The Associate

The Associate is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Donald Petrie and written by Nick Thiel. The film, a remake of René Gainville's 1979 French film of the same name, which, in turn, was based on Jenaro Prieto's 1928 novel The Partner, stars Whoopi Goldberg, Dianne Wiest, Eli Wallach, Tim Daly, and Bebe Neuwirth, alongside Austin Pendleton and Lainie Kazan.

Plot

Investment banker Laurel Ayres (Whoopi Goldberg) is a smart and single woman trying to make it up the Wall Street corporate ladder, until one day she finds out that she is passed over for a promotion because she is a woman. Unable to face the fact that her less intelligent male protege, Frank Peterson (Tim Daly), has now become her boss, she quits and tries to start up her own company only to find out that the male dominated world of Wall Street is not interested in taking an African American woman seriously, and thus is forced to create a fictional white man (Robert S. Cutty) in order to be judged on her own merits. Ayres' financial wisdom is joined by the intelligent and computer-savvy secretary Sally Dugan (Dianne Wiest), who also was not properly recognized for her talents. Together they are able to become the most successful independent stockbrokers in the world while helping a struggling high-tech computer company stay afloat.

The Associate (novel)

The Associate is a legal thriller by John Grisham. His 21st novel, it was published by Doubleday and released in the United States on January 27, 2009.

Plot summary

As an idealistic graduate of Yale Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal, Kyle McAvoy has the promise of a highly successful career, although after graduation, he intends to devote three years to public service before applying for employment with a prestigious firm. His plans are derailed when he is approached by two FBI agents (soon proved to be bogus) who interrogate him and then pass him on to a mysterious man known only as Bennie Wright. Bennie has a videotape of a party that took place in Kyle's apartment five years earlier, when he was an undergraduate student at Duquesne University. In it, two of Kyle's fraternity brothers, Joey Bernardo and Baxter Tate, are seen having sexual relations with Elaine Keenan, a coed who later claimed she was raped while unconscious, a charge seemingly supported by Joey's asking Baxter, "Is she awake?", on the tape. At the time, the incident was investigated by local police, who determined there had been no assault and declined to take further action. With the tape now in his possession, Bennie threatens to expose Kyle's secret unless he cooperates with him and his associates.

The Associate (1946 film)

The Associate (Spanish:El socio) is a 1946 Mexican drama film directed by Roberto Gavaldón and starring Hugo del Carril, Gloria Marín and Nelly Montiel. It is based on Jenaro Prieto's 1928 novel The Partner in which a financially-struggling man invents a fictitious business partner in order to try and improve his prospects.

The film's sets were designed by the art director Manuel Fontanals.

Cast