Shining Through (1992)

Ludicrous wartime thriller written and directed by David Seltzer, and based on a novel by Susan Isaacs. 

A secretary with a major law firm (Melanie Griffith) falls in love with a spy (Michael Douglas) and takes on her own spy mission in Berlin. Her only qualification is that she speaks fluent German (although, unlike the other actors, she doesn’t even try to put on a German accent) and has learned about intelligence work from enjoying films at the cinema. On this ridiculous premise, the film wobbles along in a highly entertaining manner. 

Liam Neeson isn’t too bad as the Nazi officer General Franze-Otto Dietrich. John Gielgud isn’t very well used as the agent “Sunflower”. And Joely Richardson is fairly watchable as the double agent Margrete von Eberstein. 

There are plenty of implausible moments but the film does have a few things in its favour. There are a few exciting sequences and Douglas and Griffith both have charm. But it’s so far-fetched and silly (with several unintentionally funny moments) that you wonder if it would’ve been better played as a comedy.

Working Girl (1988)

Intelligent and amusing Wall Street comedy-drama about a working-class stockbroker's secretary who dreams big. Like so many American films of this time, it is obsessed with social status and upward mobility. In many ways it’s a more sophisticated version of The Secret of My Success. Melanie Griffith, Sigourney Weaver and Harrison Ford are tremendous in the lead roles, really seeming to relish their parts. The script is nuanced enough that even the villain (Weaver) is likeable. It’s wonderfully 1980s – the hairspray, the shoulder pads, the pop soundtrack (Chris De Burgh’s "Lady in Red", the Pointer Sisters’ "I’m So Excited"), the New York scenes – but it has dated well because it taps into timeless themes of class, aspiration and identity. And while there are farcical elements, it resists cheap laughs and never descends into mere slapstick. The pacing is perfect, too: it builds and twists at just the right speed to keep you engaged.

In addition to the big trio of lead actors, there’s an all-star cast also featuring Alec Baldwin, Joan Cusack, Kevin Spacey and Olympia Dukakis. There are even brief appearances by David Duchovny and Ricki Lake. The theme song is the rousing but horribly overproduced "Let the River Run" by Carly Simon.