The Associate (1996)

REVIEW
A genuinely enjoyable satire of Wall Street, The Associate is sort of a low-keyed Jerry Maguire meets Tootsie. Whoopi plays a financial analyst who is passed over for a promotion at her Wall Street firm clearly for reasons of gender. Deciding to start her own agency, she discovers not being part of the old boys' network is bad for business -- that is until she invents a ficticious male partner. With the help of savvy secretary Wiest, Whoopi takes Wall Street by storm -- even if it means a little male drag. The Associate doesn't go as far as it could have, and isn't as consistently funny as one would wish. But it does have good-natured barbs, humorous characterizations, and Whoopi in good form. Suggested by the 1979 French comedy of the same name.