Office Space, 1999

Deceptively complex, Office Space is much more than it appears to be on the surface. Presented as a witty comedy about the tribulations of frustrated office worker Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston), Office Space presents an allegory for the path to enlightenment as well as Jungian self-realization. Peter Gibbons lives as a slave to his hated job. Forced to carry the heavy burden of his shadow archetype, Gibbons is unable to live with the persona forced upon him by the material necessity represented by his job. Gibbons, analogous to Siddhartha, the titular character of Hermann Hesse’s masterpiece, embarks obliviously on a path to enlightenment. As Siddhartha leaves his privileged life to become an ascetic with nothing but the Self, Gibbons forsakes his responsibilities at work to live without the worries of the material world. In an absurd series of events, a suspension of karma, Gibbons fortune reverses for the positive even as he regularly shows up to work late with no concern for his job at all. Just as Siddhartha leaves the ascetic lifestyle to learn about business and the ways of love, Gibbons acts only to satisfy his id, the unconscious drive for pleasure. Gibbons pleasant reality is short lived however, as karma catches up to him in the form of a failed embezzlement of funds from his company Initech. Upon realizing his mistake Peter attempts to correct it and fate takes over as everyone seemingly ends up where they should be. Peter finds a balance of his Self with a new job clearing the ruins of the despised Initech. Office Space is effective because it operates on multiple levels. It can appeal as a parody of office life, an absurd comedy, or as an allegory for enlightenment. Regardless of how one interprets this film it will reward all viewers with its many humorous tidbits throughout.

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The evil corporation in this movie kind of reminds me of Netphlix. I dont usually write protest reviews, but its getting silly now. First they took away notebook and the rest- I didnt say anything. They said friend features were unpopular, which is ludicrous, but I still didnt say anything. They took away favorites, top ten lists, and any way to follow other users, yet I still remained stoic. But guess what they took away today? Apostrophes! Thats why my post looks like its written by a six year old. After the ridiculous 24 hour wait, my last review showed up with no apostrophes and I cant correct it. It wont let me. Apparently apostrophes were an unpopular feature too. Commas are probably next, followed by all the other unpopular punctuation marks. Then capital letters. I think Netphlix is going dismantle their user input one letter at a time. Eventually we will have write reviews using only the letter j, and then, one day, it will be over. Poof! I apologize for this non-review, I just cant take it anymore. Ive been thoroughly demoralized and Im lashing out.

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And this one is no exception. You can't get some of these things out of your head... ever. Maybe that's why I rate it so high. 10/10 movies, for whatever reason, have changed me. Enriched my life. 10 years later, I hear people say things about having to meet with the Bobs. Even the beta version of this website quotes it where it says "We need to talk about your flair." Really. They quoted it here for a reason. People in these reviews are calling this a cult film. It's not a cult film. It's simply a modern classic.

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Destined to be a cult hit from the beginning, this movie was and still is ridiculously funny. The characters are so well designed that they're impossible to forget after seeing Office Space. The boss with the coffee cup, the lazy office worker, the nerdy guy who gets stomped on all of the time. You'll remember the characters names and catchphrases for years to come, and that is a commendable feat. Many of us don't work in an office environment, but it doesn't matter. If you've worked anywhere, you can relate to the characters and the story in this film, and you will be crying from laughing so hard. Awesome, one of my favorite comedies of all time.

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Full of good comedy and interesting characters, this movie is awesome!!!

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