The Secret of My Success
A determined Kansas graduate reinvents himself as a secret executive and scrambles to balance corporate ambition, romance, and an increasingly chaotic double life.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- breezy
- romantic
- lazy sunday
- comfort viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film commercially polished but uneven, with an appealing double-life premise undermined by dated, inconsistent sitcom and slapstick writing.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Brantley Foster operates as a mail-room employee while secretly creating and inhabiting the executive identity of Carlton Whitfield.
Brantley arrives from Kansas with limited prospects and attempts to climb a New York corporate hierarchy through ingenuity and deception.
Brantley observes that his uncle's company is poorly run and tries to improve its operations from inside the organization.
The story's corporate ladder, executive spaces, and New York aspirations are presented through a bright, commercially polished 1980s style.
Films like The Secret of My Success, and why
Working Girl
shared 1980s corporate comedy, ambitious underdog protagonist, workplace deception, and romantic entanglements
Big
shared fish out of water comedy, upward mobility fantasy, office politics, and romantic complications
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
shared mistaken identity, screwball workplace humor, corporate ambition, and breezy romantic tone
Roxanne
shared 1980s comedy, double-life premise, social climbing, and high-energy farce
Movie Details
- Director
- Herbert Ross
- Release Date
- 1987-04-10
- Runtime
- 111 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (721)
Cast
- Michael J. Fox
- Helen Slater
- Richard Jordan
- Margaret Whitton
- John Pankow
- Christopher Murney
- Gerry Bamman
- Fred Gwynne
- Carol Ann Susi
- Elizabeth Franz
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Secret of My Success about?
- A determined Kansas graduate reinvents himself as a secret executive and scrambles to balance corporate ambition, romance, and an increasingly chaotic double life.
- What is The Secret of My Success like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Secret of My Success as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Secret of My Success violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Secret of My Success as mild.
- What did critics think of The Secret of My Success?
- Critics broadly found the film commercially polished but uneven, with an appealing double-life premise undermined by dated, inconsistent sitcom and slapstick writing.
- Which films are like The Secret of My Success?
- Films with a similar feel include Working Girl, Big, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Roxanne.
- How long is The Secret of My Success?
- The Secret of My Success runs 111 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Secret of My Success?
- In United States, The Secret of My Success streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
