Product: Office Space (1999)
Rating: 5.0
Humor and Realism
Mike Judge's profound comedy "Office Space" has a surprisingly large amount of layers to its foundation. Perhaps one of my personal favorites, "Office Space" explores the daily struggle of Peter Gibbons, played brilliantly by Ron Livingston, a computer programmer at Inatech Corporation. Day in and day out, Peter and his co-workers Michael Bolton (David Hermann), and Samir Naenanagadd (Ajay Naidu) are subjected to the same treatment, with tedious requests from those in upper management, mainly Bill Lumbergh, played to perfection by Gary Cole. Peter longs for a life other than his own, where he is not confined to a cubical, following the same time consuming, miniscule procedures from 9-5.Finding he can take little or no more of this abuse, Peter enlists in the help of a hypnotherapist. Peter is put under a spell that allows him to relax and forget about his problems or his unsatisfying career. While still in the transe, the hypnotherapist collapses and dies, leaving Peter in a state of utter contemptment. As a result he does not show up for work the next day, and does not convey any emotion when his girlfriend reveals that she has been cheating on him. He shows up to work in sandals, asks his dreamgirl (Jennifer Aniston) on a date, and shows the upmost disrespect for management. Still, somehow, after a meeting with the efficiency experts, the "Two Bobs", including another typical enthusiastic performance by Al McGinley, Peter is offered a promotion due to his honesty, "It's not that I'm lazy. It's that I just don't care". On a side note, amazingly enough, this is the message I had been trying to convey, but could not find the words to do so.Upon learning of his promotion, he is informed that his two friends, Michael Bolton, who made a drastic mistake when asking to simply be referred to as Mike, and Samir, whose unfortunate last name can not be pronounced by anyone, are to be fired. When brought to the attention of his pals, they form a plan to steal a large amount of money from the company through a computer program. But when Michael makes a severe mistake on a "Monday detail", their plan falls apart.Peter's journey on self reflection continues with the subplot focusing on his relationship with Joanna, a pretty waitress played by Jennifer Aniston, who also revolts against her demanding employer (a cameo by Judge) and his fixation with "flare". Perhaps the highlight of the film occurs in which Peter completely rebels against authority, as he steals Lumbergh's parking spot, knocks over the walls to his cubicle, and places fish guts on top of the dreaded "TPS Reports", all while "Damn it Feels Good to be a Gansta" by the Getto Boys is playing.In the end Peter avoids jail time, and begins a job working construction, thanks to an unsuspecting Milton, the abused co-worker played by Stephen Root. This movie is much more than a comedy, although it can be viewed as only such. However, I feel that this film has an inspiring message for the average man. Though we can't all be millionaires and have careers we enjoy, it is still possible to make the best out of a potentially bad situation. For Peter, it was Joanna. "I may never be happy with my job. But I think I could be happy with you". This is a great film with standout performances and inspired dialogue. "Office Space": a comedy with a surprising amount of realism, in which everyone who has ever faced any adversity can relate to.