Office
Space: Special Edition
Office Space is a hilarious movie, even if you’ve never worked
in an office building.
We have, and we can say that pretty much every office-related joke
in the film is completely true.
Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) can’t endure another mind-numbing
day at his job. It’s the typical situation: menial labor,
irritating boss, annoying co-workers – he’s on the edge,
man.
So one day he decides that because he doesn’t like his job,
he’s not gonna go anymore. Armed with his new attitude and
new girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston), Peter comes up with a way to
make some money without actually having to do anything.
He still makes it to work once in a while, and his newfound attitude
lands him a job in upper management, much to the chagrin of his
boss. Hilarious antics ensue as Peter and his friends try to outsmart
their employers.
Office Space is rife with great characters, great lines, and just
all-out hilarity. It’s a superbly written comedy with some
fine character actors who sell it. Stephen Root is particularly
amusing as Milton, the soft-spoken co-worker, and Gary Cole is almost
as good as the bossman. Livingston and Aniston use their onscreen
charm to carry the film’s story between the funny bits.
Beavis and Butthead/King of the Hill creator Mike Judge has crafted
a tremendously entertaining film that goes much deeper than just
straight comedy. It examines the life of the office-job schmuck
and touches upon many funny-because-they're-true situations. Office
Space is the kind of comedy that nearly everyone enjoys, and can
therefore be viewed multiple times with different crowds.
If you haven’t seen it, you should, especially if you work
a similar job.
Office Space was released on DVD several years ago as a bare-bones
release. It’s now, finally, getting the treatment it deserves
(almost), via this new special edition with flair. Audio and video
are presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and Dolby Digital
5.1 surround. Both are good, with solid colors, no grain and clear
dialog, but for such a movie you likely won’t care (even we
snobs don’t, really). It’s plenty good enough, and that’s
plenty good enough.
“Out of the Office” is an all-new half hour documentary
that takes us through the development of the film. Mike Judge speaks
of the original shorts that inspired the film (and we see some short
clips), talks of casting, and mentions some juicy tidbits about
less-obvious aspects (such as Swingline’s red stapler, which
didn’t actually exist at the time). It’s too short,
and isn’t a sufficient replacement for a Judge audio commentary,
but it’s fun and will have to do.
We get a collection of deleted scenes, as well, eight of them in
total. None are particularly stimulating, but feature a couple amusing
moments. Quality is shoddy, but understandably so. Finally, we get
some DVD-Rom content and the theatrical trailer.
It would have been nice to have some more supplements, such as
the aforementioned commentary and some actual Milton shorts. This
version is pretty good, and will have to suffice, but we can’t
help but thinking there’s another special edition on the way.
Office Space, from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
89 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) 16x9 enhanced, Dolby
Digital 5.1
Starring Ron Livingston, Stephen Root, Gary Cole and Jennifer Aniston
Produced by Michael Rotenberg, Danial Rappaport
Written for the screen and directed by Mike Judge
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