The 1980 film 9 to 5 took Dolly Parton from Dollywood to Hollywood before comedies about desk jobs were cool. Better yet, it gifted the world with its Grammy and Oscar-nominated theme song.
Over 40 years later, the inspiration for a short-lived TV series from the '80s and a recent Broadway musical goes under the microscope in the upcoming documentary Still Working 9 to 5, which debuted in March at Austin-based multimedia festival SXSW.
Country songwriter Shane McAnally contributed new music and wrote the film's score. He produced the film's biggest get of all: a brand-new duet version of "9 to 5," pairing Parton with Kelly Clarkson.
"I was blown away when I heard what Shane had done with my song," Parton told Rolling Stone. "This arrangement shows how differently a song can be done and the story can be told in a whole new way. A special thanks to Steve Summers for getting the ball rolling on this whole musical venture."
The track was released on Sept. 9 in honor of National Women's Equality Day. Hear Parton and Clarkson's new spin on the classic below.
"With all the inspiration around this movement [for income equality] and how music was a central character in the original 9 to 5, who knows... we might incorporate some of the iconic Dolly songs as well as some new classics," McAnally told Rolling Stone Country in 2019. "I'm so excited to get to be a part of what I believe will be the soundtrack of a movement, and help get it to as many ears and hearts as possible for the next generation of women and their allies."
The new film, co-directed by Camille Hardman and twins Gary and Larry Lane, explores more than a comedy film that co-stars Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as office workers pitted against a nightmarish boss played by Dabney Coleman (also known as that "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot"). The documentary addresses deeper issues such as sexual harassment, equal pay and the #metoo movement through new interviews with the film's stars.
"We got interviews with all of the cast in the original film," Gary Lane told Wide Open Country via email in Jan. 2021. "And even Rita Moreno from the 9 to 5 tv series and Allison Janney from the 9 to 5 musical! And (we) just locked in 10 Dolly songs and a new '9 to 5 'duet that fans will love."
The documentary will be released in select theaters on Sept. 16.
Documentary updates and an exciting new duet soften the blow of learning that the long-rumored reboot of the original film won't be hitting movie theaters or streaming services any time soon.
"I'm so sad that Disney has decided not to move forward with the #9to5sequel," the original film's screenwriter Patricia Resnick shared in Sept. 2019 on Twitter. "So many things need to be said about the office of today from lack of benefits to no living wage, permanent temps and of course sexual harassment. On the good side #9to5musicalUK is killing it!"
This story previously ran on Jan. 27, 2021. It was updated on Sept. 9, 2022.
