Office Space (1999)
Here it is, the best thing Mike Judge has ever been a part of. Beavis & Butthead were alright for their time, King of the Hill isn't that funny, & the Spy Kids movies are extremely overrated. Nope, it's Judge's take on the working life we all sorta have to live that will be remembered most fondly.
Or, it will hit so close to home that it will sadden you that someone else has to go through the same utter crap that you have to everyday at their crappy jobs. I'm sure everyone that's seen Office Space has said they totally had THAT job. I know I did, working at a warehouse, filling out PTS forms (instead of T.P.S. forms) everyday, doing the same boring stupid shit every goddamn day. Walking through the entranceway with your fists clenched.
If you haven't seen Office Space, or even heard of it, you must truly be living a privledged life & I want you to get the hell out of this community right now.
I'm assuming you're gone. Anyways, Ron Livingston stars as Peter Gibbons, a guy who's life is so bad (in his own mind really) that everyday you see him on will be the worst day of his life. He works at Initech, some sort of software company, with Samir (Ajay Naidu) & Michael Bolton (no relation, played by the underrated David Herman). One of his eight bosses is Bill Lumbergh (awesomely played by Gary Cole) who epitomizes the term "catchphrase."
Peter's girlfriend Anne (Alexandra Wentworth) convinces him to go see an occupational hypnotherapist, Dr. Swanson (Michael McShane). In the process of bringing Peter out of his hypnosis, Dr. Swanson DIES, leaving Peter with the hypnotic suggestion of basically not giving a damn about work.
He doesn't come into work on the weekend when he was supposed to. He hardly shows up at all, & when he does, it's to buck the system entirely. When he meets with the two Bob consultants (John C. McGinley & Paul Wilson) hired to weed out the crap from the workplace, he opens their eyes with his frank openness. Soon, his friends Samir & Michael are going to be fired & he's going to be promoted! Man, I've seen that sad scenario play itself out at work a few times.
There's an excellent Stephen Root as Milton, the inspiration behind the entire movie (which was based on animated shorts created by Judge). All mumbly, & supressed rage. Oh yeah, there's a perky little actress in the movie as the token inspirational girlfriend. Aniston something. She was alright.
If you haven't seen Office Space, you probably haven't had a bunch of people look at you & say "You haven't seen Office Space?!?!? Dude." Seriously, you gotta check it out, even though it won't change your life & will probably just make you hate it more. It's kinda comforting to know that there are others out there going through the same mundane shit we all go through everyday. Every time I see it I get a new appreciation for someone else in the cast. John C. McGinley this time, man is he fantastic. 5 outta 5, because it's one of those movies that can make me laugh out loud.
Roger Ebert's review of Office Space (1999)