Last week Alex Tabarrok over at Marginal Revolution had an interesting post on pro-business movies. He focused on recent movies, only one of which I’ve see–Air–and I’ve already commented on that one.
That leaves out my two all-time favorite pro-business movies: Executive Suite (1954) with William Holden and Working Girl (1988) with Melanie Griffith.
I won’t say much about either because if I do, I’ll necessarily give spoilers and I highly recommend watching them in suspense.
I will say this. Do you think someone could make a movie in which a large part of the plot is about whether a company should focus on quality in making furniture? If you had asked me before I saw Executive Suite, I would have said no.
As for Working Girl, my favorite scene is at the end when the camera pans out to show the beautiful skyline of Manhattan, showing, if I recall correctly, the Twin Towers. Like other Americans, I still feel bad for the approximately 2,500 people in those buildings and in the two airplanes who were murdered when the planes hit. But I also feel bad that we can’t see those buildings any more. Back to the camera. As it pans out, we hear Carly Simon singing “Let the River Run.” I’ve looked all over for that version. The one I bought by Carly Simon is good but not nearly as good.
How about you? What are your favorite pro-business and/or pro-market movies? I recognize that those are not nearly the same.
UPDATE: Thanks to Capt. J Parker for reminding me, in the comments below, about Other People’s Money, which I posted on in 2017.
READER COMMENTS
Eric Charles
Jun 26 2023 at 8:24am
The Bear is a relatively new series (not a movie) about the restaurant industry in Chicago and really showcases how difficult it is running a small business with such small margins. Hard work and discipline are emphasized along with how risky it is investing in such endeavors.
David Henderson
Jun 26 2023 at 10:58am
Thanks. I remember now that I watched an episode and liked it a fair amount.
Andrew_FL
Jun 26 2023 at 9:57am
Simon recorded at least two versions of that song, one a rerecording in 2009. I assume you either have that one or else there’s an unreleased third recording out there that was used in the film.
David Henderson
Jun 26 2023 at 10:57am
Thanks. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard both, and that the version I like is a third version. But I’ll check. Thanks again.
Capt. J Parker
Jun 26 2023 at 10:09am
My favorite pro-market movie is, no question, Other People’s Money even though overall, the movie isn’t that great. The thing that makes it my favorite is the shareholder meeting debate between Gregory Peck and Danny DaVito. I’m still open-mouth dumfounded that Hollywood could produce a script for that scene with such an accurate and compelling description and defense of how markets work to allocate capital to it’s most efficient uses.
David Henderson
Jun 26 2023 at 10:56am
How did I forget that? It’s one of my favorites too.
Indeed, I posted on it in 2017 and noted that the play is substantially better than the movie. Also, you commented then too. 🙂
Capt. J Parker
Jun 27 2023 at 12:21pm
Thanks, for the reminder, Dr. Henderson. I had totally forgotten that Other Peoples Money was first a play by Jerry Sterner. So the script wasn’t really a Hollywood product. Mr. Sterner always wanted to be a playwrite but went into business and investments when he couldn’t sell any scripts. Here’s his obituary in the NY Times (paywalled, sorry). So, it seems Mr. Sterners life was another reinforcement of the old advice for wannabe writers – First, get to know something about the world then write about what you know.
David Henderson
Jun 27 2023 at 3:09pm
Thanks. Wow, he died young. Love his comment about dealing with critics versus dealing with tenants. The former are a piece of cake compared to the latter.
Kevin Corcoran
Jun 26 2023 at 11:08am
This is more pro-market than pro-business, but The Castle is a cheesy and lighthearted comedy movie that focuses quite heavily on things like property rights and eminent domain, and it comes across as very critical of those who see themselves fit to deprive people of their property in the name of the “greater good.”
On an only slightly connected note, in the (pretty mediocre at best) Fantastic Beasts movie series set in the Harry Potter universe, I do find it appropriate that the rallying call of the evil wizard Grindelwald and his allies is “for the greater good!” Anytime someone claims their actions are justified with a vague appeal to the “greater good,” it should be a red flag the size of a football field.
steve
Jun 26 2023 at 11:32am
There are movies about Jobs, Buffett and others but might consider the Strat up documentaries. They both encourage taking risks and entrepreneurship. Startup Kids and Generation Startup.
Steve
Jon Murphy
Jun 26 2023 at 12:07pm
Small Time Crooks is a Woody Allen movie whose A-plot revolves around opportunity costs. It’s about a bunch of ex cons who open a cookie store as a front to tunnel into the bank next door. But they quickly discover they earn more selling cookies than robbing banks!
David Boaz
Jun 26 2023 at 2:49pm
Cash McCall, from the same novelist as Executive Suite, is a sympathetic profile of a corporate takeover artist. With romance and family conflicts to flesh out the story.
nobody.really
Jun 26 2023 at 3:22pm
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946): Manager of a financial institution explains banking to a mob of depositors. Addresses the trade-offs between fame, wealth, and happiness.
Baby Boom (1987): Woman at big consulting firm chooses to raise a kid, which tanks her career and love life. She moves to rural America, burns through her cash, and is reduced to having to make her own baby food—which becomes a fashionable business, attracting the attentions of her former consulting firm.
You’ve Got Mail (1998): Small bookstore owner gradually crushed by chain store. Sanctimonious talk about how people love small bookstores, but ultimately people embrace the chain.
Blue Hill Avenue (2001): Depictions of negotiations between wholesalers in retailers in the illegal drug trade regarding price and territory.
The Wire (2002-2008): Depictions of the illegal drug trade.
Bridesmaids (2011): Failed business owner must cope with feelings of inadequacy when interacting with richer people—and even when not.
The Americans (2013-2018): Soviet spy in the US poses as the owner of a travel agency in DC. The Soviet economy is depicted as unremittingly bleak, but the show avoids sugar-coating capitalism because the spy struggles with his failing business in the US.
Shitt’s Creek (2015-2020): Businessman loses his fortune to embezzlement. He moves to rural America and (a la Baby Boom) rebuilds his professional life, eventually returning the win financial backing from the business establishment.
Ozark (2017-2022): Depictions of money laundering.
Succession (2018-2023): Life in the Fox Corporation, but with Machiavellian stockholder/boardroom politics.
Yellowstone (2018-present): Addressing the shifting economics of cattle-ranching and land management. Confronting powerful rivals, the protagonist strives to maintain the cowboy ethos: We must face grim realities and do what must be done even if the face of the judgments of people who don’t understand these realities. Yet it appears that the ranch has been losing money for years, and only operates because it’s subsidized by the owner’s enormous wealth. So the grim reality is that it’s just a glorified hobby farm?
nobody.really
Jun 26 2023 at 5:13pm
Ghostbusters (1984), Rain Man (1988), and Jerry Maguire (1996) depict the challenges of start-up businesses—and especially the pressure to make compromises.
Somewhat related, both The Music Man (1957, 1962) and School of Rock (2003, 2015) depict teachers/con men promoting music education to young people, and succeeding beyond any reasonable expectation to the delight of the students and their paying parents.
Dylan
Jun 26 2023 at 3:39pm
While I wouldn’t say it is all that positive, I thought “Barbarians at the Gate” had a surprisingly sympathetic take on the story of the RJR Nabisco LBO.
Dylan
Jun 26 2023 at 4:35pm
Also, I’ve not seen all of it…but the few episodes I’ve seen of Super Pumped were both better, and far more sympathetic of the early days of Uber than I expected them to be.
Sam Branthoover
Jun 26 2023 at 7:29pm
I love “There Will Be Blood;” I think it’s pro-market (the protagonist’s entrepreneurship generates wealth to all that surround him) but some say it’s about the “greed” that comes with capitalism. I don’t personally think the two are connected in the film, but it’s an amazing film nonetheless.
Monte
Jun 27 2023 at 1:32am
Movies about Wall Street don’t get anymore entertaining than Trading Places.
Thomas Strenge
Jun 28 2023 at 9:07am
Chef by Jon Favreau. He gets fired from his job, and then reinvents himself by starting his own business in a food truck.
Thomas Strenge
Jun 28 2023 at 9:12am
Chocolat with Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. A woman starts a small business and new relationships and opportunities ensue.
Thomas Strenge
Jun 28 2023 at 9:15am
Money Ball and Draft Day. Both are about the business of sports and how hard work pays off.
a
Jun 30 2023 at 4:27am
For younger adults and older teens, a Korean drama called Itaewon Class shows people on the outskirts of society finding meaning and friendship through entrepreneurship. There are some K-drama tropes, including an overarching revenge plot, but it emphasizes how business incentives can look through race, gender, and social status.
Matthias
Jul 3 2023 at 9:24pm
For an even younger audience, ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’ is surprisingly pro-business and pro-market. Especially considering that most other kids shows seem to go strongly in the opposite direction.
The ponies in the show actually work for a living and several episodes embrace competition.
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