Office Space

This will probably make you never want to work again.

Director: Mike Judge

Writer: Mike Judge

Right so, where do I begin? Do I start with the good or the bad or the sad? I think I'll start with the sad because it's only one point. Milton. There is a man called Milton (Stephen Root) and he just gets completely shit on because he's a bit weird. They continually make him move his desk around when he'd just gotten it the way he wants it, then they take his stapler which he seems to have an attachment to because it works better for him, then they realise he was fired 5 years ago but because of a glitch in payroll and the fact that nobody told him he was fired so they just take him off payroll still not telling him, then they make him move his desk back again, then they move him to the basement where he is then asked to take care of a cockroach problem which really isn't his job but he voiced his concern about that only to be cut short with "uh yeah if you could do that, that'd be great". He then goes upstairs to his boss' birthday cake cutting thing and passes along the cake but ends up not receiving a piece himself. Finally, he tries to sort out his pay as he keeps trying to get his pay sorted but he's just continually passed around by payroll to his boss Lumbergh (Gary Cole) and he also just wants his stapler back. After every little thing goes wrong in this poor guys life he says Quote: "I could burn the building down." I won't give away whether he does or not but just watching this poor man get shit on by literally everybody around him is both funny and heartbreaking.

Now for the bad, there's barely any Jenifer Aniston in this. I mean yeah she's here and looks great and acts great and swears at everyone where she works but she's pretty much just a love interest that gets brought in and you think the film will be about her and Pete (Ron Livingston) but it's not. It's a nice change of pace but...I would have accepted it more if it wasn't Jen. I would have liked to see more of her. Also, if I hear "T.P.S Reports" ever again, in my lifetime, I will probably kill myself. I can't imagine having to be whoever wrote the script, or how the actors felt doing shot after shot after shot of those initial scenes in which Peter's boss' come up to him and tell him that he didn't file his "T.P.S. Reports". I was fucking losing my mind over watching it, imagine how they felt having to say/hear it over and over. Christ. Speaking of bosses, Bill Lumbergh is one of those guys. He's patronising, he keeps saying Quote: "uuuuuh" and "yeah, uhhh"  in every single fucking sentence he says. Makes you wanna kick him in the fucking teeth. That's there is a combination of good acting and good writing to make a truly irritating character. I swear the amount of times I wrote "fuck Lumbergh" in my notes is amazing. Actually, I have a list of people who can go fuck themselves in this film, it goes as follows.

1. Nina. I hate her voice.
2. Bill Lumbergh. Fuck him too.
3. The Bob's. Fuck both these guys.
4. Every other boss Peter has. Sick of those guys too.
5. The printer. Not a person but it can go fuck itself.
6. Stan. Sort your own fucking flair out then fuck yourself with it.
7. Drew. Who the fuck does this kid think he is. Fucking 30+ pieces of flair? Go fuck yourself drew. 

Finally we're at the good stuff. So I've complained a lot about some of the key things in this but this truly is a funny film. Just watching these characters get tortured and it's not for any personal gain, it's their job. They pretty much work in a small cubicle and get tortured by life. I kinda don't know who has it worse in all honesty. Michael Bolton (David Herman) and Samir (Ajay Naidu) or Peter. 

Peter is having a midlife crisis. It's hilarious to see him give up. Yet he excels at work because of this, regardless of the fact he starts not showing up to work. It's honestly kind of amazing, he gets a promotion because he's a "straight shooter" yet his friends who consistently come to work and get the piss taken out of them by a printer get fired. Why has Peter given up? He heard T.P.S. Reports one too many times and then his therapist dies in front of him during a hypnosis session. You completely relate to the poor guy's situation, though. I mean his life is just terrible. It's hilarious to watch too. I mean it's like watching a clown get beaten in the street. You laugh because his nose is making that funny beeping sound every time the attacker jumps on his head but you're in amazement as to how badly this guys life has gone to get him into his current situation. 

Finally, the printer get's beaten up. It's a short scene and I'm pretty sure Family Guy used it in the I dream of Jesus episode. It's a great scene. It's funny and the damn thing gets it's well-deserved beating. I think everything in this film gets its rightful comeuppance which is always great to see. Peter doesn't for what he does but...that's just how films go really. He does get a job he's happy in instead which is a lot better than what he should have gotten and everything turns out pretty great. 

Anyway I'm sorry this is fairly short, it's a good film and I tend to write more when something is just terrible or fascinating enough for me to pick up on more things to talk about. You should watch this film. To watch Milton's break down or Peters, you should watch this film. I promise you'll get at least one laugh out of it. 

This is just my opinion and if you disagree then that's fine, I'm open to discussion and I'm always interested to hear how you feel about this film. This is also a critique which is considered "Fair Use" under the Copyright Act 1976. If you like this film then go and support it's creators by buying the DVD or Bluray.