Limit Up

Year releasted: 1989

by Nathan Rabin
January 26th, 2005

Tagline:
"A hilarious look at high risk, true love, and a hill of beans."

Plot:
Like many young people, Nancy Allen has dreamed all her life of becoming a soybean trader at the Midwest Grain Exchange. Alas, her gender, Pollyanna-like disposition, and predilection for shapeless, frumpy outfits and floppy hats all seem to stand in the way of her making it in the sexist, hyper-competitive world of high-powered traders. Clearly she's in need of supernatural intervention. In a dark alley one night, Allen meets a diabolical trickster named Nike (with a hat to match the name), who uses her devilish powers to shoot cheap-looking streaks of blue lightning all over the place. At a dive bar, Nike (Danitra Vance) offers to help Allen get ahead of her less-talented male co-workers, via a satanic (or is it angelic?) version of affirmative action. All Vance asks for in exchange is her soul. Allen acquiesces, but she can't help but worry that this will be one of those rare instances in which making a deal with a supernatural being has negative consequences.

Key scenes:
When Allen tells boss Dean Stockwell that she dreams of becoming a trader, he replies, in the condescending tone of a kindergarten teacher addressing a feeble-minded class, that trading soybeans is a "tremendous responsibility" that is "beyond the capacity of women." Then he insists that with her knockout gams, she was born to be a runner. After apparently trading away her soul, Allen is given a red sports car with the ominous vanity plate "CU-N-HELL." Later, the film indulges in what may be the first montage sequence to combine a drippy R&B song, romantic Chicago landmarks, and a lead character learning the ins and outs of soybean trading.

Can easily be distinguished by:
The coma-inducing John Tesh score.

Sign that it was made in 1989:

At one point, Vance impersonates Dana Carvey's Church Lady character from Saturday Night Live.

Timeless message:
All a woman needs to do to succeed in a man's world is believe in herself, pursue her dreams, and/or sell her soul.

Memorable quotes:
"The devil... wants me to corner soybeans?" Allen asks once she begins to realize the full extent of Vance's sinister plans.