Product: Office Space (1999)
Rating: 5.0
"Fifteen Pieces... is the Minimum Amount of Flair!!"
Mike Judge's "Office Space" is a sharp, satirical film comedy, which takes dead aim at white collar, corporate life and hits the bull's eye.The film is about a young guy named Peter (Ron Livingston), who works in a soulless, high-tech, corporation. He hates everything about his pencil pushing, paper shuffling, numbers crunching job and feels trapped. He hates it so much, that he goes to a 'Occupational Hypnotist' for therapy. But through a tragically, bizarre (and darkly funny) accident he gets a hypnotic suggestion in his brain to no longer give a dam about his job or financial security.With his new found attitude, he basically turns his office upside down.(I love the scene where he guts a fish on his desk!) Along the way, Peter and a pair of frustrated downsized, software engineers (David Herman & Ajay Naidu), conspire to release a computer virus, that will slowly defraud the company of huge sums of money.Unfortunately something goes horribly wrong with the program and the guys must figure out a way to keep the corporate bosses from discovering their crime.When this movie was originally released in 1999 it bombed and quickly left the theatres. But through DVD/video sales & rentals, constant airings on cable television and good 'word of mouth', it became a cult film with a following. I think the reason this comedy resonates within people is because it gets all the details of corporate life... so right. Director-Writer, Mike Judge (Creator of both "Beavis & Butthead" and "King of the Hill") includes everything from the well manicured but dull corporate parks to the mind numbing fluorescent lighting and the earth toned, cage-like cubicals, that you would love to bang your head against.Judge gives us all the characters you almost always find in the corporate hierarchy including the inhuman boss, the evil consultants,the penny-pinching bean counters, the gossips, the worriers, even the engineers, who think they know everything. This movie totally gets it's topic of 'office hell' and just runs with it! The cast is great all around. Standouts include Gary Cole as Lumbergh,the passive-aggresive, boss you'd love to kill and Stephen Root as Milton, a mumbling, put upon employee with a stapler obsession. Even Jennifer Aniston gives a good performance as a flair-impaired, waitress, who hates her job in a 'Fridays' style restaurant.If you work in an office, you will either laugh or cringe... or do both, while you watch this gut-busting, hilarious movie. Highly recommended!