Watch These 7 Movies If You’re Thinking Of Quitting Your Job
If you are reading this, then there is a 33% chance that you’re at work.
That calculation is based on the fact that an average person spends 33% of their life at work. If that revelation depresses you, then you must have a soul. You must believe that humans are meant to funnel their skills and passions into a greater good instead of tumblin’ out of bed and stumblin’ to the kitchen every morning, woefully bereft of ambition. But whether or not the Man has gotten you down, you’ll nevertheless sympathize with these seven movie characters who simply couldn’t remain at their terrible jobs anymore. (But if you quit your job afterwards, please leave us out of it.)
1. Howard Beale in Network (1976)
Technically, Beale never officially quits. That said, the anchorman’s epic on-air rant about his workplace and industry is one for the ages. “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore,” he shouts, delivering an all-timer of a quote while channeling the raw, powerful energy of someone who has had enough tomfoolery for one lifetime.
2. Tess McGill in Working Girl (1988)
In Working Girl, Melanie Griffith (a.k.a. Dakota Johnson’s mom) plays a brilliant secretary, Tess, who (surprise, surprise) is underestimated and underappreciated at work. However, when Tess’s boss (Sigourney Weaver) tries to steal one of her brilliant ideas and claim it for herself, Tess snaps and eventually dumps champagne over her boss’s head in a limo. It’s the glamorous and satisfying resignation of everyone’s dreams.
3. Lelaina Pierce in Reality Bites (1994)
Winona Ryder’s Lelaina has to put up with a lot at work, but worst of all is her clueless TV-host boss. When she finally tires of his abuse, she secretly rewrites his cue cards to say, “Personally I’ve always had an odd preference … for very, very young girls.” Being the mindless TV host robot that he is, he recites the line on national television. What an incredible way to quit your job. You probably wish you had thought of it first.
4. Jerry Maguire in Jerry Maguire (1996)
Remember when Tom Cruise was just a short hot guy who didn’t think he was the Messiah? Take me back. In Jerry Maguire, he not only resigns from his position as a sports agent, but delivers an impassioned lecture about ethics in front of his whole office and even inspires his loyal receptionist (and goldfish) to join him. Tom Cruise, representing an average working man? And I actually see myself in him? Am I having a stroke?
5. Scarface in Half Baked (1998)
Guillermo Diaz’s Scarface is doing fine, just fine, at his fast-food job … until suddenly, he’s not. When he gives in to his dark side and hurls a burger at a customer’s face, bellowing, “F*** you, f*** you, f*** you … you’re cool … f***ck you,” it’s so perfect and relatable and hilarious that you can’t help but cheer. (If you’re at work, then maybe keep your cheer contained.)
6. Truman Burbank in The Truman Show (1998)
Can you “quit” a reality TV show when its subject is your very existence? According to The Truman Show, yes! Disgusted and disillusioned by humankind, capitalism, and life in general, Jim Carrey’s Truman escapes from the artificial storm that his captors have created for him and steps out of the job that he never signed up for. It’s a classy and poignant way to end this movie about the world’s longest reality show, and it’s instantly familiar to anyone who has ever wanted to switch up their lives.
7. Joanna in Office Space (1999)
Criticized for her lack of “flair” around the office, Jennifer Aniston’s Joanna decides to address this concern by chaotically unleashing the flairiest flair that her boss has ever seen. Letting her inner disgruntled pelican out, she not only denounces her job and office but flashes her middle finger at her manager. She then gets in a perfect dig about her so-called lack of flair and sashays out of the office like the icon that she is. In a movie about the soullessness of corporate jobs, Joanna’s big moment manages to stand out for its boldness and relatability. You will be with her every step of the way.
