---
title: "The Secret of My Success"
year: 1987
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-secret-of-my-success"
fi1m_id: "the-secret-of-my-success"
imdb_id: "tt0093936"
tmdb_id: 10021
wikidata_id: "Q496227"
fi1m_score: 62
critics_score: 61
critics_reviews: 6
published: "2026-10-04T20:03:55.810157+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-04T20:04:08.491287+00:00"
region: "KR"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The Secret of My Success (1987)

Directed by Herbert Ross · 1h 51m · Comedy

## Identity

The Secret of My Success

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-secret-of-my-success
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** the-secret-of-my-success
- **IMDb ID:** tt0093936
- **TMDB ID:** 10021
- **Wikidata ID:** Q496227
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093936/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/10021, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q496227

**Fi1m score: 62** · Critics 61 from 6 reviews

*In a sentence:* The leading man deserves a pay rise for doing so much of the screenplay’s work

> Michael J. Fox makes this corporate wish fulfilment pleasant company, but the jokes seldom match his energy. Herbert Ross offers enough polish for a light evening, provided the lead matters more than the laughs.

## Synopsis

In Manhattan, Brantley Foster (Michael J. Fox) wants to get beyond the post room and into the corporate ranks. He also goes by Carlton Whitfield, giving his bid for success the complication of a second identity. His ambitions bring him into the company of Christy Wills (Helen Slater), Howard Prescott (Richard Jordan) and Vera Prescott (Margaret Whitton). Business and personal appetites become tangled as Brantley tries to get ahead. Between the office comedy and the bedroom farce, he has to manage two versions of himself while pursuing the career he wants.

## Review

Herbert Ross’s *The Secret of My Success* is a passable corporate comedy carried by an unusually persuasive star. Its fantasy of advancement asks us to enjoy Brantley Foster’s nerve without looking too closely at what makes him qualified to succeed. That is a workable invitation for a farce, and Michael J. Fox does his considerable best to honour it. Too often, though, the jokes depend on his delivery to make them worth hearing.

Brantley’s other identity, Carlton Whitfield, gives the performance a useful supply of strain, even when the script is short of surprises. Michael J. Fox makes the ambition seem eager rather than calculating, which matters when the wish fulfilment is this shameless. We found ourselves rooting for him because his assurance never seems entirely settled; there is effort beneath the optimism. He makes us want the next opportunity to work out, even when we have little interest in the business surrounding it.

Helen Slater’s Christy Wills needs more comic room than the film allows her, and the supporting parts generally suffer from the attention lavished on Brantley. Richard Jordan gives Howard Prescott the necessary weight, though the corporate comedy offers him little that might complicate its familiar attitudes to authority. Margaret Whitton is livelier as Vera Prescott, bringing an appetite for the farce that the direction does not always share. These are performers doing useful work within narrow parts.

Carlo Di Palma photographs Manhattan with an inviting polish, giving the fantasy somewhere worth wanting to be. Edward Pisoni and Peter S. Larkin’s production design makes the corporate surroundings suitably desirable, helping to explain why Brantley is so keen to belong. The film plainly enjoys the prospect of success, and its visual finish does more to explain that attraction than the dialogue does. That glossy look is appropriate, although there are stretches when the setting is more engaging than the conversation.

Paul Hirsch’s editing keeps the corporate material moving briskly, but the bedroom farce is heavier going. The changes of comic pace expose how little Herbert Ross has found to connect the two. David Foster and Boris Blank’s music supplies welcome energy, and the soundtrack can put us in a better mood than the writing deserves. Yet brisk cutting and cheerful accompaniment cannot make a strained situation funny on their own.

The screenplay by Jack Epps Jr. and Jim Cash, with a writing credit for AJ Carothers, needs sharper jokes and more exact timing. A workplace farce can survive unlikely advancement and mistaken impressions; much of the pleasure comes from watching people struggle to maintain them. Here, the shifts between corporate ambition and sexual complication too often feel awkward. The film happily indulges the dream of getting ahead, but has little curiosity about what success might cost or whom it might exclude. We do not need a lecture on business ethics, though more resistance to Brantley’s wishes would have made the comedy less comfortable.

At 111 minutes, there is more of this than the premise can comfortably support. The charm remains, but it has to cover too many stretches in which the comedy merely goes through the motions. Admirers of Michael J. Fox’s eager, resilient screen presence will find enough to enjoy. Come for a light star vehicle, and allow for the jokes he cannot rescue.

*Fi1m score 62, published 4 October 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews lean towards qualified enjoyment, with Michael J. Fox’s charm the clearest point of agreement among the accessible verdicts. Even the negative assessment finds him winning and likeable, while the warmer notices accept the film as lightweight wish-fulfilment. Empire singles out the soundtrack alongside Fox, treating the thin plotting and questionable morality as tolerable drawbacks. The Los Angeles Times finds compensation in the brisk pace and Carlo Di Palma’s photography of Manhattan.

The split concerns how much those pleasures excuse. Variety finds the bedroom farce leaden and the corporate comedy toothless, arguing that the film never achieves a consistent tone; the more favourable reviews are readier to accept its foolishness. The available verdicts therefore range from cheerful indulgence to firm rejection. Two of the six entries contain no verifiable critical opinion, which limits how confidently a broader consensus can be drawn.

## Straight answers

**Is The Secret of My Success worth watching?**

*The Secret of My Success* is worth considering for admirers of Michael J. Fox’s charm, but its thin comedy keeps our score at 62 out of 100. We enjoy his eager, slightly strained confidence as an ambitious office worker juggling two identities; the awkward bedroom farce and overstretched running time make this a qualified recommendation.

**How long is The Secret of My Success, and what is it rated?**

*The Secret of My Success* runs 1h 51m. It is a comedy film.

**Where can I watch The Secret of My Success in South Korea?**

*The Secret of My Success* is not on any streaming or rental service in South Korea at the moment. It is available in 41 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How does The Secret of My Success compare to The Apartment?**

*The Secret of My Success* offers a more reassuring fantasy of office advancement than [*The Apartment*](https://film.one/film/the-apartment), which we recommend for sharper jokes and more feeling. Both connect professional ambition with romantic complications, but Fox’s star vehicle relies heavily on his charm, while Billy Wilder’s office romance gives its characters’ unhappiness more attention.

**What should I watch after The Secret of My Success?**

After *The Secret of My Success*, try [*The Apartment*](https://film.one/film/the-apartment) (1960, Fi1m 91): Office ambition and romantic compromise, with sharper jokes and far less reassurance. Then [*Working Girl*](https://film.one/film/working-girl) (1988, Fi1m 80): Another bid to climb the office hierarchy, with stronger romantic chemistry; and [*The Hudsucker Proxy*](https://film.one/film/the-hudsucker-proxy) (1994, Fi1m 78): Corporate wish fulfilment pushed into stranger, more elaborately staged comic territory.

### Reviews we read (6)

- **Empire**, William Thomas (75/100, inferred): The critic calls it harmless, sugary 1980s fun despite its thin plot and morality. Michael J. Fox’s charm and the hand-picked soundtrack are singled out as the film’s strengths. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/secret-success-review/)
- **Time Out**, NF (70/100, inferred): The review presents the film as the ultimate yuppie wish-fulfilment movie. It singles out Michael J. Fox’s enterprising post-room-boy premise, though the full review text is unavailable. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-secret-of-my-success)
- **The New Yorker**, Pauline Kael (64/100, inferred): The issue listing identifies Pauline Kael’s review of the film but does not provide her verdict. It offers no accessible details about what she praises or criticizes. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1987/05/04)
- **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The page did not load, so its verdict cannot be verified. No praise or complaint from the critic was available. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/10/movies/the-secret-of-my-success.html)
- **Los Angeles Times**, CHARLES CHAMPLIN (60/100, inferred): Champlin finds the film foolish and familiar but ultimately entertaining. He praises its brisk pace and especially Carlo Di Palma’s photography of Manhattan. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-04-25-ca-964-story.html)
- **Variety**, Variety Staff (35/100, inferred): The review finds the bedroom farce leaden and the corporate comedy toothless, leaving the film without a consistent tone. It praises Michael J. Fox’s winning, likable performance. [Read](https://variety.com/1986/film/reviews/the-secret-of-my-succe-s-1200427062/)

## Details

- **Director:** Herbert Ross
- **Director:** Herbert Ross
- **Screenplay:** Jack Epps Jr., Jim Cash
- **Writer:** AJ Carothers
- **Cinematography:** Carlo Di Palma
- **Editor:** Paul Hirsch
- **Music:** David Foster, Boris Blank
- **Production design:** Peter S. Larkin, Edward Pisoni
- **Costume design:** Joseph G. Aulisi
- **Producer:** Herbert Ross
- **Cast:** Michael J. Fox as Brantley Foster aka Carlton Whitfield; Helen Slater as Christy Wills; Richard Jordan as Howard Prescott; Margaret Whitton as Vera Prescott; John Pankow as Fred Melrose; Christopher Murney as Barney Rattigan; Gerry Bamman as Art Thomas; Fred Gwynne as Donald Davenport
- **Runtime:** 1h 51m
- **First release (Brazil):** 10 April 1987
- **Genres:** Comedy
- **Budget:** $12 million
- **Box office:** $111 million

## Where to watch in South Korea

Not streaming, renting or buying in South Korea at the last check.

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HU, IE, IL, IN, IT, JP, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, SE, SG, TH, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *The Apartment* (1960), Fi1m 91: Office ambition and romantic compromise, with sharper jokes and far less reassurance. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-apartment.md)
- *Working Girl* (1988), Fi1m 80: Another bid to climb the office hierarchy, with stronger romantic chemistry. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/working-girl.md)
- *The Hudsucker Proxy* (1994), Fi1m 78: Corporate wish fulfilment pushed into stranger, more elaborately staged comic territory. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-hudsucker-proxy.md)
- *How to Get Ahead in Advertising* (1989): For a nastier British view of career ambition and its unpleasant consequences.
- *The Closet* (2001): A French workplace comedy where an invented identity causes practical complications.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-secret-of-my-success