Office Space

To all of you out there reading this movie review, raise your hand if you dislike your boss. Raise your hand if you’ve ever once contemplated your boss losing his car brakes and driving over a cliff.

If you raised your hand twice, then you’ll probably enjoy Office Space, a satirical "Dilbert"-like look at the modern American workplace. The movie is written and directed by Mike Judge, the same guy responsible for television’s "Beavis and Butt-Head" and "King of the Hill" programs.

Filmed in the Austin area, the movie follows the life of Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston), a computer software geek working for the Initech Corporation. The movie’s funniest scene depicts Peter’s commute to work, caught in an endless line of traffic, being passed on the sidewalk by an old gent with a walker.

Peter works at his computer in a little cubicle that keeps the employees from looking out the window. His boss is the unctuous Bill Lumbergh (played to perfection by Gary Cole), the boss we all love to hate.

The demands of the job have Peter visiting a occupational therapist. During one visit, the shrink dies suddenly in mid-therapy, leaving Peter in a catatonic state. The mind-altered Peter ascends to the top of the organization, despite his unwillingness to do any work at all.

I really liked the first two-thirds of the movie with its treatment of office gamesmanship. Downsizing, no laughing matter these days, is shown in humorous fashion. Of course, there’s the office psychotic (Stephen Root) who you just know will return for vengeance when he is jettisoned to the basement.

The last one-third of the movie settles into a predictable plot that is worthy of a television sitcom. There’s also a budding relationship between Peter and a waitress (Jennifer Aniston) that has little bearing on the movie’s outcome.

Still, for the first hour, Office Space packs a punch that will hit home with many viewers.