OFFICE SPACE
The main character of the film is Peter Gibbons, played by Ron Livingston
(TV's That's Life). Peter, who is growing increasingly restless in
his job at Initech, is beginning to think he's just not cut out for cubicle
life. Between the incessant chirp of the receptionist in the next cube whose
only answer is a perky "just a moment," to the fake friendship
of his immediate superior, Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole), who seems to have
no other task besides good-naturedly hassling people, the job is seriously
hampering Peter's comfort zone. He talks to his friends, Michael Bolton
(David Herman), whose own job frustration is coupled with the fact that
he must live with the name of a famous singer whose music he can't stand,
and Samir (Ajay Naidu), whose last name is apparently unpronounceable to
anyone born in this country. The guys commiserate about everything from
Lumbergh asking them to work on weekends to the printer that never works
properly, but Michael and Samir seem to think that job security is the one
advantage to Initech. Of course, Peter wonders, what good is job security
if you hate your job?
When rumors start to travel about downsizing, Peter gets even more stressed,
so he sees a hypnotist who claims he can remove tension. Though the session
proves unhealthy for the doctor, Peter gets a great deal of good out of
it: He just stops caring. When he doesn't feel like going to work, he doesn't
go. When he does go, he disregards anything said to him by Lumbergh, and
even dismantles his own cubicle so he can see out the windows. But rather
than getting him fired, this behavior seems to impress the consultants hired
by Initech to do the company's housecleaning. While his friends' jobs are
put on the chopping block, Peter gets a raise and a promotion. Also impressed
by Peter's newfound calm is the waitress at the diner next door, Joanne
(Jennifer Aniston). Inspired by him, she is finally able to tell her annoying
boss where to go, and this leads her to make her own unexpected career move.
Though Office Space isn't exactly loaded with life lessons, its
thin plot is bolstered a great deal by its varied cast of characters. Most
are two-dimensional, like all of the "actors" in Judge's cartoon
shows, but they also share another trait with that cel-bound crowd: They
are funny. Beyond the four people who have most of the screen time,
there are also numerous supporting players. There's ultra-geek Milton (NewsRadio's
Stephen Root), who is not only cursed with acne and thick glasses, but treated
like a doormat by everyone in the company. There's Lawrence (Diedrich Bader
of The Drew Carey Show), Peter's friendly but eavesdropping neighbor,
who is envied for his "real job" as a construction worker. And
there is Lumbergh, the smooth-talking manager, always with coffee cup in
hand, who starts all his gentle admonishments with "Yeah," and
ends them with "mmm-kay?"
Writer/director/producer Judge, who started life in Ecuador, has a talent for capturing the quirks of the American way of life with his various series. Office Space is another example. Judge's plots may be a bit shallow, but his characters, and the things they say, are genuinely funny. ****