Too much of everything

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Blistering performances.

What would you do with $1 million? While some would say "take a vacation" or "buy a new home", Office Space shows the beauty and disparity of doing "nothing". Before any dialogue, we see Peter, the protagonist, stopping and starting in his car. This is a metaphor for his boring and stressful life. The constant accelerating and breaking speaks directly to the stagnant state of his life. When he glances out of window, the old man was stopping and starting as well. He realizes that he could potentially live and die in this mundane lifestyle. As he swerves into the adjacent lane and is stopped, he realizes that his life is inescapable. The opening scene was packed full of social commentary on the immobile and mundane nature of office work. Viewers were also exposed to one of the conflicts of the film.Interestingly, Mike Judge based this movie on the famous newspaper cartoon Milton, but chose to focus on the life of Peter, his coworker. In the film, Milton is portrayed by Stephen Root and is one of the most interesting examples of foreshadowing and his stapler is a constant thread throughout the film. The resolution to Peter's problems is a result of Milton carrying out an act that he had been threatening to do from the beginning of the film. As far as character arc, Mike Judge made some pretty cheesy and predictable decisions. Deus Ex Machina made several appearances in Office Space. The strongest elements of this film are the social commentary on the terribly boring lifestyle of working a white-collar office job, the foreshadowing because of its effectiveness and ability to move the plot along, and the conflict/resolution.It was nice to see a film that I could laugh at a little, but the deeper message cannot be missed. In my opinion, the deeper message of this film lies in the dissatisfaction that is a result of a lack of motivation and happiness. The entire film is centered around Peter's unhappiness. The commentary that the droning days in an office can drive people insane and into suicide (Tom Symkowski's failed attempt) is a direct critique of the cubicle style workplace. His unhappiness at work was driving him into a depression.I enjoyed this film. There are so many elements and characters I could talk about and I highly recommend watching this at first alone and then with friends to get some different interpretations. I give Office Space 5 out of 5 Michael Bolton songs.

Some people are completely fulfilled in their job-related pursuits, are supported by their co- workers, and put all their heart into their work. Then, there are those for whom the exact opposite to all three of those statements. "Office Space" is for that latter group.For a basic plot summary, "Office Space" focuses primarily on Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston), a beaten-down cubicle drone who is just going through his life/job on autopilot. When a visit to a hypnotherapist goes horribly wrong, however, Peter snaps out of his funk & starts doing things on his own terms...with predictable hilarious results!Where this movie really succeeds is that it perfectly captures the essence of an un-fulfilling work environment. Most anyone who has ever held a job can relate, but those (like myself) who have lived a "job from hell" scenario will cringe all the more and laugh all the heartier.The auxiliary cast is also spectacular. Gary Cole as boss "Bill Lumbergh" has now become a classic performance, while such actors as Stephen Root ("Milton), Jennifer Aniston ("Joanna"), David Herman ("Michael Bolton"), & Ajay Naidu ("Samir") turn in spot-on comedic gems.I consider this to be one of my favorite films of all-time for its ability to capture (through humor and satire, of course) the dysfunctional work environment. If you haven't "lived it", then perhaps this type of humor will not appeal to you. For the desk-jockeys, sales-clerks, and pencil-pushers of the world, however, be prepared to laugh long and hard!

Almost everyone has experienced the agony of the daily commute until it becomes pure mockery like Peter Gibbons' morning drive, slowly progressing inch by inch, 'racing' the old man on the sidewalk in a walker, taking the initiative to switch lanes only to find that it is the other lane that is advancing. Peter signs almost knowingly, defeated, accepting that this is the universe's will and how it is laughing at him. The company he works at, Initech, is a glorious mess. Two separate supervisors come with news of the same issue, highlighting how nobody really knows what their role is (later, in a scene of such piercing comedy and discomfort, a long time worker has trouble explaining exactly what he does for the company). They drone on with those same corporate sayings: "Looks like somebody's got a case of the Mondays!", in a tone that is much too cheery for Mondays. The colleagues are made up of colourful personalities that include a bright red parrot and what is basically a cave troll on a glitched payroll. The boss of the joint strolls by every other minute and checks the locks on the cubicles, and lengthens sentences with a dry, entirely too self-satisfied tone (the irony is that we never see him do any work either). But this is all okay, because Friday is Hawaiian shirt day and this will definitely provoke excitement and more importantly, a feeling of urgency and motivation to get those reports in. On a smaller level Judge also extends these critiques to the retail world, so that even the smallest restaurant is not immune from this corporate soul-sucking logic. Joanna must wear no less than 15 items of what is officially called 'flair', although this is perceived to be the minimum required in a thinly veiled threat. Forget getting in your TPS reports on time with the proper cover sheet; the restaurant managers berates with the self-importance of a high level executive. Buttons on uniforms are serious business, and you'd best heed this warning if you want to rise up the chain of command from lowly waitress. So the first half of Office Space has plenty of comedic and satirical potential, even more so now than at the turn of the century. Every character is a magnified caricature, every birthday cake and song plays like a death vigil. Beneath comedy there is always truth, which has led to responses to the film in the vein of "I quit my because of this movie" and the like, which is pretty much akin to saying you started a fight club because of Fight Club. The problem with this is that the film's events never come to a resolution, so unless you are content to fall into an equally monotonous blue collar job, that epiphany is pretty much useless. The gleeful irony set up here is that they constantly complain about their corporate prison existence yet they are also bound to for sustenance and material living. But that seemingly doesn't apply to Peter, who indulges himself in what is basically a power fantasy, where he strolls around the cubicles in flip flops, plays Tetris, openly flaunts his carelessness, and in return, is ... promoted. Perfectly humorous and in line with what we have expected from this crazy organisation, but the film can't have Peter becoming another one of those management drones, so it becomes a battle between the little guys and the establishment, and how they are taking back what is rightfully theirs. It's all a little smug, and when they eventually see the errors of their ways, too cookie-cutter to really have an impact.

This film is quite simply genius. Not a lot happens; there's no big explosions, shoot outs, alien invasions. It's just a film about a guy (Ron Livingston on form) who gets bored of his mundane job, and decides to leave, ripping off the company in the process. The jokes are absolutely classic, and the characters are so unique and witty, yet dull and mundane that the contrasts just make this film classic. Jennifer Aniston, in a very early role film-wise, pops up as Livingston's girlfriend, and has a great seen flipping off her boss. The plot may not be the greatest, but that doesn't really matter and some of the scenes in this film will have you roaring with laughter. And if you work in an office, you'll relate to some of the gags more so.Ron Livingston is superb as the job hating lead and there are some unforgettable scenes particularly the willful, joyous destruction of the hated, random-error generating photocopier. His slightly mad neighbor 'Laurence' is also a great character: 'hey man! the breast examination program is on TV!' he shouts through the thin dividing wall of the condominium, as Ron is watching Kung-Fu with Jennifer Aniston. Watching "Office Space" seems especially therapeutic after dealing with craziness at work. This probably explains the film's broad appeal; it resonates with people who have needed to suffer bureaucratic B.S., the latest manifestations of "office speak," and arbitrary rules at some point in their working lives. Although some people have criticized "Office Space" for not having enough "funny stuff," they don't seem to understand the subtlety of Judge's humor, which leans towards the dry and sardonic. One could almost imagine Billy Wilder feeling at home with the plot, though he might have needed a little extra nudging to include the gangsta rap songs.Overall rating: 9 out of 10.