Short plot
summary |
|
Peter Gibbons
(Ron Livingston) works for Initech - he hates it - every day is worse than the
day before. If you know how that feels then this movie of revenge on his employers
is a treat. His
friends Samir Nagheenanajar (Ajay Naidu) and Michael Bolton (David Herman) help
him in this live action, and yet cartoon-type, parody of office cubicle life. |
Rating |
| Frustrated
office worker-geek alert from the start. Brief moments of photocopier error codes.
Some strong office language. Annoying sounds from annoying people. |
What our
panel of critics thought |
"I
have worked in that office. In my life that stupid bumbling guy who moans about
everything was called John. Spot on." "I
am an administrator of a medium sized company. You really must understand how
important it is to have plastic covers on reports. Research shows that reports
with plastic covers are 15.72% more trusted than ones without." "The
traffic jam at the start of this movie made me cry." "Perhaps
not recommended after a stressful day at the office, this movie could kick off
your facial tick again... " "Drugs
really are the only way to survive office cubicle life. Or endless cups of coffee." |
Please
tell me the ending
|
| The
computer virus scam, which is designed by our heroes to steal the fraction of
a cent off millions of transactions, is stopped. Our heroes ready themselves for
prison... However,
the office burns down so all the evidence is destroyed... They all live happily
ever after - our hero works in construction with his neighbour - and, yes, Gibbons
gets the girl (Joanna (Jennifer Aniston)). |
Justify
this movie's existence in the classic strand. From
theVoiceof Reason.com's Veritable Cornucopia |
|
If
you have ever worked in an open plan / cubicle office then you will most likely
have met most of these characters. Possibly you have drunk beer with them. Heaven
forbid even been on a fishing trip with them... If you are like this cynical old
fool, you will also be able to put the names of real people you have worked with
(who are worringly similar) to the characters in this movie... All
the characters are cartoon-like in dimension, however that's OK here. Yes, it's
true, I couldn't stop thinking of the newspaper strip Dilbert, but that's only
because Dilbert spoofs the same subject. This
movie really delivers in the first half, and, whilst the second half is less good,
it is watchable. This
is an OffCom (as opposed to a SitCom or a RomCom). It is highly entertaining in
a live action cartoony kind of way, welcome to the hell that is office life baby... |
Quotable
quotes (real) |
| "Take
this job and stuff it." "It's
good to be a gangster." |
What
snack should I eat while watching this movie?
|
| A
post-it note sandwich. |
If I were to watch this in the office how best should I
sit? |
| In
the health and safety approved position of typing with both hands resting on wrist-rests
in front of the keyboard - both feet evenly pressured on the ground, computer
monitor at eye level. |
Could this movie be improved with more gangsta rap? |
|
This movie is
really well served with it. |
Do middle managers actually do anything? |
|
Middle management
performs an interface function between those who want something done and the doers. Sometimes
middle managers ask the doers how long things will take to do, or attempt to get
agreement from the doer to a timetable if the doer can't do the thing while the
middle manager stands there waiting for it. Middle
managers are seen as superfluous to requirements by most doers and sometimes people
who want something done really quickly go straight to the doer once they have
their phone number or e-mail address, completely bypassing the middle manager
without any apparent downside. Any
feeling of power you may have as a doer is completely non-existent, however, as
middle managers have enough spare time to plot your downfall while you are doing
things. |
Estimate number of middle managers in this movie. |
| 8 |
Other comments |
| A
real classic of its type. Perhaps only really of interest to those who have ever
worked in cubicles for a living. |
Date
of review |
| April
26, 2004 |