The Secret of My Success (1987 film)

Last updated

The Secret of My Success
The Secret Of My Success.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Herbert Ross
Screenplay by Jim Cash
Jack Epps Jr.
A.J. Carothers
Story byA.J. Carothers
Produced byHerbert Ross
Starring
Cinematography Carlo Di Palma
Edited by Paul Hirsch
Music by David Foster
Production
company
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • April 10, 1987 (1987-04-10)
Running time
111 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12 million [1]
Box office$111 million

The Secret of My Success (sometimes stylized as The Secret of My Succe$s) is a 1987 American comedy film produced and directed by Herbert Ross and starring Michael J. Fox and Helen Slater. The screenplay was written by A.J. Carothers, Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr. from a story written by Carothers. It was filmed on location in Manhattan. [2]

Contents

Plot

Brantley Foster is a recent graduate of Kansas State University who moves to New York City, where he has accepted an entry-level job as a financier. Upon arriving, he discovers that the company for which he is supposed to work has been taken over by a rival corporation. As a result, Brantley is laid off before even starting work.

After several interviews for other jobs, he is unsuccessful due to over- or underqualification, or having no experience. Brantley ends up working in the mailroom of the Pemrose Corporation, directed by his "uncle" Howard Prescott, a distant relative he's never met. Pemrose was founded by Howard's father-in-law. Howard achieved the presidency by marrying his boss's daughter, Vera Pemrose.

After inspecting company reports, Brantley realizes that Howard and most of his fellow "suits" (executives) are making pointless or damaging decisions. He notices an empty office in the building due to one of Howard's frequent firings. Using his access to the mailroom and his understanding of the company, he creates and assumes the identity of Carlton Whitfield, a new executive.

While handling two jobs (switching between casual apparel and business suits in the elevator), Brantley sparks romantic interest from Christy Wills, a fellow financial wizard who recently graduated from Harvard. He meets Vera by driving her home in a company limo at his employer's request. She persuades him to stay for a swim and seduces him before he realizes that she is his aunt.

Seeing Howard arrive, Brantley and Vera realize they are related by marriage. She had seduced him out of revenge against her husband for having an affair with a woman at the office. Brantley changes as fast as he can and narrowly escapes the mansion without being spotted by Howard.

Howard, unbeknownst to Brantley, is having an affair with Christy. When Howard asks her to spy on Carlton Whitfield, whom he suspects is a corporate spy for Donald Davenport, she falls in love with "Whitfield", not knowing he is actually Brantley. The Pemrose Corporation is preparing for its impending hostile takeover by the Davenport. If Davenport Corporation absorbs Pemrose in this merger, all workers will get fired. Howard, unaware that Whitfield and Brantley are the same person, suspects "Whitfield" is a spy for corporate raider Davenport. Mostly Howard and his company's to cut every area, that would ruin the company and make Davenport begin his hostile takeover. Brantley already pitched the idea with Christy to the company expand the business to prevent the hostile takeover.

Brantley's double identity is discovered when he, Christy, Vera and Howard end up in the same bedroom after a party at Howard's home that all four are attending. Brantley and Christy end their blossoming relationship. He gets fired from his job as Whitfield, as does Christy for refusing to continue her affair with Howard. Vera is divorcing Howard, since she found out about his affair with Christy and his plan to propose to her.

While both Christy and Brantley are moving out of their offices, they end up in the same elevator and reconcile, conceiving a revenge plan together with Vera. They raise enough cash, bonds, and stocks to take control of the Pemrose Corporation, and to proceed with a hostile takeover bid of Davenport's corporation.

Vera, already hating Howard for his inept business practices which were driving her father's empire into the ground, tells the board about his affair with Christy. Vera promptly replaces him with Brantley, with Jean (Carlton's secretary), Christy and Melrose (Brantley's mailroom colleague) at his side to prevent the takeover and everyone's jobs are safe. While security guards escort Howard and his aide, Art Thomas, from the Pemrose Building, Brantley and Christy start planning their future together, personal as well as professional.

Cast

Soundtrack

The Secret of My Success (Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
ReleasedApril 10, 1987 (1987-04-10)
Genre Soundtrack
Label MCA Records
Producer David Foster
Neil Geraldo
Daryl Hall
Tom "T-Bone" Wolk
Arthur Barrow
Singles from The Secret of My Success Soundtrack
  1. "The Secret of My Success"
    Released: March 28, 1987

The soundtrack was released on LP and cassette tape on April 10, 1987. [3] [4] Seven of the 10 tracks were produced, and either written or co-written, by David Foster, who also scored the film and has three tracks of his own on the album.

Not all of the songs featured in the film are included on the soundtrack, or, at least not in the same version. The film version of the song "The Secret of My Success" is slightly different, and also features a mini-instrumental version. The film version of "I Burn for You" does not feature vocals, whereas the soundtrack version does. The "Restless Heart" track from the film has a different title ("Something I Gotta Do"), and different lyrics than the soundtrack version.

Popular songs "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina & The Waves and "Oh Yeah" by Yello are heard in the film but do not appear on the soundtrack.

The soundtrack peaked at No. 131 on the Billboard 200. [5]

The theme from the picture "The Secret of My Success", performed by Night Ranger, was one of the songs that competed for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1988. The winner was "(I've Had) The Time of My Life", the theme from Dirty Dancing , performed by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. [6]

Track listing
  1. "The Secret of My Success" (performed by Night Ranger)
  2. "Sometimes the Good Guys Finish First" (performed by Pat Benatar)
  3. "I Burn for You" (performed by Danny Peck and Nancy Shanks)
  4. "Riskin' a Romance" (performed by Bananarama)
  5. "Gazebo" (performed by David Foster)
  6. "The Price of Love" (performed by Roger Daltrey)
  7. "Water Fountain" (performed by David Foster)
  8. "Don't Ask the Reason Why" (performed by Restless Heart)
  9. "3 Themes" (performed by David Foster)
  10. "Heaven and the Heartaches" (performed by Taxxi)

Reception

Critical response

The film received a mixed response from critics. Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, "The Secret of My Success seems trapped in some kind of time warp, as if the screenplay had been in a drawer since the 1950s and nobody bothered to update it." He concluded "Fox provides a fairly desperate center for the film. It could not have been much fun for him to follow the movie's arbitrary shifts of mood, from sitcom to slapstick, from sex farce to boardroom brawls." [7]

However, Vincent Canby, writing in The New York Times , felt it was "close to inspired when the ambitious Brantley finds himself leading two lives", although he noted that "Hanging over The Secret of My Success is the long shadow of Frank Loesser's classic musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying ." [8]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 48% of 42 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.3/10.The website's consensus reads: "A miscast Michael J. Fox gives The Secret of My Success all the madcap energy he can muster, but it isn't enough to overcome confused direction and a recycled plot." [9] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 36 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. [10] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. [11]

Box office

The film opened on April 10, 1987, and debuted at number one at the box office, taking $7.8 million in its opening weekend. [12] It stayed at No. 1 for 5 weeks, and was in the top ten films for 2 months. It grossed $66,995,000 in the US, [13] becoming the 7th highest-grossing film in the United States for the year 1987, and outgrossing such films as RoboCop , Predator , Lethal Weapon and Dirty Dancing . The film went on to gross an additional $44,001,000 worldwide, giving it a total of $111 million. [14] Additionally, the film made US$29,856,000 through video rentals. [15]

Musical

In 2020, a musical based on the film was mid-run for its world premiere and pre-Broadway tryout at the Paramount Theatre in March 2020 with Sydney Morton (Christy Lockhart) and Billy Harrigan Tighe (Brantley Foster/Carlton Whitfield) as leads and Greenberg directing when production was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. [16] [17] [18] It had been scheduled to run from February 21 – March 29, and the final performance was March 12, as Illinois governor J. B. Pritzker shut down all performance venues starting March 13. [17] [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

In business, a corporate raid is the process of buying a large stake in a corporation and then using shareholder voting rights to require the company to undertake novel measures designed to increase the share value, generally in opposition to the desires and practices of the corporation's current management. The measures might include replacing top executives, downsizing operations, or liquidating the company.

<i>Top Gun</i> 1986 film directed by Tony Scott

Top Gun is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired by an article titled "Top Guns", written by Ehud Yonay and published in California magazine three years earlier. It stars Tom Cruise as Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a young naval aviator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. He and his radar intercept officer, Lieutenant Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, are given the chance to train at the United States Navy's Fighter Weapons School at Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California. Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer and Tom Skerritt also appear in supporting roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acker Bilk</span> English clarinetist and vocalist (1929–2014)

Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk, was an English clarinetist and vocalist known for his breathy, vibrato-rich, lower-register style, and distinctive appearance – of goatee, bowler hat and striped waistcoat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Rogers</span> American country singer and songwriter (1938–2020)

Kenny Rogers was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted more than 120 hit singles across various genres, topping the country and pop album charts for more than 200 individual weeks in the United States alone. He sold more than 100 million records worldwide during his lifetime, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. His fame and career spanned multiple genres: jazz, folk, pop, rock, and country. He remade his career and was one of the most successful cross-over artists of all time.

<i>Bugsy Malone</i> 1976 gangster musical comedy film

Bugsy Malone is a 1976 gangster musical comedy film written and directed by Alan Parker. A co-production of United States and United Kingdom, it features an ensemble cast, featuring only child actors playing adult roles, with Jodie Foster, Scott Baio and John Cassisi in major roles. The film tells the story of the rise of "Bugsy Malone" and the battle for power between "Fat Sam" and "Dandy Dan".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yvonne De Carlo</span> Canadian-born American actress, dancer and singer (1922–2007)

Margaret Yvonne Kao Middleton, known professionally as Yvonne De Carlo, was a Canadian-American actress, dancer and singer. She became a Hollywood film star in the 1940s and 1950s, made several recordings, and later acted on television and stage.

<i>Beverly Hills Cop II</i> 1987 buddy cop film directed by Tony Scott

Beverly Hills Cop II is a 1987 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Tony Scott, written by Larry Ferguson and Warren Skaaren, and starring Eddie Murphy. It is the sequel to the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop and the second installment in the Beverly Hills Cop film series. Murphy returns as Detroit police detective Axel Foley, who reunites with Beverly Hills detectives Billy Rosewood and John Taggart to stop a criminal organization after Captain Andrew Bogomil is shot and seriously wounded.

In business, a white knight is a friendly investor that acquires a corporation at a fair consideration with support from the corporation's board of directors and management. This may be during a period while it is facing a hostile acquisition from another potential acquirer or it is facing bankruptcy. White knights are preferred by the board of directors and/or management as in most cases as they do not replace the current board or management with a new board, whereas, in most cases, a black knight will seek to replace the current board of directors and/or management with its new board reflective of its net interest in the corporation's equity.

<i>White Christmas</i> (film) 1954 film directed by Michael Curtiz

White Christmas is a 1954 American musical film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen. Filmed in Technicolor, it features the songs of Irving Berlin, including a new version of the title song, "White Christmas", introduced by Crosby in the 1942 film Holiday Inn.

<i>Annie Get Your Gun</i> (film) 1950 film by Busby Berkeley, George Sidney, Charles Walters

Annie Get Your Gun is a 1950 American musical Technicolor comedy film loosely based on the life of sharpshooter Annie Oakley. The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer release, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and a screenplay by Sidney Sheldon based on the 1946 stage musical of the same name, was directed by George Sidney. Despite several production and casting problems, the film won the Academy Award for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture and received three other nominations. Star Betty Hutton was recognized with a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.

Charlie Midnight is an American songwriter and record producer and the founder of Midnight Production House. He has been nominated for the 1987 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song, two Golden Globes, and has been a producer and/or writer on several Grammy-winning albums, including The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album, Joni Mitchell's Turbulent Indigo, and Marlo Thomas & Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year Long. He also is a writer on the Barbra Streisand Grammy-nominated, Platinum-selling Partners album having co-written the Barbra Streisand and Andrea Bocelli duet "I Still Can See Your Face."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">101 Park Avenue</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

101 Park Avenue is a 629-foot (192 m) tall skyscraper at 41st Street and Park Avenue in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newman family</span>

The Newman family is one of the core families on the American soap opera, The Young and the Restless, which is set in the fictional town of Genoa City, Wisconsin. They were introduced in February 1980, when Victor Newman arrived in town. Eventually, Victor was paired with Nicole Reed, who has notably become the family's prominent matriarch, having been married to Victor four times. The family is currently represented by Victor, Nikki and his four living children: Victoria, Nicholas, Abby and Adam Newman. The family is also well known for its long-standing feud with the Abbott family. The Newmans run the multinational conglomerate Newman Enterprises. They have lived at their ranch for three decades.

Ned Stone Tanen was an American film studio executive. The films he produced were some of the most popular films of the 1970s and 1980s, including the 2 key Brat Pack films The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire, as well as Smokey and the Bandit, American Graffiti, Coal Miner's Daughter, The Deer Hunter, Crocodile Dundee, Top Gun, Animal House, and many others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Greenberg</span>

Gordon Greenberg is an American stage director, a theater and television writer, and an Artistic Associate at The New Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramount Theatre (Aurora, Illinois)</span>

The Paramount Theatre, also known as the Paramount Arts Center, opened in Aurora, Illinois, in 1931. It was designed by Rapp and Rapp in the Art Deco style with Venetian elements. Over the years, it has hosted films, plays, musicals, concerts, comedy shows, and other acts. The structure was restored in the 1970s and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It is part of the Stolp Island Historic District.

<i>Hitchcock</i> (film) 2012 film by Sacha Gervasi

Hitchcock is a 2012 American biographical romantic drama film directed by Sacha Gervasi and based on Stephen Rebello's 1990 non-fiction book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho. Hitchcock tells the story of the relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and his wife, Alma Reville, during the filming of Psycho in 1959. Hitchcock premiered at the AFI Fest on November 1, 2012 and was released in the United States on November 23 by Fox Searchlight Pictures. It grossed $27 million against a $15 million budget.

<i>Rocketman</i> (film) 2019 film based on the life of Elton John

Rocketman is a 2019 biographical jukebox musical drama film based on the life, music and career of British musician Elton John. Directed by Dexter Fletcher and written by Lee Hall, the film tells the story of John in his early days in England as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his musical partnership with Bernie Taupin. The story is told through his music and is titled after John's 1972 song "Rocket Man". The film stars Taron Egerton as John, with Jamie Bell as Taupin, Richard Madden as John Reid, and Bryce Dallas Howard as Sheila Eileen, John's mother.

<i>Coming 2 America</i> 2021 comedy film directed by Craig Brewer

Coming 2 America is a 2021 American romantic comedy film that serves as a sequel to the 1988 film Coming to America starring Eddie Murphy and directed by Craig Brewer, from a screenplay by Kenya Barris, Barry W. Blaustein, and David Sheffield, and a story by Blaustein, Sheffield, and Justin Kanew, based on characters created by Murphy. It co-stars an ensemble cast of Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, KiKi Layne, Shari Headley, Teyana Taylor, Wesley Snipes, and James Earl Jones. Coming 2 America was the final film appearance of Louie Anderson before his death in 2022, reprising his role as Maurice from the first film.

The Secret of My Success is a musical comedy play based on the 1987 movie of the same name starring Michael J. Fox. Music is by Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler and book by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen.

References

  1. "The Secret of My Success". Boxofficevoodoo.com.
  2. "The Secret of My Success Film Locations - [otsoNY.com]". onthesetofnewyork.com.
  3. "The Secret Of My Success" via Amazon.
  4. "The Secret of My Success: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack credits". October 17, 1990 [1987]. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  5. The Secret of My Success: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack Billboard 200 at AllMusic . Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  6. "Winners & Nominees 1988 Golden Globes". HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  7. Ebert, Roger (April 10, 1987). "The Secret of My Success". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  8. Canby, Vincent (2007). "The Secret of My Success". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on November 21, 2007. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  9. "The Secret of My Success". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  10. "The Secret of My Succe$s". Metacritic . Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  11. "Cinemascore :: Movie Title Search". December 20, 2018. Archived from the original on December 20, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  12. "Secret of My Success' No. 1 at the Box Office Spot". The New York Times. April 15, 1987. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
  13. "The Secret of My Success box office figures". Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  14. "The Secret of My Success". Box Office Mojo. IMdb.com, Inc. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  15. "The Secret of My Success box office data". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  16. Jones, Chris (February 23, 2020). "Review: The Paramount's fine 'Secret of My Success' must drag along a clunky story from the '80s". Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  17. 1 2 "The Secret of My Success | February 12 – March 29, 2020". Paramount Theatre . February 4, 2019. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  18. Gans, Andrew (February 5, 2019). "The Secret of My Success Musical Will Make World Premiere in 2020 at Aurora's Paramount Theatre". Playbill . Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  19. Peikert, Mark (February 24, 2020). "What Did Critics Think of New Musical The Secret of My Success?". Playbill . Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2021.