Mini-Review: Office Space (1999)

My review:

Released in early 1999, Office Space was recently screened in select theaters across the US. I took this chance to revisit the old classic. 

Since the mid to late 90s Mike Judge, the director and writer of Office Space, has made quite a name for himself. He's responsible for Beavis and Butt-head, the animated series King of the Hill, the disturbingly prophetic Idiocracy, the fun and criminally underrated Extract, and more recently the live action series  Silicon Valley - all cult favorites. Office Space stands out as Judge's first serious venture into live-action territory. 

18 years after its release, Office Space is still funny, interesting, relevant, and poignant.  Its most memorable scenes have the same impact as they did the first time I watched them - the Michael Bolton jokes, the goofy next door neighbor, the printer scene (!!!). All jokes that never fail to get a laugh from the audience. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the entire film. On this latest re-watch I couldn't shake off the feeling that the movie as a whole hasn't aged that well. Either that, or it simply doesn't hold up to multiple viewings as well as I had originally believed. All characters in Office Space are cartoony, comedic caricatures of the white collar workers they're meant to represent.  Their reactions are exaggerated. Joanna's character is an unessential one. Albeit a forgivable sin in comedy, I found myself relatively uninterested in the character struggles, and rather looked forward to those signature scenes and punchlines that made the film so memorable in the first.

Perhaps I also felt a bit embittered that I paid money to see the film on the big screen. It wasn't worth it. I'd rather rent it online or borrow it from my local library, and watch it from the comfort of my own home.

Despite its flaws, I continue to wholeheartedly recommend Office Space to anyone who hasn't seen it. 

Score: 7/10

Title: Office Space
Writer(s): Mike Judge
Based on: "Milton" by Mike Judge
Director: Mike Judge
Main Cast:
 Ron Livingston
 Jennifer Aniston
 Stephen Root
 Gary Cole


Release Date: 19 February 1999
Running Time: 89 minutes