Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Brantley Foster, a well-educated kid from Kansas, has always dreamed of making it big in New York City, but once there, he learns that jobs - and girls - are hard to get. When he visits his uncle, Howard Prescott, who runs a multi-million-dollar company, he is given a job in the mail room.
The Secret of My Success is a charming but formulaic 1987 comedy that rides almost entirely on Michael J. Fox's considerable charisma. The plot is a well-worn rags-to-riches mistaken-identity farce with few surprises — the dual identity conceit is executed competently but not inventively. Fox is energetic and likable, making the material work better than it deserves, while Helen Slater and Richard Jordan fill functional roles. Cinematography is standard 80s studio fare with nothing distinctive. The film's novelty is low; it recycles familiar corporate satire and fish-out-of-water tropes without adding a singular voice. The ending wraps up neatly and satisfyingly within its genre conventions. It's a pleasant, crowd-pleasing comedy elevated by its lead but not a standout of the era.