Fantastic!

Absolutely Fantastic

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

"The Secret of My Success" is an 1987 film directed by Herb Ross and starring Michael J. Fox, Helen Slater, Margaret Whitton, Richard Jordan, and John Pankow.Fox plays Brantley Foster, a Kansas boy who moves to New York City to make it big, only to find out it's harder than he imagined. He has a few false starts he's the victim of budget cuts on the first day of his new job; in one interview, he's told he has no experience; after beefing up his resume, on his next interview, he's told he's not a minority.Finally he calls a shirttail relative, Uncle Howard (Jordan), whose name he got from his mother, and gets a job in the mail room. He starts reading reports and memos to learn the business. Noticing an office just emptied by a fired employee, he takes it over and calls himself Carlton Whitfield, and does this Superman changing thing in the elevator from his mail room clothes to his suit, and back again. Soon enough, his crush on an executive (Slater), the hankering Howard's wife (Whitton) has for him, and his double identity collide.Amusing film, with Fox's charm driving this somewhat typical '80s look at big business. One of the people reviewing it on this site suggested it's not so crazy to believe someone from the mail room could pose as an executive. As someone who has worked in big business, I have to agree. There is so little real communication and so much departmentalizing that at least for a time, it would be possible. And could this person be smarter than the actual executives? No doubt.Enjoyable if not hilarious, with some good performances, particularly by Fox, Pankow, Whitton, and Carol Ann Susi as Jean, "Carlton's" secretary.

It'll make you dizzy in part as half the time in this film we see Fox's character juggling 2 different office identities in the same company (which is far-fetched but since this is a comedy, I digress), however it is also a crisp and sharp piece that examines big business and its effects on the common working man. Ross wasn't trying to wax philosophic on his viewers though--- this is meant to be a fun film, and it truly is. It is very funny in parts, and basically mildly funny at all other times. There's no real lull in this movie that seems boring but you'll only laugh out loud three of four times throughout the course of the film, even if you are a big Fox fan. To be honest, an episode of "Spin City" probably has twice as many laughs packed inside of a twenty-two minute episode than this whole movie had. Fox makes this film work though, and generally whenever there's a laugh to be had, it's a line or action Fox was responsible for. The supporting cast is quite good, though Fred Gwynne is sorely underused and when he is introduced in the final moments of the film, he is given absolutely no funny material to work with. That was probably the major disappointment of this movie for me, but other than that, it's pretty sharply-written, directed, the music is first-rate and you truly root for Fox throughout. 8 out of 10 stars.

One could comment about how best this movie works. Or that it was symbolic of the materialistic 1980s and hence that is one of the reasons why it was so popular.In my opinion, this movie works as a light-hearted comedy and should be seen as such. If so, one could sit back and truly enjoy this film. Michael J. Fox plays a savvy and ambitious young man in The Secret Of My Success, which was aptly directed by Herbert Ross. It is a nice is a throwback to 50s-60s romantic comedies. Ross keeps things moving in an endearingly old-fashioned way. Fox is genial and charming. Helen Slater is a genuinely beautiful actress. Richard Jordan is good as the mogul. Margaret Whitton is all sexuality. All the supporting actors and actresses are also good. Carlo DiPalma's cinematography is comedy bright. David Foster's soundtrack works well. I must add that watching Mr. Fox is always a joy. He is a talented, kind and charismatic actor. I don't think that viewers are getting enough of him (understandably).

Many strange people come from Kansas and all of them are dreamers like Dorothea. And the way to success is paved with yellow bricks. In this film the dream comes true and the means used to do so are standard in business. One share of women, using them and being used by them. One share of good sound logic and practical intelligence. One share of pure righteous and deserved brutality with the higher-ups who are so narrow minded and egotistic that they don't even see their personal interest. One share of a well developed sniffing device known has a nose that is the intuition of a dog but also the best sanity of a man. And you get to the top. Just use the elevator please and don't get it stuck accidentally on purpose because plenty of people are expecting to use it. And you have the secret of success for a comedy that is nothing but an American Psycho in Hell's Kitchen turned into an unrestricted American Dreamo in Heaven's Dining-room. Very good, very fast, very dynamic, quite convincingly absurd and absurdly funny. Just what we need when we look at the stock exchange and think sub-prime.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines