Rating: Summary: A MUST SEE! Review: Clockwatchers is a terrific film that will appeal to anyone who has ever had a job s/he hated, especially if it involved working in an office setting. If you laugh it will be because you are tickled by how accurately the film portrays the nuances of a disfunctional work environment.The characters are fully developed, having common bonds as well as lives outside of the office (complete with their own personal problems and hang-ups). Also, the film works on more than one layer. On the surface, it is a story about a shy girl working in an office and how it changes her. But more than that, it is about how we view work and what we must endure to earn a living. Most importantly, the film is has a lot to say about the concept of time and how we choose to spend it. Spending it watching Clockwatchers is a wise investment! Buy it, watch it, rent it -- LOVE IT!
Rating: Summary: I agree! Review: I agree with everyone! Parker Posey is great! So is Toni Colette! So is Lisa Kudrow! What great ensemble acting! I love this movie. IT IS SO REAL! But it's more than that. It's a very finely crafted piece of art, like a Bach fugue. Kudos to the Sprechers, Jill (superb direction & writing) & Karen (ditto writing)! This movie is on a par with the finest stories of Dorothy Parker & Willa Cather & Katherine Mansfield. If they were around today & making films, they could be proud of this. This is one terrific movie.
Rating: Summary: I'd give this six stars if I could Review: When I asked for this for Xmas, my brother was convinced he had mis-heard me and was either asking for "Clockers" or "A Clockwork Orange"....of course I had to explain that I had caught this movie by accident on cable on a lunch break, been riveted to my couch, and ended up blowing off an hour of work so I could finish it. It was that good. People should not be fooled into thinking, however, that this is some laugh-out-loud comedy. There are laughs, but "Clockwatchers" is by and large a dark film. It covers a year in the life of four temp-secretaries who work at a soulless, drab stuck-in-the-1950s ad firm that looks like every schoolroom you grew up in (outstanding set design, down to the frosted ripple glass windows, washed-out pastel tones and antique pencil sharpeners)and is about as much fun to work at. The girls are all trying to escape to better lives and become friends, but as they grow increasingly desperate and humiliated, their friendship, rather than strengthening, begins to crumble. Toni Collette does a great job as Iris, the chief-young-woman-in-transition, trying to figure out who she is and where she is going in a world where she does not seem to matter, while Parker Posey, who rightfully has a cult following (and not just because she's cute, though as long as we're on the subject -- she is, very) is hilarious as the girl who wants a better life but isn't willing to work to get it. All four believe they are invisible and irrelevant, and they are largely proven right as the movie goes on. Their job is dehumanizing drudgery, and those who could mitigate it, by showing them respect and consideration, do the exact opposite. The woman who oversees the temps is every condescending schoolmarm you ever had in fourth grade. The executives are either shallow or vacuous, and talk without listening and smile without meaning it. Even the perfume girl in the department store, who should be an ally, chooses to hide behind snobbery. All the girls want to hear is "I see you" but people keep trampling them as if they don't exist. If all this sounds familiar to you, it may very well be -- "Clockwatchers" is a satire or sorts, but not so exaggerated that one can't relate to it from personal experience. It may not be a "guy" movie, but I'm a guy and I loved it anyway. By the way, did I mention I think Parker Posey is cute?
Rating: Summary: Hilarious cast and unique plot makes for a great film Review: If you liked Muriel's Wedding, Office Space, Waiting for Guffman, Dog Show or just like Lisa Kudrow, you'll find something in this film to appreciate. The sarcasm and dry humor in this film make it a must-see for those who enjoy such types of comedy. Clockwatchers is by no means inspirational or heartwarming, just comlpetely ridiculous (in a good way), hilarious and entertaining.
Rating: Summary: Toni Collette and Parker Posey are Sublime Review: A dark comic expose on the control tactics used by the corporate workplace to break a person's spirit. It could also be public school grades 6-12. 4 bright females are caught in the rat race of office temping and finding meaning in their lives. In it's view of female alienation, this film is very indebted to Jane Campion's Sweetie and "that is a good thing." Fantastic cinematography creates the cold and abstract look of the modern work place where everyone has taken the ideas of lifestyle magazines and personalized them. Rule number one: dress neat. If you enjoyed this film you may want to check out Office Space, another film that attacks the de-humanizing world of corporate America.
Rating: Summary: Parker Posey was Brilliant! Review: Toni Collette & Parker Posey made this movie! Esp. Parker Posey!! I need to find more movies w/ her as the star! Her character in "Clockwatchers" really looked out for the other 3 girls. She included Toni's character at the very beginning, she spared Kudrow's character from making a complete fool of herself at the restaurant, & she was concerned about Ubach's relationship w/ her cheating fiance. All this & the other 3 just rag on her at the end! It was so depressing how these girls fizzled out from each other & went down their own lonely paths. Thank goodness for what Toni Collette's char., Iris, does w/ the letter! Again, Parker Posey was excellent in this film!
Rating: Summary: Perfect Posey Review: There is a scene in "Clockwatchers" where Parker Posey sprays breath freshener into the flame of a lighter, scratches her nose, and says to her coworker how hard it is to find a permanent job. These few seconds of acting are among the most devastating I've seen in recent film. They are beautiful, and so is Parker Posey. Every move she makes in this film gushes with brilliance. And her acting is only one of the reasons that this film is a must see. "Clockwatchers" is one of the twenty best films of the 90s.
Rating: Summary: Depressing but true Review: There is no way in hell that I would call this movie a comedy. You want to laugh out loud while watching corporate grunts try to get even with "the man"? Rent the hilarious movie Office Space. As for Clockwatchers, there isn't a soul on Earth who could not relate to these four women, especially the fiesty character Margaret. Jill Sprecher has done a good job at capturing the woes of trying to, at least, get noticed by your employers in a positive way. I do believe that Clockwatchers went a bit over-the-top at times, and I grew tired of the self pity that these ladies kept putting themselves through. But this movie does bring to light the mistreatment that upper level management can bring to their workers.
Rating: Summary: Telling The Truth Review: The editorial reviewer infers that it might be unlikely that "intelligent, capable women languish" in boring, demeaning office temp work. Apparently, the editorial reviewer has led an advantaged life some place where the economy has always boomed, where everyone has always known what they wanted and gotten it, where business culture is democratic and kind. Clockwatchers, for all its interesting European styling, has pinned down two realities most realistically: life in a business office and what life is like when you are waiting for it to become something, anything. Toni Collette's performance is incredible as is that of the rest of the cast. Their characters are recognizable but not stereotypes. The comedy is gentle, the sound and settings are stark, but the sting of being so invisible you don't even rate the bottom of the totem pole is like a bright flare. I gave this only four stars because some might think it drags (but that is part of its point), and others will never appreciate the fact that yes, for many intelligent women, this is a passage of life. For those who have been stuck in it, it is a vindication, a soft anthem.
Rating: Summary: An absolute scream Review: Saw this in the theatre twice and was screaming with laughter. Although this isn't technically a comedy, anyone who works in an office would be rolling on the floor in recognition of the tedium that sitting behind a desk means. Parker Posey makes me smile anytime she is on the screen, and in this film, she is truly the engine that makes it run. The truly hysterical moment, when after receiving yet another senseless memo, where Posey rolls her chair out into the aisle ripping the memo to shreds and throwing it over her head is classic. Toni Collette is fabulous, the whole cast is, but buy it for Parker Posey. What a treat.
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