Office Space Review

by DeWyNGaLe (dewyngale AT aol DOT com)
April 20th, 1999

OFFICE SPACE by DeWyNGaLe Rating: B-

http://members.aol.com/DeWyNGaLe

Beavis and Butthead was one of the most popular shows on television for the longest time. Parents did not approve of the crude humor, but no one seemed to care. The show went on to turn out a hit movie, Beavis and Butthead Do America. (A-) The phenomenon was quickly stopped when the MTV show was canceled. Mike Judge, the creator of the show went on to make another hit show King of the Hill, but soon that lost popularity as well. Well, Mike Judge is back with Office Space, which he wrote and directed.

The style of comedy used in Office Space is one of my favorites- sarcastic comedy. Ron Livingston, played by Peter Gibbons, is an employee at Initech, a computer company. His boss Bill, played by Gary Cole, is very laid back and kind of "clueless." Ron is not the type that likes to work at all. He pretty much just sits around on the job, not doing anything he is told to. Other employees at Initech include the very funny Milton, played by Stephen Root, who is always getting excluded from everyone else, Michael Bolton, played by David Herman, and Samir, played by Ajay Naidu.

Ron is not happy with the fact that he has to be in a cubicle all day long. He feels trapped. After going to a therapist, he realizes that he needs to be care free and not do what other people expect of him. He takes this advice way to seriously, and plots to take much money from Initech. He gathers other employees at the job to help him with his clever plan, which could land him in jail. From here, the film sort of goes into a theme that I didn't like. It takes about half of the film to get into this plot, and I wish it would have stayed the way it was the first half. The first half was a realistic look at work today, and I found it hysterical.

All of the performances in Office Space are very funny, especially Gary Cole's. Peter is also very funny as the rebelling office worker who will do whatever he wants. One of the best performances comes from Jennifer Aniston as Joanna, a waitress who works nearby Initech. She meets Ron, and the two start dating. The relationship between Ron and Joanna was underused, and really could have added a lot to the overall film. Jennifer Aniston is often underused in films. She should get a good role one of these days, because she has a lot of talent as an actress.

Sometimes Office Space can be very cheesy. Sometimes dialogue doesn't work or some scenes seem very out of place. Office Space also has a problem that many, many films have today. It was quite a forgettable film, and certainly not one that I will look back on at the end of the year and think of it as one of the funniest films of the year. It is just another nice, simple film with some good laughs. There are so many comedies that are the same way today. I am getting sick of all these mediocre comedies. Fortunately, Office Space didn't feel as empty as a lot of the other comedies coming out. The characters got to be very likable, and we actually got to know them pretty well.

The Bottom Line- Yet another so-so comedy to add to the long, ongoing list.

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