Office Space (1999)

Work Sucks.

Starring: Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Ajay Naidu, David Herman, Gary Cole, Stephen Root, Richard Riehle, Alexandra Wentworth, Joe Bays, John C. McGinley, Diedrich Bader, Paul Willson, Kinna McInroe, Todd Duffey, Greg Pitts, Michael McShane, Orlando Jones, Mike Judge

Director: Mike Judge

Running Time: 89 minutes

US MPAA rating: R
UK BBFC rating: 15
Comedy

On DVD

On DVD

Long before the comedy community had latched onto the chortlesome brilliance of Ricky Gervais' 'The Office', US cartoonist Mike Judge (he's the bloke who created 'Beavis and Butt-Head' and 'King of the Hill') had already realised the almost inexhaustible comic potential behind the mind-numbingly mundane life of the modern-day office-worker. 'Milton', Judge's series of animated shorts about a helplessly-disgruntled desk-jockey, found a regular slot on 'Saturday Night Live' and, in 1999, spawned this marvellously-observed feature flick. It's one of the smartest comedies of the last decade or so, and deserves to be lauded up there with all of Gervais' best work, instead of swept under the carpet as it more-or-less was upon its big screen release.

Now though, thanks to the wonders of DVD (perhaps not everything about modern life is rubbish), you can watch 'Office Space' over and over again. And you should. And you should do it right now. It stars Ron Livingston as Peter Gibbons, a cubicle-lurker who's reached the end of his tether with the sheer tedium involved in his job. Disillusioned beyond any conceivable recovery, he visits a hypnotherapist (Mike McShane) who he tells: "Since I started working, every single day has been worse than the day before, so that every day you see me is the worst day of my life." Things really are that bad. But, when a botched course of hypnosis leaves him without any worries, cares or inhibitions, he sets about making some life-changing decisions - including asking out the waitress he's fancied for God-knows-how-long (Jennifer Aniston) and hatching an ill-advised money-making scheme with a couple of his colleagues (Ajay Naidu and David Herman).

The plot itself is strong enough to hold the attention for the short-but-sweet running time, there are some great supporting characters to add that little bit of extra padding, and first-time director Judge displays a style which is perfect for the subject matter. Featuring dialogue dripping with sharp satire and a fantastically understated lead performance from a suitably bored-looking Livingston, 'Office Space' is a movie guaranteed to curry favour with anyone who's ever experienced the outright monotony of producing pointless reports or repeatedly attempting to fix a jammed photocopier.

DVD Extras: Just a trailer, which is a bit of a pity. A couple of episodes of the original toon might have been nice. Version reviewed: Office Space Extras: 1 out of 10

It's Got: The best photocopier-based scene ever put to film. No, seriously.

It Needs: 15 pieces of flair.

Alternatives: Clockwatchers, The Office

Summary: This hilarious pencil-pushing journey through office politics is worthy of taking up a space in anyone's DVD collection. Overall Score: 8 out of 10

Review by Gary Panton
Review Date: 15th May 2005

External Links

Office Space at the IMDB

Comments

2 Comments

One of the funniest movies I've ever seen! If you've ever worked, or feared of having to work, in a cubicle - then this is the film for you. Office Space offers up a unique blend of humor and contemporary criticism of the workplace...

Comment by:- gilletbd1977 | www.thedvdreport.com/dvd_revie... | 29 June 2005 | ip: logged

Absolutely the best cult film for people who have jobs. Ummm yeah - we're all going to have people like that at our jobs. The perky person, the ego trip boss, the schemeing coworkers, the big dreamer, the cocky friend... Very well thought out characters. My only take back on this movie is Jennifer Anniston - she was obviously added for her name's sake. She did not bring flare to her character and it was hard to believe her as a low-paid waitress. Otherwise wonderfully written, and well thought out. Got to love the road rage scene.

Comment by:- lawrence | | 01 March 2006 | ip: logged