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(#3) Doralee Rhodes
- 9 to 5
Who’s The Assistant? Doralee Rhodes (Dolly Parton) is a kind Southern woman just trying to support herself and her husband. She’s overly friendly and willing to put up with a lot. But do not take her for a fool - she does carry a sidearm in her purse. She’s very intelligent and often underestimated because of her looks.
Who’s The Boss? Franklin Hart Jr. (Dabney Coleman) is an executive at - the ingeniously named - Consolidated Companies. He manages the secretarial pool like a tyrant. He doesn’t allow his employees to have personal items at their desk. He belittles his female employees and blocks them from getting promotions they deserve. He believes women are beneath him and, worst of all, he harasses women.
Most Humiliating Moment: Doralee can handle Hart even when she has to fight him off from trying to sexually assault her. But the most humiliating moment is when she realizes all of her co-workers have been cold because they think she’s sleeping with her boss.
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(#2) Grace Cooley
- Scrooged
Who’s The Assistant? Grace Cooley (Alfre Woodard) is a hardworking mother of four who plays assistant to the head of the television network. She fills the role of Bob Cratchit in this modern retelling of A Christmas Carol. She does everything asked of her, from mixing cocktails to having someone fired and thrown out of the building on Christmas. Despite being an amazing assistant, she gets zero appreciation.
Who’s The Boss? Frank Cross (Bill Murray) is the youngest president in IBC network history. He has absolutely no scruples. He plans a live broadcast on Christmas, takes cabs from elderly women, and even tries to give his brother a bath towel for Christmas. He creates a super-shocking advertisement for a special that takes the life of a senior woman. He sees the demise as great press.
Most Humiliating Moment: While Grace must do many humiliating things as his assistant, standing there as Frank rips her son’s drawing off the wall and tosses it in her face takes the cake - especially since Frank only plans to give her a towel for Christmas.
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(#1) Andrea Sachs
- The Devil Wears Prada
Who’s The Assistant? Aspiring journalist Andrea “Andy” Sachs (Anne Hathaway) gets the opportunity to interview for Runway magazine. While not remotely a fashionista, she takes the job because it will open up a ton of opportunity. Over time, she starts giving more of her time and attention to try and help her unpleasable boss. Eventually, Andy gets an epic makeover and finds herself doing unscrupulous things to succeed. However, the struggle between her integrity and her ambition becomes a major part of this comedy.
Who’s The Boss? Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) runs fashion behemoth Runway magazine. Imagine Vogue and Anna Wintour, but unofficially. Miranda runs her magazine with an iron fist. Women must wear heels at all times. She likes things her way or not at all. She asks for the impossible like travel plans during a hurricane or a copy of the top-secret Harry Potter manuscript during the height of the book's popularity. And, if you displease her, be prepared for a scathing verbal lashing and her purse thrown in your face.
Most Humiliating Moment: While Andy faces many indignities, the popular cerulean smackdown is an epic burn. Andy scoffs at two belts looking exactly the same. And she gets a verbal lashing from Miranda in front of the entire editorial team. She breaks down the entire fashion industry while also pointing out that Andy is far from being as individual as she thinks.
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(#6) Zara Young From 'Jurassic World'
Who’s The Assistant? Zara Young (Katie McGrath) is on it. She’s composed and constantly has her eye on the prize. She’s even completely willing to babysit two teenage boys.
Who’s The Boss? Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) is the park operations manager of Jurassic World. She takes type-A to a new extreme. After all, she spends most of a life-threatening situation running in heels. She’s all business and, while she’s not the worst boss on this list, she definitely does have her priorities out of order. Also, considering the number of lives lost, she may not be the best at her job.
Most Humiliating Moment: Zara’s last moments on Earth are horrifying. She’s pulled into the air by a Pteranodon, only to be dropped and fought over by another Pteranodon, then eaten by the epic Mosasaurus.
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(#4) Andrew Paxton
- The Proposal
Who’s The Assistant? Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) is an aspiring editor. He hopes that by dealing with his overbearing boss, he will get to help shape publishing.
Who’s The Boss? Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) is the executive editor-in-chief of New York publishing company Colden Books. She is cold and asks for a lot. She requires late nights and weekends, yet is still gruff and dismissive with Andrew.
Most Humiliating Moment: While it’s embarrassing, Andrew drinks the same coffee order as Margaret in case he spills. Also, being forced to marry his boss is pretty humiliating. Margaret strong-arms Andrew into committing a transgression to keep his job. Worse than that, in true rom-com fashion, she confesses their plot to Andrew's entire family on their wedding day. That’s a lot to bounce back from.
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(#10) Guy From 'Swimming with Sharks'
Who’s The Assistant? Guy (Frank Whaley) is a recent film grad with his eye on a career in the film industry. He’s ambitious and optimistic, and believes that he has what it takes to make it in the entertainment industry. He's professional and really does try to be the nicest he can be in the office.
Who’s The Boss? Buddy Ackerman (Kevin Spacey) is a movie mogul and total nightmare of a human being. He’s not above publicly belittling his assistants and talking to them like they are garbage. He makes impossible requests like trashing every issue of Time magazine or staying at the office after 11 pm to record a program. He takes out his workplace anxiety and personal issues on his assistant, perpetuating the cycle of overworked assistants in the movie industry.
Most Humiliating Moment: Guys asks Buddy to speak to him with respect and not yell at him in front of his co-workers. Buddy proceeds to tell him he is “nothing” and needs to “be a man.” Buddy pelts him with office supplies and tells him he "doesn’t matter." This is one of the key moments that causes Guy to eventually turn on Buddy.
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About This Tool
Behind every successful boss or executive is a personal assistant who works around the clock to make their boss look great, and all work arrangements are in order, even on TV and movies. Assistants play an important role in many movies and have shaped many people’s illusions about the work of personal assistants. Some of our favorite fictional personal assistants often face the same harsh bosses on the screen as in real life.
It seems that excellent personal assistants can often save everything in trouble, but the work of the personal assistant is not as gorgeous and interesting as in the movie. The random tool lists 12 famous personal assistant roles in movies.
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