# Business movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 16, 2009, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274 "2009-07-16T22:51:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/21 "2009-07-17T17:13:40Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > In a lighthearted, but not altogether incorrect vein: > A Fish Called Wanda What? There’s a business comedy from the very early 80s with Judge Rheinhold and lots of comedian cameos.. I think Danny Devito plays an exec who jumps out of a window. The name escapes me. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/22 "2009-07-17T17:37:48Z")
Do you mean _Head Office_? Can’t forget _Office Space_, either. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/23 "2009-07-17T17:45:53Z")
[slight hijack] I just connected up with a guy I mentored back in the day - I managed him at work and helped him get into Business School but we haven’t spoken in 8-10 years. Turns out he got involved in setting up an energy trading market in Dubai before the Big Meltdown. It got turned into a book and now Jake Gyllenhaal is optioned to play him in the movie. I think George Clooney should play the grizzled-but-thoughtful mentor in the movie, don’t you agree? 😉 Too weird. [/slight hijack] ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/24 "2009-07-17T18:28:25Z")
**Local Hero** , in a way. \*\* The Insider\*\* ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/25 "2009-07-17T18:50:31Z")
Michael Clayton Disclosure Rogue Trader What Women Want Working Girl Tucker: The Man and his Dream In Good Company > **[Startup Jobs – Developer, designer, marketing, sales jobs, and more](https://startup.jobs)** > > Looking for a startup job? Apply to 10,000+ jobs at the fastest growing startups. Programming jobs, design jobs, marketing jobs, sales jobs, and more. Jerry McGuire Erin Brockovich The Aviator Barbarians at the Gate ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/26 "2009-07-17T19:10:32Z")
_Profit_ It’s a tv show, not a movie, but it fits all the other qualifications (and you mentioned _The Office_, which I’m not too familiar with, but I think that is a show). It’s also really awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/27 "2009-07-17T20:46:16Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > There’s a business comedy from the very early 80s with Judge Rheinhold and lots of comedian cameos.. I think Danny Devito plays an exec who jumps out of a window. The name escapes me. Ruthless People, perhaps? (Danny DeVito’s wife, played by Bette Midler, is kidnapped by Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater, who were owed money by Danny DeVito.) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/28 "2009-07-17T21:11:58Z")
Actually, looking at Judge Reinhold’s filmography in IMDB, I think you’re thinking of [Head Office](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091183/). ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/29 "2009-07-17T21:48:08Z")
Funny that Fish Called Wanda is mentioned, which gets a :dubious: But, the ‘sequel’ - Fierce Creatures - concerns business to a degree. A little gem called the Efficiency Expert is also kinda about business. Primer is also kinda about doing a startup. As much as any time travelling movie is, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/30 "2009-07-17T23:42:14Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > \*\*It’s a Wonderful Life Along with the movie Capra self-plagiarized from to make it: **American Madness** , which concentrates even more on the running of a bank. In **American Madness** , there’s a smart and beloved bank manager who believes that you trust people instead of looking always at the bottom line. But there’s a run on the bank. All looks dark, but the friends of the bank manager all chip in to raise the money to keep it solvent **The Big Store** (sort of). ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/31 "2009-07-18T00:08:55Z")
> [@infinitii](#): > > _Profit_ > > It’s a tv show, not a movie, but it fits all the other qualifications (and you mentioned _The Office_, which I’m not too familiar with, but I think that is a show). It’s also really awesome. And only half a season of it was ever filmed. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/32 "2009-07-18T02:26:52Z")
[There Will Be Blood](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0469494/) I see [The Hudsucker Proxy](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110074/) has already been mentioned. Some shady business deals are the crux of [Chinatown](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071315/). Not all business is conducted in a boardroom. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/33 "2009-07-18T02:38:39Z")
[Syriana](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365737/) is largely a business movie as well. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/34 "2009-07-19T02:04:14Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > _Trading Places_, I think this is probably the most excellent movie for discussing of futures market/shortselling that you’ll ever get. The OJ futures cornering scene is one that it took me years of watching and a couple of [Dope threads](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10329517&postcount=3) and a [wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trading_Places#Explanation_of_climactic_scene) to understand. Once you do understand what they’re doing it makes you say “ahhhhhh” with new relish. (It’s probably one of the most complicated scenes ever filmed in a light comedy for a wide audience.) Though the movie being 26 years old (damn, how did that happen?) I’ve no idea how much has changed since it was filmed. ---
**Author:** ![Mongo\_Ponton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Mongo\_Ponton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mongo_Ponton)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/35 "2009-07-19T02:49:01Z")
Rollover 1981 Kris Kristofferson and Jane Fonda Euro Dollar market manipulation Not rated for quality or content by Mongo Ponton. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/36 "2009-07-19T05:36:40Z")
**Crazy People** , a Dudley Moore movie about an advertising agency exceutive who gets thrown in a mental institution for writing truthful ads (example, “Metamucil: We help you go to the toilet so you won’t get cancer and die.”). As it turns out, the other residents of the institution are very good at writing ad copy. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/37 "2009-07-19T07:23:17Z")
Not sure if documentaries would be appreciated as much as fictinal movies, but Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is a great look at the company’s underhanded dealings, its failure, and its aftermath. Unlike other documentaries in my collection which focus on certain _types_ of businesses-- Maxed Out on the credit card industry, Just for Kicks on athletic shoe manufacturers, and so on-- the Enron film follows a single company and its individual executives, the power struggles, etc. It’s also more focused on business drama than the others (which typically have a strong advocacy slant, or are as focused on the pop-culture impact of the industry as it is on the industry itself). It _does_ have an obvious, understandable bias, of course; the film is based on Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind’s book, and Ms. McLean was a Fortune magazine writer who began to publicly question Enron’s shady accounting at a time that the company seemed to be doing no wrong. A more lighthearted documentary is A League of Ordinary Gentlemen, which covers the purchase and attempted refurbishment of the then-moribund PBA professional bowling league. While much of the film focuses on the personalities being marketed by the league as it attempted to make a comeback, it’s an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the business of running a business on the brink of failure, the tensions between marketing and performance (what happens when the best player is the least dynamic personality?), and so on. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go into the pure business aspect in as much detail as I’d like; the executives’ story would be interesting even without the players. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/38 "2009-07-19T09:06:42Z")
> [@phreesh](#): > > Funny that Fish Called Wanda is mentioned, which gets a :dubious: > > But, the ‘sequel’ - Fierce Creatures - concerns business to a degree. Sorry! That’s the one I meant! My brainfart. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/39 "2009-07-19T22:46:35Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Actually, looking at Judge Reinhold’s filmography in IMDB, I think you’re thinking of [Head Office](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091183/). As I said in post 22. Hmmm. Should I use my power of invisibility for good or evil? ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274/40 "2009-07-19T22:55:06Z")
**Pirates of Silicon Valley** hasn’t been mentioned yet. It’s basically about Apple vs Microsoft. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/business-movies/503274.md?page=3)