Great Labor Day Movies

The Labor Day holiday was formed in 1882 in New York City to create a day off for the working class. Since the 1880s, Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday of September and for most Americans is a symbolic end of the summer. Most Americans celebrate Labor Day by having a barbecue, going to a Parade or taking a short trip on the three day weekend.  However, many Americans simply stay at home and relax in the front of the television. The following is a short list of some great Labor Day movies to enjoy on a well deserved day off.

Office Space was released in 1999 and was written by Mike Judge.  The movie is based on Judge's Milton cartoon series.  Office Space stars Ron Livingston as Peter, a computer software engineer, who after an experience with a marriage counselor decides he no longer wants to work everyday in his cubicle dealing with the daily office politics and people at the office who nobody can stand.  Gary Cole plays Lumberg, the annoying boss nobody likes and Peter's enemy throughout the movie.  Jennifer Aniston plays Peter's love interest who is also fed up with her job.

If you work in an office environment, Office Space hits close to home.  From the horrible birthday parties to the person who is always in an annoyingly good mood, Office Space nicely mimics the daily lives in the office.  A lot of good laughs and, of course, there is Milton, the disgrunted employee who gets revenge in the end.

Gung Ho was released in 1986 and was directed by Ron Howard and starred Michael Keaton. The movie depicted the takeover of an American Car Plant by a Japanese automaker. Set in a time when American and Japanese automakers were in the midst of a rivalry, the new owners install Japanese style discipline on the American workers including fitness routines and putting their jobs before all else. Eventually the relationship breaks apart but in the end in all works out.

Gung Ho depicts the life of factory workers and how people react during bad times. Its also depicts the cultural differences between the Japanese and Americans in the 1980s.  However, Gung Ho is a very funny movie. Keaton was in his element and there are very funny performances by George Wendt and Mimi Rogers.

Nine to Five was released in 1980 and starred Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton and Dabney Coleman. The movie depicts three working women who live out their fantasy to get even with their horrible boss. The three kidnap their boss and take over the company they work at and make all the changes they believed should have been made. In the end the changes do much to improve the company and the boss gets all the credit and is transferred to a third world country to turn around another office.

Nine to Five is a very funny movie. Bravo ranked it as the 47th funniest movie. Fonda, Tomlin and Parton are all very good and have good chemistry. Coleman plays a very believable bad boss and the story line and fantasy sequences are classic.