Gadling covers the Olympics

Cinematical Seven: Films to Watch on Labor Day

Happy Labor Day! All year long, you've been working hard, meeting deadlines, filing reports, sending emails, crunching numbers and counting up those vacation days, while strategically placing them at certain times throughout the year in order to maximize their potential. Heck, you deserve a day off -- 24 hours of rest, relaxation and a whole lot of nothing.

My favorite kinds of movies to watch on Labor Day are those that remind me why this day is important in the first place -- ya know, why it matters. And, what a better way to do that then to throw in a package of tasty microwave popcorn, slide into those comfy slippers and settle down with a few of your favorite work-related flicks. So, on a day that's dedicated to the American working men and women, how about we celebrate not working by enjoying some of the following films:

  • His Girl Friday (1940) -- When his ace reporter (and ex-wife) decides to quit her job and marry another man, the editor of a major Chicago newspaper (Cary Grant) begins to pull every trick in the book in an attempt to keep his prize possession from bolting. If you're in the mood for some old school office politics with a hilarious twist, then this Howard Hawks film is definitely the way to go.
  • Alien (1979) -- Next time you're having a bad day at the office, be glad you're not part of some mining ship exploring distant, alien-infested planets. As Sigourney Weaver and friends find out, a touch of food poisoning is a blessing compared to, well, you know where I'm going with this.
  • Tootsie (1982) -- Sydney Pollack directs and Dustin Hoffman stars as an unemployed actor who disguises himself as a woman in order to land a job. Need I say more?
  • Gung Ho (1986) -- Man, it's films like Gung Ho that make me wonder where the hell Michael Keaton is and why he stopped choosing good roles. When a Japanese firm takes over an American car manufacturer, it's up to Hunt Stevenson to either lie down and forfeit his job or help convince his blue-collar buddies to work through a horrific language barrier and get the job done. Ya gotta love those early Ron Howard comedies, huh?
  • Working Girl (1988) -- When you start at the bottom, more often that not you're staring at one helluva long way to the top. Well, unless your boss breaks her leg, allowing you to seize the opportunity and show off some of that hidden talent. Working Girl only confirms that Melanie Griffith is, and will always be, the greatest secretary of all time.
  • Office Space (1999) -- For anyone that's ever worked in a corporate environment, this is the quintessential office flick. Written and directed by Mike Judge, pic revolves around a cubicle drone who, apart from being hypnotized to not care about work anymore, decides to join his two friends and exact revenge upon their company for laying off its employees. Um, yeah -- about those TPS reports ...
  • Secretary (2002) -- That's right, how can I mention one secretary without the other? Directed by Steven Shainberg, Maggie Gyllenhall is smooth, sexy and cool as Lee Halloway, a woman who returns home in search of employment following a brief stay in a mental hosiptal. After landing a job and developing a crush on her new boss Mr. Grey (James Spader), the two soon find themselves wrapped up in a bizarre relationship chock full of S&M and bondage. Yum.

What are some other films worth watching on Labor Day?

Related Headlines

Reader Comments

(Page 1)
NEWS
Awards (860)
Box Office (609)
Casting (3887)
Celebrities and Controversy (1936)
Columns (262)
Contests (222)
Deals (3174)
Distribution (1082)
DIY/Filmmaking (1889)
Executive shifts (101)
Exhibition (697)
Fandom (4841)
Home Entertainment (1283)
Images (762)
Lists (373)
Moviefone Feedback (5)
Movie Marketing (2451)
New Releases (1895)
Newsstand (4542)
NSFW (93)
Obits (312)
Oscar Watch (506)
Politics (840)
Polls (41)
Posters (194)
RumorMonger (2300)
Scripts (1609)
Site Announcements (282)
Stars in Rewind (83)
Tech Stuff (418)
Trailers and Clips (742)
BOLDFACE NAMES
James Bond (211)
George Clooney (152)
Daniel Craig (83)
Tom Cruise (241)
Johnny Depp (152)
Peter Jackson (131)
Angelina Jolie (167)
Nicole Kidman (52)
George Lucas (197)
Michael Moore (69)
Brad Pitt (162)
Harry Potter (182)
Steven Spielberg (302)
Quentin Tarantino (153)
FEATURES
12 Days of Cinematicalmas (59)
400 Screens, 400 Blows (115)
After Image (40)
Best/Worst (36)
Bondcast (7)
Box Office Predictions (89)
Celebrities Gone Wild! (24)
Cinematical Indie (4090)
Cinematical Indie Chat (4)
Cinematical Seven (252)
Cinematical's SmartGossip! (49)
Coming Distractions (13)
Critical Thought (349)
DVD Reviews (217)
Eat My Shorts! (16)
Fan Rant (75)
Festival Reports (912)
Film Blog Group Hug (56)
Film Clips (35)
Friday Night Double Feature (37)
From Page to Screen (12)
From the Editor's Desk (69)
Geek Report (81)
Guilty Pleasures (27)
Hold the 'Fone (430)
Indie Seen (7)
Indie Spotlight (5)
Insert Caption (126)
Interviews (345)
Killer B's on DVD (80)
Monday Morning Poll (56)
New in Theaters (317)
New on DVD (299)
Podcasts (109)
Retro Cinema (80)
Review Roundup (45)
Scene Stealers (13)
Seven Days of 007 (25)
Summer Movies (44)
The Geek Beat (40)
The (Mostly) Indie Film Calendar (39)
The Rocchi Review: Online Film Community Podcast (33)
The Write Stuff (26)
Theatrical Reviews (1650)
Trailer Trash (457)
Unscripted (40)
Vintage Image of the Day (140)
GENRES
Action (5152)
Animation (1026)
Classics (1018)
Comedy (4706)
Comic/Superhero/Geek (2611)
Documentary (1360)
Drama (5838)
Family Films (1183)
Foreign Language (1536)
Games and Game Movies (305)
Gay & Lesbian (232)
Horror (2261)
Independent (3175)
Music & Musicals (919)
Noir (205)
Mystery & Suspense (850)
Religious (104)
Remakes and Sequels (3774)
Romance (1224)
Sci-Fi & Fantasy (3189)
Shorts (273)
Sports (280)
Thrillers (1870)
War (279)
Western (76)
FESTIVALS
Oxford Film Festival (2)
AFI Dallas (45)
Austin (23)
Berlin (90)
Cannes (330)
Chicago (18)
CineVegas (14)
ComicCon (138)
Fantastic Fest (66)
Gen Art (8)
Los Angeles Film Festival (9)
New York (54)
Other Festivals (301)
Philadelphia Film Festival (13)
San Francisco International Film Festival (28)
Seattle (66)
ShoWest (3)
Slamdance (20)
Sundance (607)
SXSW (278)
Telluride (62)
Toronto International Film Festival (364)
Tribeca (259)
Venice Film Festival (12)
WonderCon (1)
Friday Night Double Feature (1)
DISTRIBUTORS
Roadside Attractions (8)
20th Century Fox (626)
Artisan (1)
Disney (574)
Dreamworks (298)
Fine Line (4)
Focus Features (150)
Fox Atomic (16)
Fox Searchlight (171)
HBO Films (34)
IFC (127)
Lionsgate Films (394)
Magnolia (109)
Miramax (75)
MGM (192)
New Line (390)
Newmarket (17)
New Yorker (6)
Picturehouse (15)
Paramount (618)
Paramount Vantage (47)
Paramount Vantage (13)
Paramount Classics (49)
Samuel Goldwyn Films (11)
Sony (533)
Sony Classics (151)
ThinkFilm (117)
United Artists (39)
Universal (697)
Warner Brothers (1005)
Warner Independent Pictures (97)
The Weinstein Co. (465)
Wellspring (6)

RESOURCES

RSS NEWSFEEDS

  • RSS News Feed
Powered by Blogsmith

Sponsored Links

Most Commented On (60 days)

Recent Comments

Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in: