"The Associate," a movie about a career woman single-handedly fighting the sex-biased corporate world, should have all chauvinistic business executives shaking in their custom-tailored Armani suits. Unfortunately, though, the movie delivers more of a whimper than a ferocious bite.
The film stars Whoopi Goldberg as Laurel Ayres, a brilliant and ambitious financial analyst who seems to have nowhere to go but up on the corporate ladder. When her much-anticipated promotion is given to her devious and less-skilled colleague Frank (Tim Daly), she understands that she will never be able to get anywhere in such a sexist world.
Laurel dejectedly quits her job and starts her own business, but her proposals are brushed off by every firm in town. Realizing that her work is not being taken seriously because of her sex, she devises a plan to create a white male partner named Robert S. Cutty in order to keep her business alive.
Under the alias of Cutty, a financial whiz that nobody has ever seen or heard of, Laurel is able to take the industry by storm. Companies that had earlier refused to even look at her work are now desperately banging on her door, wishing to enlist the help of Cutty. As the mysterious Cutty soon becomes one of the most powerful men on Wall Street, and Laurel's genius continues to be overlooked, she realizes that her plan has gone way out of control.
The crazy romp to follow includes Laurel having to confront the public as a pony tailed, Thomas Jefferson-ish Cutty, her ex-colleague Frank using the imaginary Cutty for his own personal gain, and the attempted murder of an imaginary person before the final tumultuous end.
The concept behind "The Associate" is not a bad one. One woman, in the face of male chauvinism, assumes another identity in order to achieve the status which she justly deserves. But the makers of this movie either expect the audience to suspend all sense of reality while watching the film, or do not give the audience much credit for intelligence. It is easy to believe that a woman would not be able to get ahead in the male-biased corporate world. But for an imaginary person to emerge and suddenly become the hottest thing in the industry even though nobody has ever seen him? This concept is hard to believe.
Even harder to believe are the actions and the motives of the characters. At one point, Laurel gains an assistant, Sally, played by Dianne Wiest. Sally is probably the most confusing character in the movie. The filmmakers probably figured that the main character needed a sidekick, so they threw Sally in. She doesn't seem to really click in the movie, as her personality constantly changes without notice and we never really understand why she so desperately wants to help Laurel.
The male executives are also unconvincing. Is it possible that most male executives are highly sexist? It's probable. But are they sexist to the point that they would rather give large chunks of money to a mysterious person whom they've never seen, rather than listen to the proposals of a woman? I doubt it.
The only thing that can be salvaged from this movie would be the ending. The movie seems to sink into an abyss of bad movie making, until the final uplifting ending attempts to rescue what it can. Though it too is a little on the unrealistic and predictable side, it manages to leave the audience with a good feeling.
Director Donald Petrie, known for hit comedies such as "Grumpy Old Men" and "Mystic Pizza," delivers a film that begins like a made-for-television movie and ends with a straight-to-video feel.
The performance by Goldberg can be best described as flat. But it is understandable considering that she's probably exhausted, having to take over the male-dominated corporate world after taking over the male-dominated world of basketball in "Eddie." The only spark of comedic life occurs when she dons the disguise of Cutty and tries to pass herself off as a man. Otherwise, her performance will be a disappointment to fans.
Tim Daly is excellent as the slimy, back stabbing Frank. Using charm to hide the underlying evil, Daly's character totally contrasts with the nice guy he plays on the hit television series "Wings."
Overall, this movie delivers occasional laughs through clever dialogue and the antics of Goldberg's character. Its idea is one that potentially could have worked, had the movie not fallen flat on its face sometime around five minutes into the film.
Fortunately, the makers were able to end the movie on a high note. Unfortunately, those who are in touch with reality or were expecting some quality comic relief may have a hard time enjoying it.
Whoopi works her Wall Street magic.