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Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, Diedrich Bader, Stephen Root, Gary Cole

Mundane trivialities have a significant importance in many people’s lives, as they have sunk into an existence where an income is more important than happiness. The unhappiness often begins with everyday routines such as getting back and forth from work while spending the majority of their time at a job where they are miserable. This suburban look on existentialism might be something that many can connect with, as everyday begins with the apprehension of the annoying alarm clock’s sound and the irritating traffic congestions. Meanwhile, the people tend to complain about the mind-numbing dreadfulness of their existence, as they do nothing to create a change for themselves. A resulting factor is that they have entrapped themselves in the corporate establishment where their desire of objects is larger than the yearning for happiness. Mike Judge’s film Office Space takes on the corporate induced melancholy through the eyes of a worn-out office worker Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) who takes matters in his own hands. ***

The comical humor in the initial scene presents the notion of the large number of people who commute back and forth to work. Coming from Chicago, I can relate to the long and difficult ventures through the crammed highways, which also gets to Peter and his coworkers. This sequence also suggests how many people actually undergo the everyday torment of making a living, maybe with a job that they hate. Whether people hate their job, or not, the film encapsulates the essence of the frustration that comes with the occupational travel. In addition, Judge shows that he understands the accumulation of frustration, as the journey to work spills over into the working day when the workers vent their anger on uncooperative fax machines and annoyance of repetitive sound. If the problems were not enough with frustration and boredom, the bosses, here Bill Lundberg (Gary Cole), breathes down necks with overtime and better quality production. One of the frequent behaviors that helps Peter and his friends manage their frustration is to wish their lives away by desiring for time to move faster, which could hasten time to the returning commute home. ***

The negative professional life that Peter possesses influences his personal and social life, as he returns home depleted after the emotional and psychological stress of his job. It even affects his sleeping pattern, as nightmares about work haunt him. The stress continues to increase as Initech, the company that he works for, has decided to downsize and his girlfriend has arranged for them to see a hypnotherapist to help deal with their relationship. However, amidst the hypnosis of Peter, that is supposed to help him feel more blissful, the therapist suffers from a heart attack. Peter remains within the peaceful ignorance of what is happening in his life, as he decides to sleep through the weekend and not go to work without feeling guilt, anguish, or any other kind of negative emotional response that would cause stress. ***

The aftermath of not showing up at work for the weekend overtime begins to mount, and with the notion of the downsizing in the back of the mind, his future might seem dark in regards to employment and economy. However, in his mental state of happiness he finds strength to take control of his own life, which takes his life on a number of unexpected turns. If the corporate America experienced an overwhelming number of people undergoing hypnosis similar to Peter’s, it would drastically affect the national economy. With this in mind, the film provides an interesting thought in regards to personal happiness and the commercial industry’s desire to control people’s pleasure with what people need for financial profits. ***

Office Space presents a truly remarkable societal comedy that reflects on the average person’s place in society in the shadow of socioeconomic status. It does so with a heavy dose of comic relief, as it portrays a wide range of interesting characters such as the flair wearing waitress Joanna (Jennifer Aniston), the closet tough guy Michael Bolton (David Herman), and the enterprising Samir (Ajay Naidu). Then there is the muttering Milton (Stephen Root) who the company has laid off, but never informed. These characters all provide an essential part of the story, as they help mirror different elements of the society. The film also provides an empowering perspective of how some people find a way to dig themselves out of their own miserable existence when things look awful. Altogether, every aspect of the story such as the score, cast, and story accentuates the terrific comedy that blends societal issues with dry everyday humor in a bellyaching manner. *** ---

The colors in the film feel extraordinarily flat, but this is a decision that the filmmakers made in order to heighten the feeling of the gray and dull everyday life. Some of faded colorization emerges through the lighting used while shooting the film. Nonetheless, the image has received a terrific restoration, as it is now available as anamorphic widescreen in its original aspect ratio 1.85:1. The picture quality has even been cleaned up, as it displays next to no visual blemishes. ***

In the audio department, sounds are fresh and there are easily heard dialogues. There is also a terrific presentation of the extraneous sound of the office environment provided by the solid Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Occasional scenes with situational score also enhance the auditory experience that the film provides through gangster rap, unless the viewer strongly opposes this music form. Overall, the audio flows smoothly and without any distortions that could harm the experience, but this was also the case with the previous DVD release. *** ---

The menu for the extras undoubtedly provides some of its own dry, yet clever humor. However, for a special edition this DVD does not carry many extras. First, the viewer can discover the Out of the Office: An Office Space Retrospective with Mike Judge, which is a six chaptered display of the film. It opens with a historical perspective of how the story came about and covers the cast and the characters that they portray. The funniest part is probably the chapter, The Printer, where the audience will hear about minute details that accentuated the ordeal of beating the crap out of a printer. There are also eight deleted scenes with poor picture quality. However, they are amusing and worth a viewing, as they will provide a brief moment of entertainment. The special feature section closes out with a theatrical trailer and some DVD-Rom material including the game Road Rage Rally. *** ---

Even though this special edition does not have many extras, it is definitely worth a purchase. Office Space is a brilliant comedy that reflects over the mundane lifestyle and its many frustrations, which will offer the audience a humbling and amusing experience. The main reason to get this DVD is that it is now released in anamorphic widescreen, and it has great replay value. It actually gets better with age and each time it’s viewed the viewer will find some insignificant piece in the film that will help the viewer stretch the facial muscles while setting a repetitive ha-ha-ha. ***