Office Space Review
by "Berge Garabedian" (drsuess AT microtec DOT net)March 1st, 1999
OFFICE SPACE
RATING: 7 / 10 -->Good movie
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Mike Judge, the man behind the infinitely stupid and funny BEAVIS & BUTTHEAD animated series, jots down his first live-action movie, based on his infamous "Milton" sketches from TV's "Saturday Night Live", and helms the picture to boot. This movie is made for anyone who has ever worked in a Dilbert-type office environment, hates their job, and doesn't mind laughing at it all.
PLOT:
A guy working in a run-of-the-mill tech company hates his job. After some help from a relaxation expert, the guy develops the capacity to become indifferent to his stress, and ironically lands himself a position of higher power. But when his friends are slated for downsizing, our boy and his buddies decide to get even with a half-assed money-making virus scheme.
CRITIQUE:
This movie has many chuckles, some laugh out loud scenes, other shrugs of the shoulder, in a humorous and poignant office setting, which touches upon much of the inhumanity and hypocrisy that permeates the high-tech cubicles environments of our day. I personally saw MUCH of myself in the main character, since I, much like him, find myself wondering about the worth of my cubey-employment every other high-tech-flying day. I sense this capacity to identify with the main characters in this film, as a strong correlation point to your appreciation of the humor within. And it is within that environment that the authenticity and parody of the actual office rapport, the insincere stooge bosses, the phony empowerment signs all over the walls, and the daily frustrations that people face with the technological office "advancements", were all dead-on perfect!
Having said all that, the plot of the film itself is actually quite thin, with an irrelevant and cheesy romance with Jennifer Aniston (wasted in this role) tossed in for effect. I would have liked to have seen more office scenarios and incidents, as opposed to the last third of the film, which essentially down-shifts into a semi-crime caper. The actors were all very good with Ron Livingston playing an excellent laid-back dude, and his Bill Gates Jr. buddy coming through as the geek with the love for the gangsta rap. All in all, I would recommend this movie to all people who live, or have survived, this kind of an office environment, are looking for a light comedy, and don't mind a thin plot. Either way, always try to remember that WORKS SUCKS!
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars:
Director Mike Judge apparently plays the role of Jennifer Aniston's idiot manager at Chotchkie's in this film. He was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador. A nod to actor Ron Livingston's better-known role in SWINGERS (9/10), comes by the way of a button on Jennifer Aniston's restaurant costume which reads "We're not in Kansas anymore". An infamous line from the film featuring the then-unknown Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau.
The guy playing the spectacled-nerd in this film, David Herman, has directed two documentaries of his own. He's also done voices for the Mike Judge-created TV series "King of the Hill".
The real-life Milton in this film, Stephen Root, has also done voices for "King of the Hill", and might be better known as his character of Jimmy James from TV's "NewsRadio". He's also had plenty of movie appearances in such films as BLACK RAIN, GHOST and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. Actor Gary Cole, who plays the condescending boss in this film, also played the role of Mike Brady, father of the Brady's, in both of THE BRADY BUNCH movies.
Paul Willson, who plays the second "Bob" consultant in this film, may be best remembered as Paul, the character that he played in the wildly successful TV sitcom "Cheers". He was the "other fat guy", besides Norm. Goofy neighbor Diedrich Bader plays Oswald Harvey on TV's "The Drew Carey Show".
Review Date: February 23, 1999
Director: Mike Judge
Writer: Mike Judge
Producers: Michael Rotenberg and Daniel Rappaport Actors: Ron Livingston as Peter Gibbons, David Herman as Michael Bolton, Ajay Naidu as Samir, Jennifer Aniston as Joanne Genre: Comedy
Year of Release: 1999
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(c) 1999 Berge Garabedian
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
