Flashback Friday : Office Space (1999)

This week’s FBF features a film all the way from 1999. You remember the 90’s, right? Floppy disks, Y2K, and that. Well something else came out of it, a comedy about the mundane life of working an insufferable 9-5. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Office Space.

Now for those of you who haven’t seen it, Office Space follows a man named Peter (Ron Livingston) who works in a cubicle, doing mind-numbingly boring work for an asshole boss. He lacks motivation. He lacks enthusiasm. Each new day is the worst day of his life. His words not mine.

So he stops giving a shit, decides to not go in to work, plays Tetris when he does decide to go to work and soon he is miraculously promoted. But then he’s told that his two colleagues and good friends are going to be let go. So he convinces them to take action, plant a computer virus and take a piece of the company with them.

Office Space is a movie I’ve wanted to watch for the longest time, mostly because of the cult following it has. The scene where they smash a printer is legend. While this movie didn’t perform at the box office, it is now a DVD classic and is one of the best comedies of its time. Why? Because it’s so relatable.

Most people hate their jobs, hate being stuck in rush hour traffic, hate their bosses, hate having to work weekends and shout hateful things at the asshole printer. Because printers can be the spawn of satan. Let’s not pretend like that’s not true.

Office Space is genuinely funny, with memorable characters, including Milton who is the star of the movie. The romance plot with Jennifer Aniston’s character felt a little out of place at times but it all comes together quite nicely in the end.

I recommend this for anyone having “a case of the Mondays.”

Rating: 7.5/10