directed by : donald petrie written by : jenaro prieto ( novel el socio ) nick thiel cast : whoopi goldberg ( laurel ayres ) , dianne wiest ( sally doogan ) , eli wallach ( fallon ) , timothy daly ( frank ) , bebe neuwirth ( camille austin pendleton ) produced by : buena vista pictures / hollywood pictures / interscope communications / polygram rating : * * * run time : 113 minutes for a movie that aims to dispel the prejudicial stereotypes of sexism , the associate may succeed in some aspects , but it ends up falling into a patterned plot and perpetuating other forms of sexism . what is the role of a woman in the ruthlessly competitive and testorone-tilted world of wall street ? she could be a secretary and get called " sweetie , " or she could do all the work and let her male partner take all the credit . after all , if business deals are to be closed in strip bars , a woman can hardly expect any respect . perhaps she should get breast enlargements . at the very least , she would then be able to get some attention , proceeding then to sleep her way to the top . through it all , she must never show her temper , for it would surely be interpreted as pre-menstrual syndrome . such a starkly stereotupical but realistic portrait of corporate culture is portrayed in the associate . it seems as if the only way a woman can break down the barriers errected by the wall street boys' club is to become a man , which is precisely what whoopi goldberg's character , laurel ayres , does . as a financial analyst who fails to get the recognition she deservesbecause of her gender and race , she creates and subsequently dons the persona of the fictitious robert cutty . using her intelligence and business savvy behind the persona of this imaginary white , caucasian male , she achives exceptional success . her partner in crime is fellow secretary sally , played engagingly by two-time academy award winning dianne wiest . however , hilarious fixes arise when cutty's fabricated persona becomes the target of the insatiable media , makes deals with laurel's devious competitor ( portrayed with wicked gleefulness by tim daly ) , gets subpoenaed for fraud , and even " fathers " a child . whoopi goldberg's androgynous appeal , comic talent and intelligence lend realism and humour to the character of laurel . as an african-american woman overcoming discrimination and beating the odds , we champion her cause and what she represents . however , goldberg's portrayal fails to illicit sympathy and audience-identification . as with the color purple , her steely edge and street-smarts make her unbelievable as a marginalized and exploited figure . furthermore , even as it continues to be a ver real and pressing issue today , the storline of black woman versus white man seems cliched when dealth with in comedy , especially since the possibility was raised back in the sixties of god being a black woman . in addition , the disguise strategy recalls films like mrs doubtfire and the nutty professor , and makes the plot's unfolding highly predictable . finally , even as the movie shatters female stereotypes , it perpetuates male ones . the mend o not develop beyond being cariacatures of the manipulative businessman , the fumbling nerd genius and the sensitive new-age man . as such there is an imbalance in the treatment of issues of prejudice . directed by donald petrie , known for such hit comedies as mystic pizza and grumpy old men , the associate merely retells , albeit with the slightest dash of humour , a well-known tale of sexism in today's society . the flying inkpot rating system : * wait for the tv2 broadcast . * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! * * * pretty good , bring a friend . * * * * amazing , potent stuff . * * * * * perfection . see it twice . <hr>this movie review was written for the flying inkpot : an arts and entertainment magazine from singapore . current film reviews can be found at : <a href= " http : //www . inkpot . com/film/<hr> " >http : //www . inkpot . com/film/<hr></a> 
