Actually Matt watched Office Space a couple days ago, but he’s been busy. Sorry.
The plot: Frustrated wage ape Peter Gibbons hates his job at cubicle farm Initech. Peter and his buddies Samir and Michael Bolton (no relation) lament their fates while Peter also pines for local waitress Joanna. One Friday after work Peter’s bitchy girlfriend takes him to a hypnotherapist to attempt to bring him to terms with his job. While under hypnosis, and in a state of supreme relaxation, Peter’s hypnotherapist suffers a fatal heart attack. Peter, in a state of complete calm despite the panic of the others in the room, spends the day in bed. This presents a problem for Peter as his boss, Bill Lumbergh had informed Peter that he would be required to work both Saturday and Sunday. Peter’s new relaxed outlook makes neither this, nor his girlfriend dumping him a problem. Peter proceeds to fail upwards at work despite the presence of two efficiency experts named Bob laying off many of his coworkers, including Samir and Michael. Peter convinces his two soon-to-be-jobless friends to program and install a virus in the company financial software that will gradually accrue money in an account for the three of them. It’s like the plot of Superman 3. Also, there’s a weird guy in the office named Milton, and hilarity ensues.
Ok, this is an old one. (To be fair, I shouldn’t feel bad about it I just reviewed Conan.) Most of you have prolly seen this one. If not, run, don’t walk, and see it. That prolly gives you an idea of how much I enjoy this movie. A relative box office failure, this movie caught on as a rental and VHS/DVD purchase. This is Mike Judge’s first live action feature, which was prolly what turned me off from it when I first heard of it, as I am not a Beavis and Butthead fan. Fortunately, this movie is not retarded.
In fact, some viewers may find that this movie moves too slowly for their tastes. The movie is filled with jokes, but they are quiet jokes, you never see an actor really leaning on a punchline. I’d say it’s more like a Christopher Guest movie in style.
The big question is, “Will I find this funny even if I have never had a shitty office job?” I say yes. I’m not smart enough or educated enough to get an office job, but I still loved this movie. I think it taps into the archetypes that we can relate to if not as coworkers, then as customers at places like banks, post offices and the DMV.
Check out the trailer here.
Office Space is a great movie. It still gets referenced amongst my friends. I think it is safe to consider it a comedy classic, amongst movies like Caddyshack. It has been a while since I have seen it, though. I think it might be time to watch it again soon. I was thinking about starting up a weekly “Classic Movie Night” for my friends and I to watch movies that are “classic” to us – Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Jaws, Caddyshack, etc. Also, have you seen Idiocracy? I just watched it recently. It is by the creators of Office Space. Don’t expect it to be as good as Office Space, and watch it more than once. I didn’t think much of it the first time, but after watching it a second time, I have been quoting it often. Luke Wilson plays the main character in the film.