Office Space

Thanks for the update.

I also was lead by the Hype of this film, upon first viewing I was highly disapointed. I gave it another chance later when I was building my DVD collection and it does get funnier with every viewing after the 1st.

Damn funny movie. Especially David Herman and Samir.

i saw it when it came out on dvd and necer quite got what all the fuss was about. it was okay, but nothing special.

I love it and I think it's hilarious.

Michael Bolton turning down his rap music, the copy machine, Lumberg, I could go on and on. Comedy is a pretty subjective thing. It works for you or it doesn't. But as a satire, of course they're going to inflate and exaggerate, that's what comedies do.

It's a hysterical movie. It's not trying to be some kind of brilliant satire, beyond saying "doesn't work suck?" but it's very funny.

Office Space is funny as hell. I predict this thread will provide ample proof that detractors of the film are in the minority here.

It's funny, though sometimes I think the entire plot to rip off the company was thrown together just so they could use that SUPERMAN III line.

Diedrich Bader's 5 minutes in this was funnier than his entire God-knows-how-long run of "The Drew Carrey Show."

This movie is spectacularly humorous if you've worked (or in my case, consulted) in large corporations. The humor stems from the fact that the majority of things that occur in that film aren't really made up. There really are people with 8 bosses, fat red heads who mention cases of the "mundays", and a frighting amount of "TPS" reports.

I thought perhaps it was an "across the pond" issue, but as Mr. Brigden got it, it must just be you.

piss-your-pants funny for me every time - I think you have to be sympathetic with the precise scenarios in which the main characters find themselves, though. That is to say the office malarkey, not the three hundred grand money laundering stuff.

A great movie, made even better thanks to the awesome John C. McGinley cameo.

"What is it, would you say, ya do here?"

Personally, I'm getting really tired of people who watch a movie years after its initial release and march in to declare that it "doesn't live up to the hype" (whatever "the hype" is). You're letting everyone else's opinion build the movie up to a ridiculous level that it can't possibly live up to and being angry at it for not getting there. It sounds more like your problem than the movie's.

Office Space is awesome. One of the funniest comedies of the 90's.

Love the bits with Milton and his red stapler. Gary Cole's also hilarious as Peter's boss, Lumbergh.

Ah, even it's lovers must admit it REALLY loses steam during the last thirty minutes and through the Lumbergh confusion. Also, cheap ending. That being said, Ron Livingston is PERFECTLY cast.

I hadn't seen an episode of Scrubs until recently, when I plowed through all 5 seasons, then I rewatched Office Space again. It made an already funny part all the more pleasing.

I will admit that it peters out a bit at the end, but I wouldn't say it REALLY loses steam, certainly not enough to discredit the hilarity of the rest of the movie.

This man speaks wisdom.

"Cock gobblers!"
I think it's funny as all hell.
One of the things I like about it is that it's so low key. The biggest laugh is when they beat up the printer ("Piece of shit."), but otherwise it's more *amusing* things that to me have become riotously funny on repeat viewings. Like the stapler thing, the "Oh"-face, Lumberg fucking Joanna while having a cup of coffee, stuff like that. Oh, and Bolton turning the rap music down, that's absolutely great.

Says the man dissapointed in Caddyshack for not living up to the hype 25 years later. Irony, ye be a cruel mistress.


Oh, and I agree 100%.

I also think it's one of the better 90's comedies and for the most part I don't have a problem with the last 30 minutes or so. I have been working at a place like that so I can relate to many things in the movie, especially a malfunctioning printer. But what I like the most are the quirky, surreal, but still in some ways believable characters and how they communicate with each other. It might be silly, but it really makes me laugh a lot.

I've never worked in a large corporation, but I've had more than my share of copier machine problems. When my office got a new copier, I begged the office manager to let the employees destroy the old one.

It says paper jam, but there is no paper jam!

We have a copier in our office that has a bin full of paper which the copier insists is not only empty but open as well.

It was ahead of it's time. Nowadays you have two versions of The Office and a thousand Burger King commercials all beating the same material into the ground. But before it came out the most cutting edge office satire was 9 To 5.

I had a similar experience to Crow. The first time I watched Office Space, I wasn't too impressed. The movie really does get funnier with each subsequent viewing.

I saw it in the theater when I was maybe 14 (it came from the creative genius behind "Beavis and Butthead", remember), and although it was not at all what I was expecting, I loved it immediately. Obviously, I had no experience working in offices at the time, but it just felt believable for some reason. To this day, I reflexively respond to every single technical problem or computer error, in public and private, by saying "PC load letter? What the fuck does that mean?"

Also, anyone who does not find the following exchange humorous has no right judging comedies:

Peter: The high school guidance counselor used to do this thing where they'd ask you what you would do if you had a million dollars. And then whatever your answer was, invariably, that was what you were supposed to do for a living. So if you wanted to work on old cars, you should be a mechanic...So what would you do?
Lawrence: (leans forward) I tell ya what I'd do: two chicks at the same time.
Peter: That...that's it? If you had a million dollars, you'd do two chicks at the same time?
Lawrence: Hell yeah. Always wanted to do that, and if I were a millionaire figure I could work that out, cuz chicks dig guys with money.
Peter: Not all chicks.
Lawrence: The kind of chicks that double up on a guy like me do.
Peter: Good point.
Lawrence: So what would you do?
Peter: Besides two chicks at the same time?
Lawrence: Obviously.

I went to see this in a practically empty theater when it opened in February 1999 merely because I was a fan of King of the Hill and had seen the ads.

I remember laughing my ass off to the point of tears in my eyes. It still stands tall as one of the great comedies of the last 10 years and is even more quotable when you work in a similar job environment.

Agreeing with all the love for this film. Saw it in theaters with several co-workers on a half-day Friday. Hard to remember a time when I laughed so hard in a theater. Of course, as others have said, it definitely helps if you've lived through some of those moments. Have the DVD, and it is still a very watchable comedy. I'd say it holds up just fine.

I'm on board with Nigel's sentiment, too. I recently experienced it myself. Had never seen 'The French Connection', and was quite underwhelmed once I did. Not to say it was a bad movie, but a few of my friends had been hyping it up to no end. I'd certainly say my slight disappointment had a great deal to do with my elevated hopes. It happens, but doesn't necessarily make it the film's fault.

That's my favorite quote from the movie and one of my favorite quotes from any movie ever.

Ditto that.

The animated short this movie is based on is classic. Somebody fetch it for me. Now.

It's definitely not the film's fault in that case because THE FRENCH CONNECTION is one of the best films ever.

Anyway, OFFICE SPACE. I think it's great, just like Michael Bolton. I celebrate his entire catalogue.

It's definitely not the film's fault in that case because THE FRENCH CONNECTION is one of the best films ever.

Anyway, OFFICE SPACE. I think it's great, just like Michael Bolton. I celebrate his entire catalogue but it doesn't get any better than when he sings "When a Man Loves a Woman".

Office Space is greatness.

I'm not prone to violent fantasies, but I use to dream that one day I'd get to punch my former, very Lumberghian boss, right in the throat.
I don't let the corporate goonery of my job get to me as much as Livingston's character does, but goddamn I can certainly identify.

Another fantastic quote:

Samir: Why don't you just go by "Mike"?
Michael Bolton: No way. Why should I change? He's the one who sucks.

It's a very funny film like someone said it's ahead of it's time.

John C. McGinley is priceless and Gary Cole is golden as the
asshole boss it's a shame we don't see more of them.

"It's a Jump to Conclusions mat"....

Peter: "Yeah, I just stare at my desk, but it looks like I'm working. I do that for probably another hour after lunch too, I'd say in a given week I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real, actual, work." - So true

A comedy that never fails to make me laugh everytime (a rare thing)... I'm snickering at my work desk right now reading the dialogue quotes in this thread.

Mike Judge's & Orlando Jones' cameos are great. The "changing lanes, old lady, stuck in traffic, Murphy's Law" opening is spot on. I'm not a huge rap fan in general, but this movie takes advantage of that style of music in the soundtrack in the best way/s. I myself have been victimized by the multiple boss dynamic on more than one occassion.

And, I'm lucky to have found a wife that likes to watch both kung-fu & Office Space with me.

While we're in quote mode:

"What am I gonna do with 40 subscriptions to Vibe?"

Like most here I'm a big fan of Office Space (the brutal execution of the fax machine is classic), but it's hard to argue that, having originally snuck under the mainstream radar (i.e. it was totally ignored), it's now built up a cult status that, from the perspective of those coming to it for the first time, probably does it few favours. It seems like every modern day review of the movie bangs on about how, despite the apathy that originally greeted it, Office Space has subsequently emerged as a comedy classic.

Also, anyone discovering it now might well be doing so having experienced the brilliance of The Office, which, in both its UK and US incarnations, explores that dreary nine-to-five existence in greater detail.

My problem with Caddyshack isn't that it doesn't live up to "the hype". I don't believe in "the hype". I just don't think it's very funny, and I was surprised that it had gathered such a following. Just a matter of taste, I guess. I really try not to let buildup or reputation interfere with movies.

The best part for me is when Mike Bolton is listening to that killer, meaner-than- shit- rap music while the road contruction clears the way. As soon as he sees a black dude in the crew he gets a scared look on his face and rolls his car window up. Pussy.

I was going to start a thread but found this in the archive. Basically it's a bump not just in appreciation of the movie, which I love, but Mike Judge, whom I'm coming to appreciate more and more.

To me what's so clever about the film is its mix of comedy styles. On the one hand Judge doesn't shy away from going broad and stylized (Lumbergh, Peter's neighbor, the computer virus scene, attacking the fax machine, etc), but what truly sets the movie apart is how slyly observant it is of human nature. Sure it's chock full of great "this is what corporate droning is like!" moments, but it's brilliant in the way it very subtly shows you how much it understands the people and not just the environment. Some examples:

- When Peter and Joanna are having lunch the first time, and Peter brings up her pieces of flair. There's a moment where Aniston flips her hair so that it covers them up as she's explaining why she doesn't like it. In the same conversation, when Peter's telling her about what he does, she begins to look off to the side and he immediately stops talking about it.

- Joanna's meeting with her boss about how many pieces of flair she wears is just a wonderful piece of writing; the way he insinuates that she should wear more without telling her to do it. Also love how when that scene starts it's obvious that Brian (extreme fajitas!) has just told on her about it. Judge doesn't draw attention to it, but manages to make Brian a character without his ever interacting with the other characters.

- In Peter's first meeting with the Bobs, when he starts explaining his problem of motivation. I love how that whole scene plays out, but I was especially struck by how clear-eyed the writing was about why Peter's so frustrated.

- The furnishings in Peter's apartment. Stylized to the hilt without being stylized at all. Thin walls, Ikea furniture everywhere, neutral carpet and colors, those goddamn slit blinds, yaffa blocks, that piece of shit wine rack; it's so fucking perfect. And Judge never draws attention to it. I've been to and lived in so many places like that.

Once the laundering plan is hatched I think the movie starts to fall apart, but for the first two acts it's just about flawless.

Caught this on late night TV the other day and it holds up beautifully. Such a likeable, low-key, unassuming little comedy, it isn't hard to see how it could have fallen under the radar first time around.

One thing I love about it: even though Michael holds a lot of the stereotypical "white nerd who likes rap" traits, the movie is pretty great at employing Hip-Hop tracks in a way that showcases how universal the music can be, despite its specific lyrical concerns. In other words, classic Ice Cube is just great music to get pissed off to no matter who you are.

I was also thinking that, between this and Idiocracy, Judge might be the closest our era is going to get to a Billy Wilder. The combination of average joe protagonists, broad characters and sly satire totally reminds me of The Apartment.


^^^bittersweet laugh now, pour one out, etc.

I don't mind the money scam so much, I think for a film they had to ramp it up a bit towards the end. The office works in half an hour snippets but an hour and a half of "real life" drudgery would be kind of dull.

Milton is the underrated star of this film, with my favourite scene of his being the birthday cake bit.

I've always thought this was a hilarious film when I was growing up but now I've been working in an actual office for the past year it makes even better.

So many things are just spot on, especially his speech about how little work he actually does in a week, its almost exactly what I do (but with more CHUD).

I love the bit were Peter is sitting at his desk blatantly playing Tetris while eating cheesy poofs, total wish fulfillment

My wife has never had an office job in her life and saw this with me in the theater (yeah, we were the two people who saw it on the big screen) and laughed like a maniac. When she walked out she said "That's exactly how I picture your work based on the things you tell me.". It really does hit each note so perfectly. The opening scene with Lumberg droning on about the TPS reports and refusing to be interrupted for the explanation is every office I've ever worked in.

"Looks like you've been missing a lot of work lately."
"I wouldn't say I've been *missing* it, Bob."

Even though I know all of the jokes, Office Space is always funny. The delivery, timing and attitude of the movie are perfect.

The thing with Caddyshack is that all the humor is derived from the ringers (Chase, Dangerfield, Murray, Knight) doing what they do best. As a film, it's a paper-thin, trite plot with some mildly amusing moments without those 4 guys.

With them, it's better but it still doesn't hang together; it works best as a series of comic sketches. Which doesn't make it much of a movie.

Ugggh, things like that have happened to me SO many times...

Screw "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark"! I want someone to make a Office Space musical scored to clicking staplers after watching this commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCFJOm9b4CU