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.

While I would like to say that I'm sure the producers of this work had no intention of ripping off that iconic television show, I'm sure any fans of the show will agree with me when I say that it did just that.Without the rip off factor, this work is quite cute. It's empowering to women, and demonstrates how the premise of Remmington Steele's whole premise could actually happen. And you thought it was silly! Bah! Whooopie is awesome in this feature, and really commands the presence of an executive, but just beneath that corporate demeanor, lies the bad-a$$ who beat the snot out of "Ray" in Burglar. In spite of that, I loved it. Though it'll never win even a nomination, it was fun.Whoopie? Work more in FRONT of the camera! I miss you! This rates a 5.8/10 from...the Fiend :.

I saw the ending of this film before I saw anything else, so I was misled as to the exact nature of what was going on. As a result, there were more surprises than I expected. And some plot twists that I didn't see coming. So for me seeing the entire film was like watching a Columbo murder mystery--I knew what the result was going to be, but not how the movie would get there.Having said that, I think Whoopi Goldberg did a wonderful job. Her scenes as 'Robert Cutty' were especially good, even though the movie turned out to be more about explaining his absence rather than actually showing the mystery man.But I really enjoyed Laurel's efforts to come up with ideas and get the ideas into the hands of those who counted. She had to be so creative to get anything done, even making up a name for her partner under pressure. Like Robin Williams' character in 'Mrs. Doubtfire', she used the first name she saw, as a bartender poured Cutty whiskey.And the makeup job, if that is what it was, looked almost as professional as Mrs. Doubtfire's. Goldberg was quite convincing as a slightly effeminate Wall Street whiz.Dianne Wiest did an outstanding job as Sally, the secretary to Frank and later Laurel. Yes, I said secretary. I'm sick and tired of hearing the word 'assistant' used for the position. As long as one doesn't work for the likes of Frank, the term 'secretary' does not have to refer to a meaningless job where one is unappreciated. And Sally made the most of her job with Laurel, becoming much more than 'just' a secretary.Eli Wallach did a great job as Fallon, one of the Wall Street suits who finally had to listen to Laurel--but only because of Cutty. Bebe Neuwirth also shined as one of the people who allowed Laurel to pass along 'secrets' and make Cutty look good. Timothy Daly, on the other hand, just made Frank look like a jerk. Fine, they achieved their goal if that's what it was, but to me it was a performance that belonged in a bad TV-movie. Don't misunderstand; I like bad TV-movies like this and I liked to hate Frank, but this was a well-done theatrical film. The plot twists were interesting if not particularly realistic, though I have to wonder if a person could get in real trouble for what Laurel did. The SEC did not know precisely what she was doing, and it was never made clear whether they cleared her, though in a movie I suppose anything's possible.Overall I was very happy.

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.