There are plenty of ways to remember Dolly Parton, but how 9 to 5 turned her into a movie star is one of the most entertaining chapters of her remarkable career. You can put on “Jolene,” listen to “I Will Always Love You,” or revisit Steel Magnolias and spend some time with Truvy Jones. Or you can clock in for 9 to 5.
The 1980 comedy starring Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin is currently streaming on Hulu, giving longtime fans another chance to revisit one of Parton’s most memorable movies and giving viewers who may know her primarily as a music legend the opportunity to see just how naturally she made the jump to the big screen. And what a first movie it was.
9 to 5 introduced movie audiences to Dolly Parton
By 1980, Parton certainly didn’t need 9 to 5 to make her famous. She had already built a remarkable music career and recorded songs that would live for generations, but movies were something new.
9 to 5 marked Parton’s theatrical film debut, with the singer playing Doralee Rhodes, a secretary forced to deal with the unwanted attention and rumors created by her sexist boss, Franklin Hart Jr., played with wonderfully obnoxious energy by Dabney Coleman.
Doralee eventually joins forces with Violet Newstead (Tomlin) and Judy Bernly (Fonda), two other women who have had more than enough of Hart. What follows is part workplace satire, part revenge fantasy and part wonderfully outrageous comedy, with the chemistry among Fonda, Tomlin and Parton providing a huge reason the movie works so well.
For someone making her first movie, Parton never looks like she wandered onto the wrong set. She is funny, warm and completely comfortable sharing the screen with two accomplished actresses. Doralee also gave her something substantial underneath the comedy. She is underestimated because of the way she looks, subjected to workplace harassment and judged by coworkers who believe something is happening between her and Hart when nothing could be further from the truth.
When Doralee finally gets the opportunity to tell Hart exactly what she thinks of him, it becomes one of those moments that makes you wonder how 9 to 5 could possibly have been Parton’s first movie.
Dolly Parton knew 9 to 5 could mean something
The comedy is big and frequently ridiculous, but the frustrations underneath it were very real. The women are dealing with sexual harassment, unequal treatment, being overlooked professionally and a workplace controlled by a man who believes he can behave however he wants without consequences. That gave 9 to 5 something more lasting than its laughs.
Over the years, we’ve had the opportunity to speak with Dolly Parton about 9 to 5, the workplace comedy she starred in alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Parton told us that even while they were making the movie, they understood they were part of something that could make a real difference for women in the workplace.
Click on the media bar below to hear Dolly Parton talk about the impact of 9 to 5.
More than four decades later, that’s one of the fascinating things about revisiting the movie. Office technology has changed, the clothes have certainly changed and the workplace itself looks considerably different than it did in 1980. Some of the conversations, unfortunately, don’t feel nearly as old.
And then there was that song
As if making a memorable movie debut wasn’t enough, Parton also gave 9 to 5 something no other songwriter could have given it: that opening song. You don’t need much more than those first few beats before you know exactly what’s coming.
Parton wrote and recorded “9 to 5” for the movie, turning the frustrations of everyday working life into an infectious country and pop record that became one of the signature songs of her career.
The song earned Parton an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song and won two Grammy Awards, including Best Country Song and Best Country Vocal Performance, Female. Awards, however, only tell part of the story.
“9 to 5” escaped the movie that inspired it and became its own cultural shorthand for dragging yourself out of bed, heading to work and dealing with everything that comes between clocking in and finally going home. That’s a pretty impressive legacy for a song written to accompany the opening credits of a comedy.
It also says something about Parton’s particular gift as a songwriter. She could take an idea millions of people understood and make it sound completely like Dolly.
9 to 5 gave Dolly Parton another place to shine
The movie became a major box office success, earning more than $100 million domestically during its original release. More importantly for Parton, it proved there was another lane available to her.
She would go on to star in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Rhinestone, Steel Magnolias, Straight Talk and other projects, creating movie characters that became another part of a career that was already almost impossible to categorize. But 9 to 5 is where that chapter began.
That’s what makes watching it today such a pleasure. You’re not simply watching one of the most popular workplace comedies of its era. You’re watching Dolly Parton discover yet another thing she was remarkably good at doing, while also creating one of the most recognizable songs ever recorded about going to work. Not bad for a first day on the job.
9 to 5 is currently streaming on Hulu and is also available on DVD through Amazon, as well as on digital platforms.
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