Office Space (1999)

Ever spend eight hours in a "Productivity Bin"? Ever had worries about layoffs? Ever had the urge to demolish a temperamental printer or fax machine? Ever had to endure a smarmy, condescending boss? Then Office Space should hit pretty close to home for you. Peter (Ron Livingston) spends the day doing stupefyingly dull computer work in a cubicle. He goes home to an apartment sparsely furnished by IKEA and Target, then starts for a maddening commute to work again in the morning. His coworkers in the cube farm are an annoying lot, his boss is a snide, patronizing jerk, and his days are consumed with tedium. In desperation, he turns to career hypnotherapy, but when his hypno-induced relaxation takes hold, there's no shutting it off. Layoffs are in the air at his corporation, and with two coworkers (both of whom are slated for the chute) he devises a scheme to skim funds from company accounts. The scheme soon snowballs, however, throwing the three into a panic until the unexpected happens and saves the day. Director Mike Judge has come up with a spot-on look at work in corporate America circa 1999. With well-drawn characters and situations instantly familiar to the white-collar milieu, he captures the joylessness of many a cube denizen's work life to a T. Jennifer Aniston plays Peter's love interest, a waitress at Chotchkie's, a generic beer-and-burger joint à la Chili's, and Diedrich Bader (The Drew Carey Show) has a minor but hilarious turn as Peter's mustached, long-haired, drywall-installin' neighbor. --Jerry Renshaw Amazon.com

The Great Escape...

1999's "Office Space" has become something of a cult classic, with office workers everywhere able to recite their favorite lines from this spot-on comedy. Ron Livingston stars as Peter, a computer software worker locked into a dreary cubical existance, suffering a condescending and exploitative boss and a meaningless life away from the job.

Desperate for a change, Peter tries hypnotherapy. When the session goes awry, Peter is left locked into a relaxed mode that allows him to cheerfully skip work, chase the girl of his dreams, and subvert the routine of his office. A consulting team brought in to downside the company becomes the trigger for a fraud scheme hatched by Peter and two of his disguntled office mates. They spring the scheme, only to suffer an attack of conscience (and a fear of jail). Their ham-handed attempts to fix things lead to a fateful decision by Peter.

The comedy of "Office Space" is in the knowing details, such as Peter's wearisome commute, in which the other lane always moves faster; the office gnome, laid off five years ago but still shuttling from desk to desk because noone thought to tell him; and a perpetually malfunctioning printer. Jennifer Anniston has a nice role as Peter's spunky new girlfriend, while Gary Cole is superbly hateful as Peter's unctious boss.

"Office Space" is highly recommended as a classic black comedy. September 22, 2008

Office Space

Long before TV shows like "The Office" and other work comedies "Office Space" hit a cord with most office workers. This 1999 movie pointed out printers that suck, bosses that suck, and employees that suck. It makes the keen observation that employees with backbone and creativity are capable of becoming managers or embezzlers that fear picking up soap in prison. We see three key employees hatch a plan to get enough to retire on once two find out the companies downsizing includes them. The irony is the employee worried about where his office moves and stapler will end up is the one that truly gets even with the boss and company in one fell swoop. This is a reasonably funny movie that has good replayability. Good quality DVD with a few extras on the special edition with flair. If you enjoyed this catch "Employee of the Month" and "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy".

CA Luster September 15, 2008

Reasonates more deeply with each viewing

This classic comedy will always entertain audiences, but the viewers who work in corporate America will recognize the truth between the laughs. Great movie. September 5, 2008

"We're not in Kansas anymore..."

Movie: 5 stars. Extras: 3 stars.

Last week I was reminiscing with an engineer friend about seeing "Office Space" during its 1999 theatrical run. He remembers me laughing constantly throughout the movie, and that flashback to a simpler time in my IT career caused me to finally get this DVD just so I could see it again and check out the extras. Of course, "Office Space" is still awesome, but unfortunately the included "flair" is little more than the bare minimum.

"Office Space" centers on Peter Gibbons, a twenty-something programmer entombed at Initech working on the Y2K software update project (the only dated aspect of the film, but it could represent any office work scenario). He's fed up with his mindless job, the lousy commute, uptight girlfriend Anne, and especially passive-aggressive boss Bill Lumbergh. Cohorts in programming Michael and Samir have similar workplace issues, and all three commiserate while trapped in their cubes or over mid-morning coffee at T.G.I. Friday's clone Chotchkie's.

One night, at the insistence of said girlfriend Peter sees a hypnotherapist to try and work through his malaise. Things don't go quite as planned, and Peter emerges in a Zen-like state that enables him to step out and act without fear of failure, or really any fear at all. Our hero quickly gets dumped by Anne, but winds up snagging a promotion and dating Joanna, the Chotchkie's waitress he had pined for from afar. However, just as his Peter 2.0 life is going great he resolves to get back at Initech for its indignities, and that's when events begin to spin out of control. To say much more would spoil the fun, but trust me when I apply the "comedy classic" label.

All the actors from main roles to supporting players do a great job, and the jarring gangsta rap soundtrack fits like a pocket protector (after all, don't most of us want to bust out of our bland shells and live the glamorous thug life once in awhile?). Case in point: Over time this flick spread through the corporate underbelly like a computer virus, and it's hard to find any cubicle farm where the drones aren't tossing around lines such as: "Yyyyeahhh...not a half-day...did you get that memo?...someone's got a case of the Mondays...I wouldn't say I've been MISSING work..." "Office Space" captures the white-collar world in all its soul-crushing splendor, from incompetent management and inane company rules to office politics and oddball co-workers. Indeed, we can count both "The Office" television series as its demented twin progeny.

As for the extras? Wwwweeellll, there aren't many buttons in this jar. The ones included aren't bad, but I wanted more than a short retrospective hosted by creator/director Mike Judge, some deleted scenes, the theatrical trailer, and media for your PC. Sorely missed are a commentary track by Mr. Judge and stars, along with, say, an extended cut and a longer documentary. Even so, if you've ever spent time in a cubicle, or think you want to, then check out "Office Space" on DVD. The life you save may be your own. August 30, 2008

This is a funny movie!

I own this and the movie is extremly funny. It is tasteful and approrpriate for most ages however you really need to be an office worker (IT position helps great) to truly appreciate the movie. That being said, anyone can potentially find it funny but as a resident IT guy in a cubicle I love this movie! August 6, 2008

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