Product: Office Space (1999)
Rating: 4.0
For anyone who has ever hated their job...
After a breif run at the theaters, Office Space has found a renewed and vibrant life on video tape. It seems that everyone I talk to -- no matter what their age, background, or current job -- considers this film to be a personal favorite, a film that they can especially relate to. The reasons are pretty obvious. Everyone hates their job. Everyone feels that they're working for idiots who fail to understand just how special and unique their neglected employees truly are. This is something that we all have in common, whether we work for a retail chain or a fortune 500 company. This is also a feeling that Office Space manages to perfectly capture.Taking place in Houston in waning days of the 20th Century, Office Space stars Ron Livingston as an affable computer programmer who has found himself stuck in a dead end job that requires him to spend countless hours looking over a code to make sure that various computers are Y2K compliant. Its a job that makes little sense to him but one that he's expected to devote his life to. His coworkers are all incredibly (and realistically) annoying. Who hasn't had to deal with someone like the "Look's Like Somebody's Got a Case of the Mondays!" woman? His boss's (a hilarious Gary Cole) blandly friendly manner brings new meaning to the term "corporate evil," while over in the next cubicle, pasty-faced Milton (Stephen Root, also hilarious) mutters about burning down the building. Finally fed up, Livington first seeks help from a hypnotherapist, pursues a relationship with a waitress (Jennifer Anniston who is sweetly likeable here but doesn't have much to do) at a generic Chili's-like establishment, and finally engages in a plan to embezzle money from the company.Obviously, the plot is a little bit ragged and at times, it seems as if director Mike Judge and his actors made up the plot as they went along. But no matter, the film's quality is not to be found in the plot as much as in how it captures the small, realistic details that makes everyone hate their job. From the pointless memos to the corporate stooges, Office Space captures them all and sends them up in such a savagely hilarious way that the film serves as a wonderful catharsis for anyone whose just finished a hard day at work. Office workers will especially appreciate the scene in which Livingston and two recently laid off co-workers take revenge on an irksome xerox machine. (If not for the fact that children might be reading this review, I'd quote the rap song that plays over this scene but let's just say that its impossible not to cheer as our workers get their revenge.)Judge, best known as the creator of Beavis and Butthead, directs in an offhand, almost casual manner. There's a relaxed air about the whole affair and you get the feeling that everyone involved in the film was having a good time. Luckily, the feeling is infectous. The film is also well-acted by everyone involved. Along with Cole, Aniston, and Root, good supporting work is given by Deidrich Bader who plays Livingston's redneck neighbor. Ron Livingston is the perfect everyman lead for this film and gives a totally winning and likeable performance.With its portrait of mindless office jobs, Ikea-furnished apartments, and overly intelligent people struggling to find some way to establish some sort of individual identity in a corporate culture, Office Space at times plays like the gentler, slightly more juvenile cousin of Fight Club. Whereas Fight Club battled modern culture through violence, Office Space battles modern culture through practical jokes and whoppee cushions. Both films are must sees for anyone who has ever hated having to make a living.