Office
Space is set at the fictional software company Initech, one of
those places where the cubicles are grey and so are the walls and ceiling.
Everything is drab and the employees look washed out, fearful about being fired
and trapped in their cubicles, forced to fill out boring paperwork. One such
employee is Peter (Ron Livingston), who is frustrated with his dead-end job and
the constant hassle he receives from his numerous bosses. At the behest of his
girlfriend Anne (Alexandra Wentworth), Peter goes to a hypnotist Dr Swanson (Mike
McShane) to receive some de-stressing therapy. During the therapy Peter falls
under a trance where he has no cares or worries, but before Dr Swanson can snap
him out of it he has a heart-attack and dies. Peter is completely relaxed as
Anne breaks up with, he doesn’t bother going into work even whilst two
consultants are busy pruning excess employees at Initech. Instead, he starts to
date a waitress Joanna (Jennifer Anniston) who has been crushing on for ages. Later,
Peter conducts a plan along with his cubicle buddies Samir (Ajay Naidu) and
Michael Bolton (David Herman) – no relation to the famous singer – to get back
at Initech.
Writer/director Mike Judge hones in on the worker dissatisfaction
and managerial inadequacies that are so common in office environments. Technical
malfunctions with the printer or fax machine add to the daily frustrations for
Samir and Michael. The constant noise surrounding Peter’s cubicle worms into
his head and prevents him from concentrating. When Peter makes a mistake he is
informed about it several times by different people, who ask him if he got the
memo. The vice president Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole) exploits his employees’ fear
of losing their job to make them work over the weekend and constantly interferes
as they are working. Judge captures the draining nature of the office work
space, where there is no incentive to work harder or to promote loyalty, with
only the prospect of unemployment keeping people from leaving.
Judge brings a sharp and sly comedic tone to Office Space. Employee Milton (Stephen Root) is always
being put down by Bill, continually moving Milton’s desk until he is eventually
placed in the basement. Milton constantly protests quietly at the perceived injustices
against himself, some are genuine others are unfounded, but his objections are
handed away. Peter, Samir and Michael have a moment of catharsis, smashing a
printer to the score of rap music in an empty field. One hilarious moment is the scene of Bill’s
birthday celebration at the office. As dozens of employees are gathered to
sing, they quietly drone out ‘Happy Birthday’ and there is a spattering of
applause. The corporate lexicon and the few grotesquely cheerful employees
grate on the sullen Peter, as he is told repeatedly, ‘Somebody has a case of
the Mondays!’ However, Office Space
never becomes completely mean-spirited. Judge clearly has a fondness for his
characters and the film ends on a surprisingly hopeful note.
Stephen Root as Milton and Gary Cole as Bill Lumbergh almost
steal all in the limelight in Office
Space. Root’s Milton is a jittery, fast-blinking and wide-eyed man, muttering
threats about what he will do to Initech if he keeps being pushed around. Root
manages to make Milton sympathetic as opposed to irritating. Cole is self-satisfied
as Bill, drawling out his words, leaning over his employees in their cubicles
and coffee cup always in hand. It is gratifying to watch Bill squirm when he
comes under fire from the consultants. Ron Livingston gives a likeable
performance as Peter conveying his irritation at the start, before maintaining
a relaxed attitude to Bill’s displeasure. Jennifer Anniston has a small role as
Joanna the waitress of a chain restaurant – who shares Peter’s frustrations of
banal work and infuriating bosses – playing her as sweet with an underlying fieriness.
Office
Space is a piercing and humorous look at the banal and sometimes
cruel office environment with excellent comedic performances.
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