Clockwatchers

Rating:
Summary: Watchers of clocks...
Review: defintley on of my favorite films of 98 because of the hilarious material the cast takes hold of and never lets go...fun, witty, and very true to the life of a tempist...clockwatchers allows us to see into the job and dull it actually can be...in the meantime the comical effect comes in at the same time to counter-act with their job...parker posey acts as the voice of all the others to dare to do something different and make the job fun...kudo's to posey...it also shows a human side with life we can relate to...how many movies can you say that about? when i watch a movie i like to be able to get to know a character that way i can walk out feeling as if i truely meet them...most typical films don't even allow time to the characters to build up actual characteristics...this is when you walk out saying what a waste of time...for true characters watch clockwatchers...

Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: This is easily one of the best movies ever made. Don't watch it if you're expecting car crashes or heroes diving from tall buildings into swimming pools or villians getting blown to bits. However this movie does contain heroes and villians--in many cases some of the characters are both.

The story evolves around four temps who struggle for acceptance and identity in a large credit company, the other "permanents" are a faceless and heartless crowd who look down upon them with mistrust and even contempt. Iris (played by Toni Collette) is a quiet, painfully shy girl whose complete lack of identity causes her to go through the motions of life in complete fear and diffidence. She is a follower not a leader and is actually comfortable with this. She's the new girl who befriends three other temps with colorful personalities: Paula, an aspiring male-hungry actress wannabee (Lisa Kudrow); Jane, a beautiful yet romantically insecure bride-to-be (Alana Ulbach) and Margaret, a brutally honest person whose inner pain and turmoil is thickly disguised by a spunky facade (brilliantly--and I mean brilliantly--played by Parker Posey).

Iris, whose father will provide a good career for her, can succeed in life but chooses not to. She soon develops a strong bond with Margaret, who, unlike Iris, wants to succeed but can't. This flawlessly directed film examines with utter honestly the world we live in, how sharp lines are drawn between the "haves" and the "have nots" when, in reality, there's not much difference in either. It is a comedy but there are many scenes of disquieting heartbreak that anyone can relate to.

There is a subplot involving theft and fingerpointing which will not only test the friendship of the four women but test their individual character.

Hats off to Jill and Karen Sprechter for having made such a well-chisled film. Don't miss it.

Rating:
Summary: every employer and manager should be required to see this
Review: While there are some upbeat moments in this film, the tone is depressing, but it's a movie that anyone in the corporate world, especially managers should see.

I remember a few years ago I heard that Kingston (makers of computer memory chips) were so successful that they gave all of their employees Christmas bonuses equalling triple their annual salary up to tripling 100K. Now that's a company with happy and loyal employees. You know that working for a place that values the employee's role in the success of the company is a company that will continue to survive as each employee will give their all to the success of the firm.

"Clockwatchers" shows a company that has somehow become successful, but is falling apart without even knowing it from the lowest ranks. Petty supervisors who don't even know the names of employees who have been working under them for over a year... managers who publicly humiliate employees in front of others who have no professional need to witness it... and employees with no real job to do other than to look very busy and watch the clock.

Instead of paying 100 employees $25K each, they could have easily paid 33 employees $75K each and gotten twice the productivity for the same expense (less if you think about the cost of benefits!). It's all to clear from this film that you reap what you sow.

I have plans of starting my own business in a few years and if it becomes successful enough to the point I'm hiring employees and supervisors of employees (whether the role is secretarial, or even restaurant workers), I will require the viewing of this film as part of their training.

Rating:
Summary: Deceptive. Dreamlike.
Review: Don't expect a rip-roaring laugh-out-loud comedy. Everything in this is low-key and understated (except, of course, Parker Posey, and she seems just right in this). It proceeds slowly and dreamlike as these temps live in a droning, lifeless hell. This corporation appears to have no reason for living just as these ladies have no compelling function to fulfill at the office. They're just there, doing silly chores and getting occassionally micromanaged on a most minute process. Their disbelief gets further challenged as the corporation takes ugly monitoring steps to reduce a rash of thefts (stolen paperweights, pens and coffee mugs!). It's like a setting from one of those Tom Stoppard plays of the absurd, but made palatable for the movie audience.

Management is barely present at this corporation. Usually, they're off to meetings, never answering their phones and never minding the store, leaving these temps alone to ponder this strange setting. When management appears they are portrayed disconnected automatons, not the type of Machavellian Dogberts you might expect in an office sendup movie.

Toni Collete is amazing. She can telegraph every thought and nuance. She does not even need to speak for us to know what is going on.

Rating:
Summary: the praisers nailed it, & the panners're CLUELESS :)
Review: reading "truths" about the oppression of women into this fantastic film is mostly overdone imo. despite the sprechers' intent (judging from interviews with them), it's not so much about that as it is the pervasiveness of life's banality and unfairness. (gender has little to do with That- the 4 principals could just as easily have been disposable peon Men.) actually what's it's Really about is life's touching ephemerality. but i'm really here to applaud not only the participation of our great lady parker, but also paul dooley as iris' father. always enjoyable to see machiavellian obsidian order spymaster enabran tain (deep space nine) come out from under that cardassian makeup- he also played hamburger-happy wimpy in "popeye" and cameo'd as the anal-probed ufo abductee in parker's "waiting for guffman"! :D but my most heartfelt serenade is for the rarely-remarked-on helen fitzgerald as the quiet, compelling cleo. what an Impact she leaves, despite being seen almost exclusively in longshot and given little actual dialog! what else has she been in? gonna have to scoop up this adorable little mouse-with-a-secret and put her in my pocket, i think! :D vt

Rating:
Summary: 9 to 5
Review: This movie brings 2 main words to my mind, "brilliantly magnifiscent". It was absolutely brilliant. My favorite part was when (at the end) she said that maybe we just drift through life not connected to anyone. It was great. I watched it from 4:50 to 6:30 AM and loved every minute of it. Check it out.

Rating:
Summary: A Truly Great Indie Film.
Review: I personally thought this movie was great. It made something meaningful out of something meaningless. It takes the 9 to 5 part of our society and gives it something more than just that. I especially liked the ending where she said that maybe we aren't connected to any one and that were just drifting through life. This movie was great. I watched it at 4:50 AM and it didn't go off until 6:30 AM. I adored every minute of it. It was wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: Wake me up when it's over!
Review: This movie was possibly the worst movie I have seen in my whole life. I rented it thinking that any movie with Lisa Kudrow in it couldn't be that bad, but boy was I wrong! There is no recognizable plot in this movie, and it is neither funny nor captivating. The acting is OK, but the script is so bad you had to feel sorry for them. Even the ending is foreshadowed just enough so you know exactly what's going to happen. This is definitely a movie to skip. Look for another, better movie with big names, like Double Jeopardy with Tommy Lee Jones and Ashley Judd.

Rating:
Summary: Stupid
Review: This movie was horrible. I love everything Kudrow has done so when I rented this I was very dissapointed. It never got to the point, and it ended in a very bad ending. There where only like two funny parts and they werent even that funny. Miss it!

Rating:
Summary: Unique satire
Review: "Clockwatchers" is not just a comedy about bitter temps, in actuality, it's a satire about people's lives and how they can be totally crushed under the oppression of the work force. It's a film that exposes, with no mercy, the tedious, soul-draining routine that workers, especially temps, go through every day, and how they can feel totally trapped, with no chance at freedom. Sure, it's wickedly funny in it's observations of soulless companies and their rules and policies, but beneath it lies a bleak look at how people can totally lose their identity when devoted to their job, when everything always boils down to pleasing others and maintaining a decent salary. Like Parker Posey's character says in one scene, "I feel like I'm floating, with no connection to the outside world". The actresses in "Clockwatchers" are great, they all express their characters perfectly, especially during the second half of the movie, when all of their friendships crumble. The transformation of Toni Collette's character is chilling, especially at the end. The only thing that bothered me were the last twenty minutes, they dragged on, focusing on a plotline that didn't need to be explored. However, "Clockwatchers" is definitely worth watching, a perceptively funny and depressingly honest film.