Rating: 
Summary: Odd and nervy. I loved it!
Review: I'LL KEEP THIS REVIEW SHORT AND SIMPLE. Bartleby has become one of my most favorite indie films to date. It's so bizzare and different, it truely stands out from any movie I've ever seen. I used to work in an office like this and its painfully realistic in my opininon. Granted, the characters in this movie are exaggerated for entertainment purposes but I can totally recall past co-workers in this film. This movie is bound to become a cult classic. If you enjoy dark and oddball comedies, this movie has your name all over it.
Rating:
Summary: More Crispin glory to obsess over.
Review: It starts out with Bartleby slowly walking down a bridge above a freeway, and leaning against the chainlink fence, watching the traffic. Automatically, we can tell the guy's nuts. His future boss has just been named the head of an office of public records where things could be much better. The office has 3 other workers: Vivian, a seemingly sex-deprived secretary, Rocky- the usual tough guy who's ready to knock someone out at any moment, and Ernie, a guy who's on the edge. When called into the boss' office to go over a record, this is what he has to say:
"Once, I watched 3 Bond movies in a row. Connery was it man. That series died when he walked. 7 hours! What a marathon! And the dog, was in the car the whole time, I forgot. He crapped in the back seat! He ruined that thing!"
After that, he walks out and does who knows what. But after placing a very honest ad in the paper for a position, Bartleby applies and gets the job (being the only one who applied too). The interview obviously creeped out the boss. Previously, Bartleby worked for the postal service in the dead letters office. It's here that he says that he scanned letters for money, and if they didn't have any, they were destroyed. He says this almost with a smile, and I couldn't help but laugh at the scene. At first, Bartleby's a great worker. Getting a week's worth of work done in just a few days. Soon though, he prefers not to do tasks when given them. It's not that he refuses, he just answers everything with "I'd...prefer not to". The most simple of tasks get that answer. From going out and getting the boss a sandwich, to putting his finger on a ribbon so it can be tied. That scene in particular was hilarious. Bartleby walks into the office, swaying back and forth, twitching, wiping sweat from his brow, pressing his hands against the window, and looks like he's ready to start freaking out. So much tension is built up before saying the phrase and walking out. Eventually, Bartleby is fired after the boss finds out he lives at the office and has no home, but he feels bad for him and tries to help him out. I wish I could go on, but I don't want to ruin things for you. While it may sound like a drama, it truely is a comedy and even after watching it 10 times, I still laugh as much as I did the first time.
I especially adore the characters. My favorites being Bartleby, Vivian, and Ernie. Ernie is just such a wacko that any scene he's in is enjoyable. When the toner for the copying machine is screwing up, he somehow gets it stuck in the water cooler and creates a huge mess...only to clean it up and ruin Rocky's computer and desk. Vivian is strange as well, but in that desperate housewife kind of way. Every scene she's in somehow ends up being erotic, but harmless. And Bartleby, well...he's played by Crispin, so I don't need to explain that one. Anything he does is perfect. After seeing him in this film, I started to comb my hair over just like his, and even went out and bought a certain brand of crackers after watching him eat them. I have problems, I know. And the office they work in is a character on its own. I guarentee you'll laugh upon seeing it.
The picture quality isn't too good. I'd give it 3 stars. There's noticable grain and blurryness going on. Some scenes were hard on the eyes, but it's not unbearable or anything like that. I just wish it would've been cleaned up a little. Then again, I wasn't exactly expecting Once Upon A Time In Mexico-quality print here. The sound is good though, and though there are no captions or subtitles, you can hear everything clearly.
The special features are surprising for such a low-budget and unknown film, but they're not that great either. I was expecting just cast bios or a trailer, but we get interviews with all the key characters. Though, it's a little confusing, some of the interviews are actually with the characters, and one's with Crispin being himself. I couldn't tell at first if it was to be taken seriously or not regarding the movie. All of the interviews are nice though, and add a little bit more character bits on how they feel about eachother. I especially liked Rocky's on where he explains where he find the best women. Crispin's interview is great of course, and he tries to explain how he feels about the original story of Bartleby, but is kind enough to mention that he doesn't want us to take what he says into contex as if it's right or not, but it's just how he feels. Even more of a reason to adore the guy there. There's also a "mini-commentary" with the director, and it's meaningless. It lasts just under 12 minutes and he mostly goes on about how things were shot and how scenes were put together. I think I speak for all of us when I say a commentary with Crispin (even if he was by himself) and the others would've been better. Of course, there are cast bios, which are fairly up-to-date surprisingly. Crispin's even mentions Willard in there, a movie that came out a few years after this one. But it listed a few that I didn't even know about, and now have plans to buy. Aside from the obligatory trailer, there's also a cool little feature on the Theremin, a musical instrument used for most of the film's soundtrack.
Overall, this film isn't just a timeless Crispin movie, but it holds its own to be a solid comedy. But of course us Crispin fans will eat it up. I'm playing his role as Bartleby above his in Rubin & Ed. Yes, Bartleby the character is that much weirder. Staring at air vents in the ceiling and putting his clothes in filing cabinets. Do yourself a favor and pick this baby up when you see it.
Rating: 
Summary: Preferring not to....
Review: Jonathan Parker has fashioned an occasionally very funny dark comedy based on Herman Melville's novelette Bartleby the Scrivener in which Crispin Glover nails the title character dead solid perfect. Set in an obscure, tiny Public Records office, Parker effectively transposes Melville's constrained environment to the present day--although it could just as easily be set at any time from the 60s up to today.The other office staff--Maury Chaykin's wacky, frustrated Ernie; Joe Piscopo's tough-guy, macho Rocky; and Glenn Headly's "sultry, steamy, and moist" Vivian are great characters as well, as is the head of the office played by David Paymer. The casting is excellent and in one truly hilarious sequence, Ernie fumbles a printer toner cartridge into a water cooler with disastrously uproarious consequences. Three quarters of the film is great as we see Bartleby repeatedly declaim his stance of individuality--the only thing he can cling to--"I would prefer not to". He's eventually let go by the boss and here Paymer, to his credit, does an excellent job at conveying the humanity that a boss should ideally have and that, sadly, is missing all too often--and at the same time, underlying the humor in the situation(s). Yet the ending of the film is a serious letdown. By then, the comedy has completely vanished and we are left with a portentous (and oft-repeated) declamation by Paymer of the film's tagline that, unfortunately, sours the film too much. Had Parker sustained the sharpness, wit, and intelligence greatly in evidence prior to the heavy-handed ending, this would have been an excellent addition to the small group of black workplace comedies (Shock to the System, Swimming with Sharks, et. al.) that have given a much-needed kick in the pants to the overly serious requirements of the American office. As it is, the ending drastically weakens the film. But it's worth seeing for the great characters which also include Seymour Cassel as a higher-up and Carrie Snodgress as a haughty publisher, and for the witty repartee. (Glenn Headly, in particular, is great).
Rating: 
Summary: Bizarrely engaging
Review: No need to rehash the plot. But this story manages to reflect Melville (a story I found exquistite, not dull at all) incredibly well. The line between comedy and tragedy is a blurry one. What makes us laugh can also make us cringe, and this story beautifully blurs that line as it gets under your skin in a creepy way. We see the disintegration of a person who chooses to opt out of life. At first it's funny, then weird, then irritating. But for the protagonist, it's disastrous. No easy way out for the characters, who begin as cartoons and end as real people. No easy way out for us either. Life doesn't offer a sideline, though many people scurry about in quest for it. If you're here, you gotta play. The film shows that wonderfully.
Rating: 
Summary: I was wrong...
Review: Prior to seeing this movie I believed that any movie based on a written work; Inherit the Wind, A Clockwork Orange, My Left Foot, A Raisen in the Sun... ect. had to be good.
No!
Based on a work by Herman Melville, this movie was the worst piece of excrement I have ever subjected myself to!
Rating:
Summary: Kafka meets the Twilight Zone in the office on the hill
Review: Surrealistic and hysterically funny tale of alienation. The hero, Bartleby, is trapped in the prison of a modern day office. The office is in a building which is perched on a hill, between freeways, with no access to pedestrians. The windows cannot be opened. Nearly mute and virtually catatonic, Bartleby steadfastly refuses to participate. In anything. The other characters - his boss, three other employees and the mayor's representative, are alternately enraged and baffled by the enigma he presents. To the viewers, his oddity serves to illuminate the oddity of the world he inhabits. A world in which the other characters move about in a zombie like state, without awareness. His main interaction is with his boss, who undergoes a significant personal transformation as the struggle with Bartleby gradually tears him away from his mundane existence. At the start of the film, it seemed to me too artificial. After a while - it clicked. Marvelously. Crispin Glover as Bartleby and David Paymer as the Boss were exceptional. A special award of merit should go to Glenne Headly, who plays the secretary. The way she delivers her lines gives a new meaning to deadpan. It was laugh-out-loud funny. I suppose a word of caution is in order - the humour is off beat. It might not resonate with everyone. The set design and music were brilliant. The extras on the DVD are entertaining as well as informative. Do YOU know what a Theremin is?
Rating:
Summary: Possibly the worst adaptation ever
Review: The fact that such a movie dare be named after the wonderfully quirky Melville classic is sickening. Not only does this movie stray so far from the story that they seem barely related, but when it does decide to reference the story it is in spurts of random quotes as though the characters remove themselves from the role and are quoting poetry. Maybe, if the original story did not exist, then this film would be somewhat bearable. However, since it does, go out and read the story. It will take less time and actually, I dunno, make you think.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: The head of a public records office advertises for a new employee. Only one person responds--Bartleby, a former postal worker who at first files like a demon then lapses into apathy. Bartleby stands all day looking at an air vent in the ceiling, responding to every request from his boss and coworkers with, "I would prefer not to." Eventually the boss retaliates with passive-aggressive acts aimed at getting rid of the man. Till the very end, however, Bartleby remains an enigma, a human cipher who refuses to give up his secrets. Hardly an engaging story premise? That's what I thought when I waded through Herman Melville's mid-nineteenth century novella "Bartleby the Scrivener" in a college lit class. Sure, the story has an important theme and some interesting symbolism, but it's also dull, dull, dull. However, director Jonathan Parker has taken the best sort of revenge on this canonical work of American literature; he's turned it into a zany, low-budget, laugh fest--getting across many of the story's essential ideas while also entertaining his audience. Parker has approached the sort of exaggerated, stale, depressing office atmosphere seen at the beginning of "Joe Versus the Volcano" and turned it inside out, covering it with a colorful, kitschy facade to inflate the absurdity of modern information mills. Essential to the success of the film is the fine ensemble cast. Crispin Glover deserves more lead roles, and though with Bartleby he does spend most of his time immobile and silent, perhaps no other actor can accomplish more with simple posture, well-manipulated expressions, and quirky movement. Glenne Headly is a scream in her exaggerated seduction attempts aimed at Seymour Cassel. Joe Piscopo is also in fine form as the office macho man, though he has aged dramatically since we saw him last in, what . . . "Wise Guys"? Maury Chaykin plays the overweight and nerve-racked Ernie with comic flair--fiddling with desktop windup toys only to flinch every time they jump, and pulling off an impressive physical comedy scene involving a sandwich, a photocopier, and a watercooler. Finally, David Paymer as "The Boss" provides a solid focus for the film with his adaptive performance of a complex character.
Rating:
Summary: Recommendation: "Prefer not to" View this Clueless Film
Review: There is absolutely nothing redeemable about this film. Absolutely nothing. Watching a blank videotape would provide infinitely more entertainment and more sense. Here... lemme save y'all two hours of your time... (Spoilers follow) An employee (Bartleby) is hired who... "prefers" not to work. That's right... the employee won't do anything but sit and stare into space! After exhausting all avenues to understand and help him, the employer eventually is forced to fire him. The employee then "prefers" not to leave. Rather than call the police to have the idiot removed, the employer feels the only way to rid himself of this fired employee is to leave, himself (?!). That's right... he moves his entire business! The fired employee, however, continues to remain at the old office even as new tenants occupy it, still standing and staring off into space. The new tenants, rather than having the idiot arrested for trespassing, inexplicably blame the old employer and threaten to sue him unless he finds a way to remove the ex-employee (?!!) Finally, out of the blue, the ex-employee is arrested for vagrancy and thrown out into the street. The ex-employee continues preferring not to do anything but stand aimlessly under an overpass... until he finally dies, apparently from exposure and starvation, preferring death to life(?!!!). (Small wonder no one can care about the main character when the main character "prefers not to" care about or for himself.) Inexplicably it is the employer, who has done everything in his power to be patient with and helpful to this worthless employee, blames himself (???!!!!!), as he has throughout the entire movie, for this idiot who "prefers not to" be responsible for anything in his life. The movie ends with the kind employer writing a book about Bartleby and presenting it to a publisher who refuses to print such a ridiculous story about such a brainless person (too bad the publisher of the short story and the producers of this film didn't have enough brains to do the same!). The employer suddenly becomes enrages, blathering about without this book no one will ever know who Bartleby was and the significance (???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) of his life. He starts screaming that he "prefers not to" leave the publisher's office. The closing scene has him screaming this out over and over again... fade to black. There... I just saved ya 2 hours. Wasn't that fun?
Rating:
Summary: Recommendation: "Prefer not to" View this Clueless Film
Review: There is absolutely nothing redeemable about this film. Absolutely nothing. Watching a blank videotape would provide infinitely more entertainment and more sense. Here... lemme save y'all two hours of your time... (Spoilers follow) An employee (Bartleby) is hired who... "prefers" not to work. That's right... the employee won't do anything but sit and stare into space! After exhausting all avenues to understand and help him, the employer eventually is forced to fire him. The employee then "prefers" not to leave. Rather than call the police to have the idiot removed, the employer feels the only way to rid himself of this fired employee is to leave, himself (?!). That's right... he moves his entire business! The fired employee, however, continues to remain at the old office even as new tenants occupy it, still standing and staring off into space. The new tenants, rather than having the idiot arrested for trespassing, inexplicably blame the old employer and threaten to sue him unless he finds a way to remove the ex-employee (?!!) Finally, out of the blue, the ex-employee is arrested for vagrancy and thrown out into the street. The ex-employee continues preferring not to do anything but stand aimlessly under an overpass... until he finally dies, apparently from exposure and starvation, preferring death to life(?!!!). (Small wonder no one can care about the main character when the main character "prefers not to" care about or for himself.) Inexplicably it is the employer, who has done everything in his power to be patient with and helpful to this worthless employee, blames himself (???!!!!!), as he has throughout the entire movie, for this idiot who "prefers not to" be responsible for anything in his life. The movie ends with the kind employer writing a book about Bartleby and presenting it to a publisher who refuses to print such a ridiculous story about such a brainless person (too bad the publisher of the short story and the producers of this film didn't have enough brains to do the same!). The employer suddenly becomes enrages, blathering about without this book no one will ever know who Bartleby was and the significance (???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) of his life. He starts screaming that he "prefers not to" leave the publisher's office. The closing scene has him screaming this out over and over again... fade to black. There... I just saved ya 2 hours. Wasn't that fun?
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