The Secret of My Succe$s

Synopsis: Brantley Foster, a well-educated kid from Kansas, has always dreamed of making it big in New York. On his first work day in New York, he is fired in a hostile take-over and learns that jobs - and girls - are hard to get. When Brantley visits his distant uncle, Howard Prescott, who runs a multi-million-dollar company, he is given a job in the company's mail room. Then Brantley meets Christy Wills, who happens to be one of the top executives. Brantley sees how poorly the company is being run and decides to create a position under the name Carlton Whitfield, to influence and improve the company's operations. Soon things get unexpectedly out of hand, not in the least because of his aunt, his girl and leading a double life.
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Director(s): Herbert Ross
Production: MCA Universal Home Video
  Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win.
 
IMDB:
6.5
Metacritic:
36
Rotten Tomatoes:
55%
PG-13
Year:
1987
111 min
809 Views


1

New York City.

He wants to see

what's there.

I can tell him

what's there.

I don't know how when

you've never been.

Think of it, 'ey

The world's in

the palm of my hand

Run a comb through my hair

Headin' out for

some new foreign land

And all this could seem

like a dream out the door

With everyday people

face down on the floor

I always said I could

make it and be who I am

There's a new look in sight

What a change for

the new modern man

Well, Toto, I guess we're

not in Kansas anymore.

I just can't figure out why

he'd want to go off to New York

when we got

everything here.

Somethin' I have

to do, Dad.

Did you pack an

iron like I told you to?

Mom.

You're gonna walk around wrinkled in

New York if you don't take an iron.

Elmer Whitfield's cousin Carlton

went off to New York a normal boy.

Came back with

his head shaved

and an earring

stuck in his cheek.

With all this it seems

like I'm dyin' for more

The streets are on fire

Never seen it before

It's like the sound

of electric guitars

Worlds collide and

hearts will be broken

Over and over

it's the same every day

How can I say what

has never concerned me

The secret of my success

ls I'm livin'

Twenty-five hours a day

Mom, there's a whole

world out there.

I mean,

big, exciting.

I got a nice, small

apartment lined up.

I got a great job.

I wanna make

lots of money.

I want to have a

meaningful experience

with an incredibly

beautiful woman.

I can't even take a woman like

that to a small apartment.

I gotta get a penthouse.

A penthouse?

With a Jacuzzi in it.

Doin' this for you

as much for me, Mom.

All those years

of college,

they're gonna

start payin' off.

Ooh, ooh, yeah

Worlds collide and

hearts will be broken

Over and over

it's the same every day

How can I say what

has never concerned me

The secret of my

success is I'm livin'

Twenty-five hours a day

It's amazing to me

What a fool will

believe to get by

With a change

of your mind,

I can live, I can fly

Back!

The harder they come

the harder they fall

I never say maybe

and I go for it all

Just like the sound

of electric guitars

All right, listen up.

If there are any bugs

in here or rats or anything

that has more legs

than I do,

you just stay on your

side of the room, okay?

I'll stay on mine.

I should warn you.

I'm packing an iron.

You weren't listening.

Twenty-five hours a day

The secret of

my success is I'm livin'

Twenty-five hours a day

Darling, please pack

it as fast as you can.

Mr. Forbush?

Not me!

He's two doors down

the hall on your right.

Into the shredder

as fast as possible.

Mr. Forbush.

Yep.

Hi, I'm Brantley Foster

from Kansas.

You hired me.

I start work here today.

You're fired, kid.

Sorry.

We all saw it coming, but we

looked for some kind of miracle.

Miracle never happened.

What did happen?

Hostile takeover.

Ninety percent of the people in this

building are out on the street.

You are one of those 90%.

Tough break.

Mr. Forbush, I was counting on this job.

I mean, what do I do now?

Punt!

Okay, New York, if this is

the way you want it, okay.

I'm sorry, Mister... Foster.

I'm sorry, Mr. Foster. We

need someone with experience.

But how can I get

any experience

until I get a job that

gives me experience?

If we gave you a job just

to give you experience,

you'd take that experience

and get a better job.

Then that experience

would benefit someone else.

Yeah. But I was trained in college

to handle a job like this.

So in a sense,

I already have experience.

What you've got is

college experience,

not the practical, hard-nosed business

experience we're locking for.

If you'd joined our training

program out of high school,

you'd be qualified

for this job now.

Then Why'd I go to college?

Had fun, didn't you?

What impresses me most

is the amount of

experience you picked up

while still attending college.

Well, ma'am, I knew all

those years of college

would be worthless without practical,

hard-nosed business experience.

"Assistant personnel manager,

J. Hall Communications.

"Junior purchasing agent,

Midland Furniture.

"Vice President in Charge of

Production, Central Manufacturing."

Outstanding.

Outstanding.

You're not gonna tell me I have

too much experience, are ya?

Certainly not,

you're perfect for the job.

Great!

Except...

No. No exceptions.

I want this job.

I need it. I can do it.

Everywhere I've been today there's

always been something wrong.

Too young, too old,

too short, too tall.

Whatever the exception is,

I can fix it.

I can be older. I can be taller.

I can be anything.

Can you be

a minority woman?

Mom, I'm doin' great.

Is it dirty there?

Are the people rude?

No, this town is terrific.

The people are really nice.

That's good, dear.

What about your job?

Job? Hey!

I got a fantastic office, got a

gorgeous secretary. The works.

Brantley, we don't

care if she's gorgeous.

Is she any good?

What?

You heard me.

Can she type?

Ma, of course

she can type.

Some can't, you know.

Now, is it safe there?

You haven't been robbed

or anything, have you?

Ma, will you quit worryin'?

There is no danger.

But New York is...

New York is just

like Kansas intensified.

Policia! Policia!

What? What's that noise?

ls something the matter?

Oh, no, Mom,

that's just the TV.

It sounds so real.

It's Miami Vice.

Well, can you turn the sound down?

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Jim Cash

Jim Cash (January 17, 1941 – March 25, 2000) was a film writer, noted for writing such 1980s films such as Top Gun and The Secret of My Success. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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