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Summary: I have to agree...
Review: I'm a US citizen who teaches English in Mexico. My (Mexican) fellow teachers frequently ask me why I left the "American Dream" behind in order to work for a low salary at a university in Baja, and they always seem rather unwilling to accept my portrait of life in corporate America. I first watched this eerily realistic spoof on TV a couple of years ago, and I intend to order it for our school library with the hope that watching it will convince both students and teachers that life in the US isn't all that it's cracked up to be.
If the movie weren't so hilarious and extreme, it would almost qualify as a docudrama. It is very well cast and acted, and I must agree with the reviewer who finds it to be underrated.
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Summary: Awesome movie!
Review: This movie has to be one of the top 5 funniest movies of all time!! It is (simplistically) the story of three guys stuck in 'cubicle' jobs and the lengths they will go to get out of them. Peter, Zamir, and Michael (Bolton!) are stuck at Initech, until a hypnosis gone awry makes Peter, basically, do nothing. When the company bring in efficiency experts, he starts telling the truth about his deadend job (and TPS reports) and actually gets promoted, while his friends, who are busting their humps, get laid off. Good eventually triumphs over evil and it's all good.
The movie is full of great characters, from the mumbling Milton (the movie is based this character, created by the same guy who made Beavis and Butthead); to the annoying boss, Lumberg; the sweet girlfriend (played by Jennifer Aniston); and, of course, the hero, Peter Gibbons (played by Ron Livingston).
This movie is kind of an extreme version of the comic strip Dilbert, like what he would do if he actually listened to Dogbert. Buy it, you will laugh your buns off!
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Summary: Hilarious Look at Dead-End Jobs
Review: Looks like someone's got a case of the Mondays. Work Sucks. Mike Judge knows this and he uses this knowledge to write a great satire about the Gen-X corporate world. Ron Livingston is great as Peter Gibbons. I think everyone wishes they could rebel against their superiors like he does without consequence. Milton is a hilarious character with his constant mumbling and you do start to feel bad for him. Peter's job is to update the computer software for the Y2K switch. That's funny because now we have an even better feel to how meaningless is job actually was. This is one of those movies that I can watch everytime its on TV, no matter where I catch it from. Definitely one of my all-time favorite comedies and should atleast be viewed by anyone who loves a good comedy.
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Summary: Warning: If You Like Michael Bolton, You Won`t Like This
Review: A pleasant and witty surprise, "Office Space" is an offbeat and enticing comedy that presents a glimpse into the boring, dull and predictable corporate world. This movie wisely focuses the tedious and mundane situations that occur in multiple offices today, delivering an amusing and realistic cast of characters. Ron Livingston plays the average mid-twenties guy who suddently gets terribly bored with his job and decides it`s time to call it it quits. This event will lead to some funny and interesting situations, making for an entertaining and true-to-life (even if a bit cartoonish) cinematic experience. Director Mike Judge, whose previous work includes MTV`s "Beavis and Butthead", knows how to create a clever and intelligent movie with a lot of dead-on observations about the daily and mundane routines. Although "Office Space" displays a certain low-budget feel, the acting is very convincing and the characters are quite an achievement. Sure, this film hasn`t great camera tricks, a stunning photography or a superb soundrack, still it works well and stands as an above-average comedy. The comical approach is low-key, delivering subtle and ironic observations and avoiding the typical and predictable slapstick tendencies that are presented in most comedies today. It also shares a couple of similarities with the famous comic strip (and TV series) "Dilbert", where one`s job is boring as hell. Generates some genuine laughs.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant...excellent....wonderful...
Review: Is it just me, or is this one of the funniest movies on the planet? I absolutely love Office Space-- it just gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling inside every time you watch it. I think the main reason why it is so funny is that the characters are completely the opposite of the stereotypical "office nerd" who works in a cubicle every day and has no life or sense of humor (much less friends...) Also, I love how they listen to rap music-- the usage of the rap throughout the movie, again, is against the stereotype (light jazz, anyone?). Another aspect of the film that is hilarious is how the situation is perfect for the main character to be defiant to his superiors. The plot is set up so perfectly that you just can't help thinking during moments of brilliance "this is so awesome!" like when he's gutting the fish on his desk or parking in his boss's parking space. It's these little details and things that really make you laugh the hardest-- I am so glad I rented this movie-- check it out as soon as possible!
Rating: 
Summary: Didn't you get the memo?
Review: From the opening scene, when Peter Gibbons's (Ron Livingston)freeway-jammed car is outpaced by an old man on a walker, to the Monday-morning showdown between Man and Copier, you know this is gonna be a good movie, and it doesn't disappoint. Anyone who has ever sat in a flourescent-lit cubicle listening to easy-listening music for hours at a stretch, week after week, with nothing to look forward to but more of the same until retirment (assuming you don't get downsized first) can relate to "Office Space" -- a surprisingly good first effort from Mike Judge, the guy who produced the lowest of the lowbrow, Beavis & Butt-Head, and later the more subtle "King of the Hill." The performances are really good all around: Livingston is perfecto as office-shmoe Gibbons, a passive nice-guy programmer stuck in a boring, dead-end office job who has a revelation that sooner or later comes to everyone in a cube: we only have so much time on this earth, and we weren't meant to spend it this way. Shedding his passive ways, Gibbons rebels against evil boss Lumbergh (great performance by Gary Cole) and recruits two pals, the unfortunately named Michael Bolton (David Herman -- "Why should I change my name, he's the one that sucks!") and Samir, to help him loot his place of work of a few hundred grand in cash, and sets out to win the girl of his dreams (Jennifer Aniston). The soundtrack, mostly gangsta rap hits by the Geto Boys, is hilariously inappropriate for the setting -- but then again maybe not, since everyone that works at Initech is swallowing a lot of rage (there is a classic scene of skinny computer-nerd Bolton expertly rapping out the lyrics to "The Diary" by Scarface in his car). "Office Space" is a great commentary on the modern workplace, but it is also a (non-violent) revenge fantasy that will speak to anyone who has ever fantasized about smashing a copier with a baseball bat or telling the boss: "It's not that I'm lazy, it's just that I don't care."
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Summary: It is Just a new Classic in office-jokes-sarcasm
Review: Just hilarious, and here to stay as basic reference for living in corporate America. Four Thumps Up!
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Summary: "Fifteen Pieces... is the Minimum Amount of Flair!!"
Review: Mike Judge's "Office Space" is a sharp, satirical film comedy, which takes dead aim at white collar, corporate life and hits the bull's eye.The film is about a young guy named Peter (Ron Livingston), who works in a soulless, high-tech, corporation. He hates everything about his pencil pushing, paper shuffling, numbers crunching job and feels trapped. He hates it so much, that he goes to a 'Occupational Hypnotist' for therapy. But through a tragically, bizarre (and darkly funny) accident he gets a hypnotic suggestion in his brain to no longer give a dam about his job or financial security.With his new found attitude, he basically turns his office upside down.(I love the scene where he guts a fish on his desk!) Along the way, Peter and a pair of frustrated downsized, software engineers (David Herman & Ajay Naidu), conspire to release a computer virus, that will slowly defraud the company of huge sums of money.Unfortunately something goes horribly wrong with the program and the guys must figure out a way to keep the corporate bosses from discovering their crime.When this movie was originally released in 1999 it bombed and quickly left the theatres. But through DVD/video sales & rentals, constant airings on cable television and good 'word of mouth', it became a cult film with a following. I think the reason this comedy resonates within people is because it gets all the details of corporate life... so right. Director-Writer, Mike Judge (Creator of both "Beavis & Butthead" and "King of the Hill") includes everything from the well manicured but dull corporate parks to the mind numbing fluorescent lighting and the earth toned, cage-like cubicals, that you would love to bang your head against.Judge gives us all the characters you almost always find in the corporate hierarchy including the inhuman boss, the evil consultants,the penny-pinching bean counters, the gossips, the worriers, even the engineers, who think they know everything. This movie totally gets it's topic of 'office hell' and just runs with it! The cast is great all around. Standouts include Gary Cole as Lumbergh,the passive-aggresive, boss you'd love to kill and Stephen Root as Milton, a mumbling, put upon employee with a stapler obsession. Even Jennifer Aniston gives a good performance as a flair-impaired, waitress, who hates her job in a 'Fridays' style restaurant.If you work in an office, you will either laugh or cringe... or do both, while you watch this gut-busting, hilarious movie. Highly recommended!
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Summary: Comedy of surprising complexity - Film & DVD review
Review: The Film: Mike Judge is a genius. Using a number of relative unknowns he spends 2 hours skewering the people and situations all of us cubicle-dwellers hate at work. While sometimes slightly uneven in composition, it remains a bravura comedy that'll keep you laughing through to the end. Peter Gibbons (Livingston) hates his job at Initech, so much so that each day there feels worse than the day before. But when a botched-up hypnotism session leaves him unworried about his job and other cares Peter feels free to throw caution to the wind, deciding to stop coming in to work. He's amazed to find that instead of getting fired he's getting promoted while his hard-working friends (Ajay Naidu & David Herman, in the best buddy-buddy supporting actor performances of 1999) are getting downsized. They together decide to rip off the company, and hilarity insues. While the idea of playing into all of our hate of the foibles of the office workplace seems like a 1-note tune, Judge's writing and directing keeps a brisk pace and provides enough insight and analysis of why we despise these things and how they could be better that it never feels that way. Look for Stephen Root as Milton, by far the most hilarious character, stealing every scene he's in. Close behind is Gary Cole as Bill Lumbergh, about the slimiest weasel of a boss I could have imagined. Jennifer Aniston, while not bad, could have been replaced by virtually anyone else in the part who would have done as well with Judge's writing. The DVD & Technical aspects: While the sound seems a little harsh and the color tones and cinematography may be a little inconsistent, these look like problems related to the movie's production, not the printing of the DVD itself. Chalk it up to the fact that it's a low, low-budget comedy - if you've seen enough films you'll see this has slightly sub-par production values in general. The menu is interestingly designed, the only real extra is the preview trailer. The movie may be in Dolby 5.1, but it's a dialogue-based office comedy so as you imagine it doesn't use much of its capabilities to provide sense of place.
Rating:
Summary: Get rid of your Mondays with "Office Space"
Review: Anyone who has ever worked in a corporate environment, an environment necessitating the need for cubicles, needs to go out right away and pick up a copy of "Office Space." Created, written, and directed by Mike Judge-the same guy responsible for "Beavis and Butthead"-this 1999 movie perfectly captures the innumerable torments of the modern white-collar worker. The film did poor box office during its theatrical run, but has since become a massive cult classic on video and DVD. It's no wonder. The movie is funny, cynical, and is the only film in my opinion to adequately use rap music to great effect. To give you an idea of how popular this movie has become-my own mother has heard about the movie and made me rent it so she could watch it. Yep, when your own aging mom knows about a movie, you just know it has jumped the boundaries of a narrow audience and become a pop culture phenomenon. For those poor souls who waste the days of their lives imprisoned in a small box in some generic looking office building out in the suburbs, "Office Space" is the best way to channel your rage. It sure beats going postal, at least. Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingstone) is the moral and physical center of "Office Space." This young guy works at Initech, one of those late '90's computer tech firms that sprang up across the country like weeds. Peter hates his job, hates his bosses, and hates sitting in his cubicle listening to annoying co-workers. He especially despises Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole), a vice-president of the company who takes great pleasure in asking Gibbons to work on the weekends even as he hassles him endlessly about those "TPS" reports. The problems don't stop there, though. Peter's girlfriend is a controlling personality with a decidedly loose sexual reputation. Gibbons trudges through his days, finding solace only in two sympathetic co-workers named Samir Nagheenanajar (Ajay Naidu) and Michael Bolton (David Herman). His neighbor in the apartment next to his, a construction worker named Lawrence (Diedrich Bader), provides an occasional breath of fresh air as well. Peter Gibbons's life is a complete disappointment, an endless march of days doing nothing more than updating computer programs for Y2K and sitting around in his generic apartment watching Kung Fu. Something has to change before Peter goes off his rocker, and after he visits an occupational hypnotist, it does. After Dr. Swanson (Mike McShane) dies suddenly in the midst of hypnotizing Peter, Gibbons is a changed man. He saunters into work whenever he feels like it, wearing casual clothes and ignoring his bosses. He finally asks out Joanna (Jennifer Aniston), a cute waitress working at a restaurant called Chotchkie's, after months of indecision. After a midday fishing trip, Peter guts his catch on a huge stack of TPS reports. Something is definitely wrong with this guy. His friends worry about his reckless behavior, especially with a couple of consultants-the two Bobs-hired by Lumbergh to pare down the company lurking in the background, and try to shake him out of his malaise. Peter is undeterred and, when he learns his antics have actually garnered him a promotion while the consultants consign his two pals to the unemployment line, hatches a plot to bilk Initech out of a boatload of money. Predictably, the plans go horribly long, leaving Peter, Samir, and Michael in a desperate situation. Will the three survive to work another day? Will Peter find the fulfillment he's been seeking for so long? Will Bill Lumbergh ever quit saying "mmkay"? These questions, and many others, will find resolution at the conclusion of "Office Space." I'm not even going to waste time describing in detail the huge number of characters, all of them brilliant, who populate the universe of "Office Space." Obviously, Milton Waddams (Stephen Root) deserves special mention since he constitutes an entire subplot of the movie. Based on a series of short cartoons Judge made for "Saturday Night Live" in the early 1990s, Milton is quite a character. You'll either love him or hate him; I liked some of his shtick (the stapler, the cake), but thought he detracted somewhat from the main plot involving Peter Gibbons. What really stands out in the movie is the immensely quotable dialogue, some of it arguably the best lines in motion picture history (paraphrasing here): "Somebody has a case of the Mondays!" "He [Lumbergh] represents everything that is soulless and wrong." "Ha Ha-he's not related to Bill, is he?" I could go on and on. For instance, the sound Peter makes when he learns from Joanna that she did indeed have a relationship with Lumbergh is priceless: it's the sound a person makes when the very essence of their being is wounded. The fantastic dialogue and horrifically true aphorisms virtually demand repeated viewings of this movie. Everyone who works should own a copy of "Office Space." I've never met anybody who doesn't like this movie. Even my mom got a chuckle out of it. I drop anything I'm doing to watch it whenever it shows up on cable television. It's quite sad the film did poorly at the box office since a sequel, while it probably wouldn't have been as good as the original, could still have been great fun. Unfortunately, the DVD version of the movie is poor, with almost no extras worth mentioning. I'm praying the studio will release a special edition DVD at some point in the future with commentary tracks by Judge, Livingstone, Cole, Herman, Root, and other critical cast members. No other film in recent history deserves such a release more than "Office Space." Yes, it's that good.
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