The film “the Graduate” is an American comedy-drama that was founded in 1967 and directed by Mike Nichols. The film, therefore, tells the story of Benjamin Braddock (played by Dustin Hoffman) who is 20-year-old.He is a recent college graduate though he does not have a well-defined aim in life (Whitehead 2011 p 30). The film “Working Girl” is a romantic comedy-drama that was established in 1988 and also directed by Mike Nichols. The film tells the story of Tess McGill (played by Melanie Griffith) who is a secretary in the Wall Street Investment Bank and a graduate of Business. Tess works in the mergers and acquisitions department. Tess’s boss, Katharine Parker (played by Sigourney Weaver) breaks her leg while skiing and is thus absent from work for some time. Tess then uses Katharine’s absence and her connections to push forward her idea for a merger deal Wolf 2014 p 114). The paper provides a comparison between the “the Graduate” and “Working Girl”.
In “the Graduate”, Benjamin is seduced by a much older woman, Mrs. Robinson (played by Anne Bancroft). After a few days of persuasion, they both begin a sexual relationship. Later on, Mrs. Robinson reveals to Benjamin that she is in a loveless marriage because of her errant pregnancy with her daughter, Elaine. Subsequently, Benjamin is encouraged by his parents to call on Elaine. Benjamin, therefore, proceeds to fall in love with Elaine (played by Katharine Ross). He discovers that he is more comfortable with Elaine and hence he consciously tries to Sabotage his relationship with Mrs. Robinson. However, Mrs. Robinson discovers about their relationship hence she tries to fight back and even threatens to reveal their affair so as to destroy Benjamin’s chances with Elaine. Therefore, Benjamin rashly decides to disclose everything to Elaine. After hearing his story, Elaine becomes upset and even accuses him of raping her mother. She refuses to believe that it was Mrs. Robinson who had, in fact, seduced Benjamin and initiated the affair. Nonetheless, they later reconcile, and Benjamin continuously seeks her hand in marriage. Mr. Robinson learns of Benjamin’s illicit affairs and declines to offer him his daughter for marriage. In the final plot, Benjamin and Elaine decide to elope hence a future of uncertainty lies ahead.
In the “Working Girl”, Tess, the secretary is aggressive and intelligent, and she also has many exceptional ideas about how to make more money. However, despite her enormous ideas, nobody seems to take her seriously because she is a secretary. In one of the scenes, Tess accidentally discovers that her boss, Katharine, was about to steal one of her brilliant ideas and claim it as her own Wolf 2014 p 228). She becomes furious and decides to fight back; hence she decides to have an elaborate deception in which she then masquerades as an executive at the firm. She then figures out how to meet Jack Trainer, an executive in the company in which she intends to strike a deal. Tess and Trainer both have an affair. Consequently, Trainer shares in her idea because he considers the idea brilliant (Wolf 2014 p 228).
Comparisons
“The Graduate” entailed young man who did not opt to make money in plastics whilst the “Working Girl” entails a young girl who aspires to make money through mergers. Additionally, in both films there are illicit affairs. For example; the affair between Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson and also that between Tess and Trainer (Whitehead 2011 p 30). There is also some form of betrayal as evidenced from the two films. Katharina attempts to steal Tess’s idea behind her back whilst Benjamin elopes with Elaine.
Works Cited
Whitehead, J W. Appraising the Graduate: The Mike Nichols Classic and Its Impact in
Hollywood. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co, 2011. Internet resource.
Wolf, Susan R. Understanding Love: Philosophy, Film, and Fiction. , 2014. Internet resource.
