Office Space: Difference between revisions
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Additionally, the film popularized red [[Swingline]] [[stapler]]s. At the time, Swingline did not offer such a product (the one used in the movie was a regular black stapler painted red), but demand related to the movie's release caused Swingline to offer it for sale on its web site. |
Additionally, the film popularized red [[Swingline]] [[stapler]]s. At the time, Swingline did not offer such a product (the one used in the movie was a regular black stapler painted red), but demand related to the movie's release caused Swingline to offer it for sale on its web site. |
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The movie is famous for its "Office Machine Beat-Up Scene", in which Peter, Samir and Michael take out their frustrations on a fax machine prone to breaking down. The scene appealed to many workers who are frustrated by unreliable technology, and led to the phrase "Office Space-style" as a term for destroying equipment in this style, e.g. "My computer had so many problems last night, I wanted to go beat it up Office Space style..." or "I wanted to go 'Office Space' on that printer." |
The movie is famous for its "Office Machine Beat-Up Scene", in which Peter, Samir and Michael take out their frustrations on a fax machine prone to breaking down. The scene appealed to many workers who are frustrated by unreliable technology, and led to the phrase "Office Space-style" as a term for destroying equipment in this style, e.g. "My computer had so many problems last night, I wanted to go beat it up Office Space style..." or "I wanted to go 'Office Space' on that printer." Movie fans noticed that this scene is a visual reference to a violent episode in the [[Martin Scorsese]] film [[Goodfellas]]. |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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Revision as of 23:14, 3 October 2005
| Office Space | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Mike Judge |
| Written by | Mike Judge |
| Produced by | Daniel Rappaport Guy Riedel |
| Starring | Ron Livingston Jennifer Aniston David Herman |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Running time | 89 min |
| Budget | $10,000,000 (estimated) |
Office Space is a 1999 comedy film written and directed by Mike Judge, loosely based on his 1991 animated short film of the same name. It pokes fun at work life in a typical software company during the 1990s by portraying individuals who are entirely fed up with their jobs. The movie was filmed in both Austin and Dallas, Texas. Although the setting is not stated explicitly, a reference to Las Colinas, Texas, implies that the setting is the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex.
Office Space is based on the Milton series of cartoons Mike Judge created for Saturday Night Live. While not financially successful at the box office—just about breaking even—it has proven to be popular on home video and in rental stores.
Plot
Template:Spoiler In a cube farm setting evocative of the Dilbert comic strip, we are treated to a peek into the lives of Peter, Michael, Samir, and Milton, just before two consultants (called "The Bobs" since they both have the same first name, and which also suggests their line of work) are brought in to Initech to help with downsizing and increasing productivity. The workers at Initech are then interviewed for the purposes of determining whom they can get rid of.
Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) is a programmer who spends his days updating bank software for the supposedly impending Y2K disaster. His co-workers include Samir Nagheenanajar (Ajay Naidu), whose last name no one else can pronounce; Michael Bolton (David Herman), who shares his name with the real-life singer-songwriter Michael Bolton, much to his dismay; and Milton, a soft-spoken, reserved collator who mumbles to himself a lot and gets repeatedly taken advantage of by the company, especially the office manager, Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole). Lumbergh is a stereotypical corporate middle-manager who seems to spend most of his time wandering around with his coffee mug in hand, emotionlessly supervising his employees and engaging them with superficial small talk.
Meanwhile, Peter is stressed, burnt out, and ineffective, and will likely be first on the Bobs' downsizing list. Fortunately, he has an accident in hypnotherapy — the hypnotist suddenly dies before he can snap Peter out of a state of complete relaxation. The newly-relaxed Peter announces that he will not work anymore. However, his interview with the Bobs goes well and, to his surprise, Peter receives a promotion, whereas his friends Samir and Michael, two of the company's best employees, get fired.
In order to get back at the company, the three friends decide to inject a computer virus into the accounting system so that it will round down fractions of a cent from accrual of interest and transfer the leftovers into their own account (see salami slicing). However, due to an error in writing the virus, it works too quickly and the three friends are certain to go to jail. However, all their problems are solved when Milton, having finally experienced the last straw, gets fed up and sets fire to the building, destroying any evidence of the virus.
Cast
- Ron Livingston as Peter Gibbons
- Jennifer Aniston as Joanna
- Ajay Naidu as Samir Nagheenanajar
- David Herman as Michael Bolton
- Gary Cole as Bill Lumbergh
- Stephen Root as Milton Waddams
- Richard Riehle as Tom Smykowski
- Alexandra Wentworth as Anne
- Joe Bays as Dom Portwood
- John C. McGinley as Bob Slydell
- Diedrich Bader as Lawrence
- Paul Willson as Bob Porter
- Kinna McInroe as Nina
- Todd Duffey as Bryan
- Greg Pitts as Drew
- Michael McShane as Dr. Swanson
- Linda Wakeman as Laura Smykowski
- Kyle Scott Jackson as Rob Newhouse
- Orlando Jones as Steve
- Barbara George-Reiss as Peggy (Lumbergh's Secretary)
- Mike Judge - credited pseudonymously as "William King" - as Stan (Chotchkie's Manager, who could be a clone of Bill Lumbergh; Chotchkie is the restaurant where Joanna works)
- Jack Betts as the Judge
Fan Reaction
Besides being an often spot-on parody of the work environment typical of many corporations (especially those that are highly technical), the movie is notable for introducing several phrases into the office vernacular. Examples of these are the "TPS report" (a satirical example of the type of mindless paperwork done in the modern office), "pound-me-in-the-ass prison", and the term "PC Load Letter" (an actual laser printer message indicating the printer must be loaded with letter-sized paper) as a catch-all for any nonsensical error message. The Initech company name is sometimes used as a placeholder for a PHB-driven company. When Peter forgets to include a cover sheet on his TPS report, he is berated repeatedly, "Did you get that memo?", another catchphrase introduced by the movie. Also memorable is the string of non-sensical profanities uttered by Naidu's "Samir" character (who, in the story line, hails from Saudi Arabia). Most notable among these is, "mother shitter, son of a [sic] ass." The Michael Bolton character also introduced to a mass audience the classic profanity, "ass clown."
Additionally, the film popularized red Swingline staplers. At the time, Swingline did not offer such a product (the one used in the movie was a regular black stapler painted red), but demand related to the movie's release caused Swingline to offer it for sale on its web site.
The movie is famous for its "Office Machine Beat-Up Scene", in which Peter, Samir and Michael take out their frustrations on a fax machine prone to breaking down. The scene appealed to many workers who are frustrated by unreliable technology, and led to the phrase "Office Space-style" as a term for destroying equipment in this style, e.g. "My computer had so many problems last night, I wanted to go beat it up Office Space style..." or "I wanted to go 'Office Space' on that printer." Movie fans noticed that this scene is a visual reference to a violent episode in the Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas.
External links
