Synopsis
The stories of women who hold power and the women held by power.
Women cope with various problems while earning a living in the city.
Working Girls
Cast
Hilda Koronel Rio Locsin Gina Pareño Carmi Martin Chanda Romero Maria Isabel Lopez Baby Delgado Tommy Abuel Robert Arevalo Edu Manzano Joel Lamangan Johnny Wilson Koko Trinidad Eddie Arenas Raul Aragon Roy Alvarez Gammy Viray Romeo Rivera Ben Almeda Cris Michelena Robert Campos Delia Razon Orestes Ojeda Jaime Fabregas Victor Ordoñez Alma Lerma Aura Mijares Madeleine Nicolas Lou Veloso Show All…
Director
Producer
Writer
Editor
Cinematography
Executive Producer
Production Design
Composer
Sound
Studio
Country
Language
Alternative Titles
Makati Girls, Working Girls I
Releases by Date
Theatrical
-
Philippines
23 Jun 1984
-
USA
Releases by Country
Philippines
07 Jun 1984
- Theatrical
USA
23 Jun 1984
- Theatrical
Popular reviews
More-
The third film I've seen with this title, and the first to not directly focus on or imply sex work as its primary depiction of labor. Good, if mainstream-sanitized, showcase of the pitfalls of corporate pseudofeminism that cannot succeed while capitalism and patriarchy are two heads the same beast. I really like the casual intimacy in female friendships particularly in dialogue of this era of dramas made in the Philippines. Not an earth shattering work of materialist feminist ideology, sure, but the normalization of these films unabashedly on the right side of history is certainly something
-
Not quite the key feminist text I was hoping for. Its portrait of female empowerment is very period specific and male gaze-y stuffs don't help with the commentary on social norms and the corporate culture of its time. I expected something with more bite and it was rather more humourous, so what we got is more fun than empowering and it's the great set of characters who make this work. Expected little more from Bernal but I had a good time still.
-
it’s kind of hard to thoroughly enjoy Bernal’s purported pro-feminist messages, when they are constantly paired with lewd, uncomfortable male gazes and the scriptwriter’s simple, somewhat outdated (however time-appropriate) idea of female empowerment. Perhaps, the issue lies not with the movie, but how certain representations are not translated well across cultural and temporal barriers. This applies to most of the movie, in fact. It’s either empty or full of smart political innuendos. Comedy material is either hilariously B-grade, or is a biting mockery of Filipino 80s corporate culture. Social taboos and sex are overtly flaunted, almost boorish, but anyhow blunt and outrageous enough they must have raised the blood pressure of someone in the censor board, so it’s all well and good. But all in all, it’s vibrant, kinky, fearless.. and that it became a top grossing movie in Philippines at the time makes me have a higher opinion of the 80s Filipino moviegoing audience than of those 00s kids.
-
“Ms. Galang, kailan namatay si Mr. Deogracias?”
“Ha? Sir, namatay? Bakit?”
“E bakit ang nilagay mo rito ay ‘death cert’?”
“Ohhh. My mistake. That should be ‘deeearrr sirrr.’”If you like seeing women devour stupid men, then this is the movie for you! There was a lot of HMMMM 🤨🤨 male gaze-y stuff going on, but when it was fun, it was really fun; I'm easy to please anyway. I was going to try ranking the women by how invested I was in their storyline, but I couldn’t do it because I realized I liked them all, though Carmi Martin was obviously the most fun. It was also very satisfying to see Tommy Abuel getting himself beaten up after playing…
-
-
-
This is a Carmi Martin movie, okay??? She steals this film. Her kembot scene and her "Sabel, I'm in love!" moment of lunacy is a fondly remembered caprice in Philippine cinema.
I C O N I C
-
time travel to makati in the 80s
the intersections of class and gender
the contradictions of career and relationships
the male gaze perturbing
30 years later, some of which remains
when do we move past that? -
-
Women empowerment in Ishmael Bernal's Altmanesque terrific ensemble comedy flick that still fresh after 37 years. Gina Pareno and Carmi Martin are scene stealer.
-
-
Fuck the men in this movie man 👹
Loved the production sets, and especially the score. Though I felt it ran a bit too long, lost a bit of cohesiveness towards the end because of it.
