals were a bit skewered; she had the attitude of the ends justifying the means…not a lessons I’d want any of my kids learning.

The fact that Tess was depicted as the film’s “hero” is also what makes the film’s message questionable.

I’d rather have my daughters learning from role models like Chris and Mary Beth than from somebody like Tess.

Case in Point she had to do what she did, it wasn't lowering herself or lying out of spite.

Yes, she was…she was angry that Katharine had stolen her idea. Take a look at her face when she hears Katharine’s recording …do not go through Tess and reads the computer message…Tess has this look of complete fury on her face and she hisses sarcastically, Two way street…and you make it happen. You just see that she’s plotting revenge right there.

True, she doesn’t show her rage outwardly and doesn’t yell or throw things and of course doesn’t call and confront Katharine directly, but in a very passive-aggressive manner, plots her revenge on Katharine and plans her lies accordingly.

And she was lying out of spite; when Katharine calls, she puts on a phony-sweet voice and lies back to Katharine, claiming that “everything’s fine” while all the while secretly stealing Katharine’s identity.

In one scene when she hangs up from talking the Katharine, she childishly sticks her tongue out at the phone, figuratively sticking her tongue out at Katharine. Hardly an innocent gesture there and it’s actually symbolic of her lowering herself to a childish, immature level since children are typically the ones who stick out their tongues, rarely mature adults.

Then when Katharine calls to tell Tess that she’ll be coming home in a few days and tells Tess what a “sport” she is, Tess mutters, Yeah, I’m a sport with a tinge of sarcasm, but Katharine, not being too perceptive, totally misses it and Tess does nothing to confront Katharine in a direct, mature manner.

Tess was generally passive-aggressive throughout most of the film…not a good role model.

She was fighting for what she deserved so why should she let people like Katherine walk all over her…

I actually don’t think Tess deserved that promotion after all the passive-aggressive crap she pulled, but it is true that it would not have been good to passively let Katharine walk off with her idea either.

Lots of people unfortunately confuse being assertive with being aggressive (or passive-aggressive in Tess’ case). And too many people mistakenly assume that either you have to lie down and tolerate others’ abuse or that you have to sink to the other person’s level and behave as despicably as they have.

Not true…there is a world of difference between being assertive and being aggressive. Tess had several other options to be assertive and expose Katharine’s lies without resorting to identity theft, dishonesty, and basically lowering herself to Katharine’s level.

I still say she was no better than Katharine; I am glad I don’t have co-workers or supervisors like either of those two.

And actually Jack and Trask didn’t seem too bright either; I’m amazed at how easily both of them were duped by Tess’ lies and phoniness.

I also wonder why the other secretaries working in Katharine’s office didn’t seem to see that something was off when Tess spent so much time in Katharine’s office and was wearing Katharine’s expensive executive clothing; didn’t it occur to any of them to question what was going on and maybe bring it to the attention of the higher-ups in charge?

Not to mention that Tess asked Cyn to lie for her right in the office and play an imposter role; I wonder why the “one-o-clock” that was getting “antsy” didn’t wonder why Tess was sitting at Katharine’s desk and hobnobbing with Jack when just a few days before this same lady had sat in on a reception meeting with Tess and Katharine when it was clear that Tess was Katharine’s secretary.

I sure would have raised more questions of I’d been that “antsy one-o-clock.”

…and that slimebag Mick.

Now true, with Mick, she handled that well; she was right to dump Mick; Mick was selfish and immature and should not have publicly put Tess on the spot right at that party. It was good that at least Tess had the sense to ditch Mick.

But that was the only wise move the made in that entire film. It’s good to watch the film for laughs, though. Then I’m grateful for better role models like Chris Cagney and Mary Beth Lacey.



Christine + Mary Beth forever

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