Business as Usual

Written and directed by Lezli-An Barrett, this fine film opened to good reviews, and then promptly disappeared. Glenda Jackson stars as Babs Flynn, a boutique manager, who is given the heave-ho, after she approaches her male boss on the subject of his making a crude pass at one of the employees (Cathy Tyson). Allying herself with the local union, Babs takes up the fight against big business. What could have been a one-note movie is anything but. Division in Babs home (her husband has been laid off, and now the family has no income), division in the politics of the union, and division even in Babs herself (the convictions of her heart vs. the often ugly realities of the economic marketplace), all add up to a realistic portrayal of a sadly common facet of the business world--sexual harassment on the job. Recommended. (R. Pitman)