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Between the three of them, Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, and Dolly Parton manage to embody at least six archetypes of put-upon womanhood in this feminist manifesto disguised as a hilarious satire. Fonda represents both the happy homemaker and the tentative divorcee. Lily Tomlin plays the self-assured widow and also the career woman trying to break into the boys' club. Dolly Parton -- parlaying the comic timing she honed as a country-music variety-show regular into an auspicious film debut -- at first seems the opportunistic trollop, but really she's the sweet working wife. And with a huge supporting cast that eschews male characters almost as forcefully as The Women, Nine to Five fits in everyone from gal Fridays to working moms, jaded alcoholics to clueless trophy wives. Unlike such later feminist empowerment fantasies as The First Wives Club, though, this Colin Higgins-directed farce wears its satire on its sleeve. Animated flights of fancy, exaggerated revenge scenarios, and the fine comedic chemistry of the starring triad keep the film from seeming mean-spirited even when it stacks the deck in favor of the fairer sex. The phrase "sexist egotistical lying hypocritical bigot" fits Dabney Coleman's despicable F. Hart to a tee; he makes the creep seem instantly familiar, yet totally over the top. Fine supporting turns from Marian Mercer (as Hart's wife) and Elizabeth Wilson (as the meddlesome Roz) are just two of the many details that make this movie so funny. By 1980 the women's movement enjoyed the patronage of not just political activists, but millions of ordinary working women, and Nine to Five was the perfect populist vehicle for their collective cries of frustration. Laughter really is the best revenge, and that's what this smart fable provides in spades.