I saw Office Space when it came out in 1999 because I liked Jennifer Aniston and I wanted to see what Mike Judge did after Beavis and Butt-Head. It was funny, even if some jokes took time to setup, the payoff was always worth it. The companionship of coworkers in the movie should speak to most folks who have friends they confide in and share their misery and triumphs. What I would realize as I got older is how accurate a film like this was at exploring how we can sometimes feel about our jobs, how we should take care of each other, and appreciate what is in our lives. Pretty good message coming from Mike Judge who wrote and directed this, his first live action film and second feature length film. It was more of success after it was released on home video than when it was released in theatres, and Mike has been asked to make a sequel (no plans in the works). I recently rewatched this movie on tv and laughed throughout, remembering all my favorite parts just before the punchline, and I was happy to see how much the humor has held up (even if the technology hasn’t).

You feel bad for Ron Livingston’s character because he is so burdened every day but seems like such a nice guy wanting to be happier. His coworkers range from close confidents to avoid by any means necessary, and you get a feeling (not a good one) about the kind of workspace it is, which all helps to justify his feelings and actions. The film is littered with scene stealing characters, like his neighbor, fellow coworkers, and more, kudos to the casting choices that all bring something unique to the film. I realized I often quote this movie which was based on animated shorts that Judge had made about a character named Milton, and were played on both the tv shows Liquid Television and Saturday Night Live. Mike did not like the advertising for the film, the post-it covered person, but that image and the red swingline stapler (which this movie helped bring back into production) are now synonymous with Office Space and its cult movie status.

1999, 14A, 1h 29m
Distributor – Fox
Budget – $10 million

Cast & Crew
Writer and director Mike Judge also created the tv shows Beavis and Butt-Head (208 episodes in 8 seasons, 1993-2011), King of the Hill (258 episodes in 13 seasons, 1997-2010), co-created Silicon Valley (4 seasons since 2014), and wrote and directed the films Idiocracy (2006 with Luke Wilson), and Extract (2009 with Jason Bateman). Ron Livingston was previously in Swingers (1996 with Vince Vaughn) and would soon appear in Band of Brothers (2001 presented by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg). Jennifer Anniston was a few years into the tv show Friends when Office Space was made, and she would next be seen in the film Rock Star (2001 with Mark Wahlberg).

Links
IMDB – 7.8

Box Office Mojo

Wikipedia

Spoilers
(please do not continue reading if you have not seen the movie and do not want to read a spoiler)

One of my favorite roles in the film is Ron’s neighbor played by Diedrich Bader (from The Drew Carey Show 1995-2004). They both live in “Morningwood” apartments, can hear each other through the wall, and he is always there when you need to know what channel to watch. His involvement, along with multiple others (like the O-face guy and the magazine seller) all add up to a huge ensemble comedy cast. Everyone can play to their strengths and no one feels like they have to carry the comedic load, taking the pressure off allows everyone to play. I like Ron and Jennifer developing a romance during his mind altered state and that the focus of the film was not on the love in a relationship. When she flipped the bird to her boss (played by Mike Judge), I cheered as she expressed her flare. Her character was inspired and so should the audience be, you have a right to express yourself. The studio was initially not confident in the choices of music (the gangster rap) but changed their mind after test audiences saw the film, confirming that what Mike knew would work actually did work for the film. A positive message, plenty of laughs, and endlessly quotable with characters such as Milton, the Bobs, and Bill Lumbergh. A special feature for the film was a 27 minute retrospective and included parts of 2 interviews. Ron Livingston was humble saying that his character only served to move the plot along and everyone else was there to be funny and Jennifer Anniston was proud to say that she loves ensembles, because there is so much to work off of, a trait that has served her well.