Office Space [1999] [DVD]

This film is for everyone that has ever worked in open plan offices with stereotypical characters and managers. If you've been in this environment you will recognise every character in the film.

This was never released in the cinema in the UK and so has gone mainly unnoticed. It's now growing quicly on the cult scene with 'Office Space' quotes popping up everywhere.

Definately worth watching if you have 90mins to spare - you won't be dissappointed and you'll know most of the characters already in your own office. You may even feel sorry for Milton...!

I stumbled into 'Office Space' with no idea of the plot or style, and on both counts I'm not that much the wiser having seen it. Nonetheless I find myself reaching for it time and time again, for while it's a little unfocused what does come through is the shining sense of humour, and the feeling that you, like the main character, really shouldn't worry too much about it. You may not know exactly what's going on but it will all be okay in the end.

Peter Gibbons is a generic office worker. His days consist of excrutiating commutes, inter-changable bosses and TPS reports. He visits a hypnotherapist with his partner, asking desparately if there's any way they can make him forget his days at work. It's killing him a bit every day and he knows it. But when the hypnotherapist dies halfway through obliging, the new, carefree, relaxed Peter begins to see how wonderful a life of nothing can truly be.

The film is thoroughly genuine throughout. The characters feel real and alive and the distaste with which the office treats each other is painfully funny. Everyone is caught in their own problems and it's only when Peter relaxes that he can treat the office for what it is. A lot of the film rests on Ron Livingston as Peter and he pulls it off with a kind of amiable charm that permeates the whole film. His coworkers Zamir and Michael Bolton, (no relation to the singer), are familiar and funny support, and there are memorable characters filling the office all fantastically played.

It's not perfect, midway it becomes a semi-serious crime caper that blurs from fantasy to reality with startling speed, and the subplot with Jennifer Aniston is not given the attention to make it worthy, (it could have been either developed or cut, but as it is it just feels underdone), but the humour is always present and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, and the acting is topform across the board.

Rent it if you can, it's not a film for everyone, but if you do tune into the satirical sense of humour and you don't mind a lack of real direction, you'll find it's well worth your time

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 filmwise, pops up as Livingston's girlfriend, and has a great seen flipping off her boss. I cannot recommend this movie enough, it's cheap and funny - the perfect movie. Created by Mike Judge (Beavis & Butthead) this film is for the filmfan who likes something a little less commercial and their comedy a little different too. I cannot recommend this higher. Give it a watch...
Watch if you enjoyed: Punch Drunk Love, Being John Malkovich & Swingers.
-Stu