Product: Office Space (1999)
Rating: 5.0
"Looks like somebody's got a case of the Mondays..."
In less stressful times during and immediately after college, I was a huge "Office Space" fan. I bought it on video, watched it a bunch of times, quoted it relentlessly (and still do) with my roommate, and generally considered it to be a funny, intelligent comedy. I had never actually worked in an office, but I imagined the movie to be a fairly accurate depiction of what the experience is like and what it does to the typical cubicle slave. In other words, I liked the movie, but in much the same way I liked lots of other movies.Then, a few months ago, I got an office job with an enormous corporation, and I now see the world of "Office Space" in a whole new light. It's still funny, but there's also a major undercurrent of depression beneath the humor. The movie's fictional Initech Corp. is a sterile suburban hell, where the bosses have become patronizing phonies and the workers are bitter and frustrated over their precarious, unfulfilling existence. My job isn't quite as bad, but few hours go by where I don't think of some line from the movie and realize just how accurately it describes what I go through on a daily basis. Human beings really aren't supposed to sit around at desks staring at computer screens all day, and "Office Space" perfectly captures the quiet despair that corporate lemmingdom can produce. At one point protagonist Peter Gibbons flatly states, "I don't like my job. I don't think I'm gonna go anymore." I'm sure many would like to say the same thing, but unfortunately in real life it doesn't prove to be that easy.Viewed in this light, "Office Space" could only have worked as a comedy. For one thing it requires a razor-sharp satire, which this movie very much is, to truly highlight the absurdity of the situations faced on a daily basis in offices nationwide. For another, if the movie's examination of life on the lower rungs of corporate America weren't lightened with some laughs, viewers would be reaching for arsenic and razorblades in record time. Ron Livingston brings a definite everyman appeal to the role of Peter: you can sympathize with Peter's plight because you've probably been there, and even if you haven't you'll still be able to feel his pain because Livingston communicates it so well. Not to mention, Gary Cole gives one of THE most underappreciated performances in cinematic history as Bill Lumbergh, Peter's "evil, disgusting pig of a boss." Sure, Lumbergh's a caricature, but Cole delivers his condescending lines with such perfect tone and expression that they still haven't stopped being funny after about ten viewings. Plus, in case you need any more reason to watch, the cast also includes the always-hilarious Diedrich Bader and the always-smoking Jennifer Aniston.As the plot progresses, "Office Space" brings in an element of wish fulfillment when Peter decides he has nothing left to lose and he might as well see what it takes to get fired. For most of its hilarious middle third the movie plays on this strain of insubordination, becoming the ultimate workplace fantasy as Peter disrespects his higher-ups and generally acts destructive around the office. There's also a scheme to rip off the company thrown in, but that's not really important. "Office Space" is so good the plot is rendered more or less secondary. Watch it, and drop out for an hour and a half.