With Cinderella opening today as a nod to girl bosses, BOC finds itself looking at some of our favorite girl boss movies of the past and present. Some of the movies in our list were written by men and take a comical approach to what girl bosses might be like. Others are straight up and have the feeling of experience behind them. You can judge for yourself.
Girl Bosses from the past:
Network – Faye Dunaways plays Diane Christensen. Dunaway plays an ambitious news executive in a male-dominated field. However, no one is going to stand in her way through the relentless quest for television ratings. Quote: “I’m goddamn good at my work and so I confine myself to that”.
Working Girl – Sigourney Weaver plays the ruthless Wallstreet Executive. In the movie, Parker steals her secretary’s (Melanie Griffith) idea and passes it off as her own. However, Parker finds out her secretary has been impersonating her. That’s when the roof comes off this house.
Disclosure – Demi Moore is pretty ruthless herself as she accuses a former lover of sexual harassment in a bid to ruin his reputation. Moore’s character is smart, cunning, and manipulative in this must-see film about life at the top.
The Devil Wears Prada – Miranda Priestly, the editor of a fashion magazine who puts her naive new assistant (Anne Hathaway) through hell and back.
Fargo – Marge Gunderson is the police chief in Brainerd, Minnesota for a reason. A strong intelligent woman with a sense of her surroundings. The very pregnant Marge does not look intimidating, but she can be and in every scene the most fearless and smartest character in this film. The Coen Brothers were brilliant with this one.
That was our rundown of girl bosses from the past. How do the girl bosses of the future match up? Let’s see…
Girl Bosses from the present:
Self-Made – This was a great miniseries and something to pay attention to if you are having a hard time taking chances with your business. The storyline is about C.J Walker one of the first women millionaires in the USA. She creates hair products specifically for colored women. Being a woman in a man’s world isn’t easy but the strength of this woman is undeniable.
GirlBoss – The name says it all in this take on a strong woman character. Girlboss tells the story of OG boss babe, Sophia Amorusohow who started the retail company, Nasty Gal. Take notes watching this one because this movie redefines how 2 generations of people use the word “girl boss”.
Hidden Figures – Landing on the list twice for strong women is Octavia Spencer. Octavia is just one part of Three brilliant African-American women at NASA — Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson — serve as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race and galvanized the world.
The Hummingbird Project – Salma Hayek is tough, bottom line. In this, though she plays Eva Torres a tough-as-nails power broker whose High-Frequency Trading desk hires only the best traders and programmers.
The Intern – In the wake of The Devil Wears Prada, Anna Hathaway comes back as her own boss in this heartwarming and touching film. Hathaway plays the character Jules, who is an executive with a startup company on the verge of some big things. Taking on a 70-year-old widower Ben Whittaker, is only part of the challenges she faces. This one is a very entertaining film and we suggest you watch it.