The Associate

Whoopi Goldberg plays an investment banker forced to invent a male superior in this unjustly forgotten, feminist workplace satire.

A silly comedy with a serious message, this corporate comedy Whoopi Goldberg as an investment banker fed up of male colleagues getting the credit. Striking out on her own, she soon finds it's easier to drum up business on behalf of an invented associate, 'Robert Cutty'. But as the lie spirals out of control she's forced to bring her elusive colleague crashing into reality.

The Associate fell between the cracks somewhat upon release, chided for caricaturing its male characters and the perceived implausibility of its reverse-Tootsie setup. But viewed today amid continued debate about workplace inequality, it's still a pointed comedy with many laughs to mine from its male-dominated milieu. Like all good business-themed comedies, it features an obligatory cameo from Donald Trump. Whoopi, meanwhile, is cheeringly assertive, genuinely funny and sports an outrageous array of haute couture hats. The Associate confidently takes its place on the board of cherished women's workplace comedies, alongside 9 to 5 and Working Girl.