9 to 5! A period of time that evokes a lot of emotion out of people in the modern world, the main emotion being one of dread. For as long as we can remember human beings have been working for millennia.
Whether it was merchants selling their goods, farmhands working the fields, or stone masons constructing buildings the old-fashioned way, man has spent his waking hours from cradle to grave involved in some type of vocational activity.
For centuries man’s identity has been inextricably linked to the type of work that he did. The Blacksmith was a blacksmith because he came from a family of blacksmiths. The same goes for the baker, the carpenter, the farmer, the tailor etc.
Previous societies, for all the criticism they may have received for being ‘primitive’ in some respects, allowed for people to work purposefully, with an air of freedom attached to their labour that let them feel more in control of their work, instead of making them feel that their work was controlling them.
The modern age offers so many things in the way of convenience, so many things that are there to add to our lives, and so many things that modern man has to welcome into his life in the name of ‘progress’. And while there may be some benefits to this, it does not come without its setbacks.
One of those setbacks involves masses of people working for large corporations that leave them feeling isolated, alienated, and generally under the impression that though they cannot put their finger on it, something does not feel right.
This culture of working long hours for little pay for a project you may or may not believe in for employers whose presence you may have briefly been in during the annual Christmas party has given some people an incentive to leave the cubicle to pursue work that is meaningful to them.
The TV show ‘The Office’, both the British and American version. has provided people with a comedic understanding of what life during the nine-to-five is like. But, a lot of people would not see it as an accurate depiction of the true nature of office life. For a more realistic depiction of life in the office one need look no further than a comedy from the late 90s.
One would watch this and feel humoured and a little bit spooked by the drab interpretation of modern-day work in the 21st century. But to do this one would need to get into the ‘Office Space’.
Office Space is a satirical comedy written and directed by Mike Judge. Released in 1999, the film was adapted from a series of animated shorts written by Judge himself that aired on Saturday Night Live during the mid 90s.
The film features faces, such as: Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Gary Cole, Stephen Root, and David Herman, who portray bored, uninspired blue/white collar workers who grow increasingly weary of their jobs as office employees- in Aniston’s case it is as a waitress in a software company named: ‘Intitech’.
The series’ concept is fairly simple yet still engaging and somewhat relatable considering this is a satirical comedy from the late 90s and this review has been written in the year 2025 where the world has- in many ways- moved on from the office culture of that era.
That concept was to take a light and shine it on the absolute dimness and despondent nature of office life during the turn of the millennium, showing a workforce that is either too socially sedated to notice anything amiss with their lives or too neurotic to even function outside of their identities as employees.
At the heart of this is Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston), the film’s protagonist, a fairly average employee at Intitech who is completely fed up with the monotony of his work-life. He is just like everyone else. And that is a very honest depiction of a modern-day protagonist. That is if we want ‘realistic’ lead characters.
Peter is not some herculean figure, he’s not a Superman. He’s not a protagonist with incredible qualities and powers hidden beneath a veneer of awkwardness. Nor is he someone with great potential waiting to be guided so that he can unlock said potential. He is an every man. And in the year 1999, almost everyman is imprisoned within a cubicle typing away at a keyboard.
Peter, like Harrison Ford’s character in the SC-FI classic: ‘Blade Runner’ is a man existing in a world that is becoming more alien to him with each second.
Tragically punctuated by this quote from Peter himself: “Every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means every single day that you see me, that’s on the worst day of my life.”
And so Peter, desperate to find some relief from his relatively boring existence goes to a hypnotist to teach him how to tap into a state of absolute bliss so that he can use it as a space to retreat to when the sadness that comes from working his job creeps up on him.
And if this review ended here, it would be pretty safe to assume that Office Space is a heart-wrenching story about one man’s last efforts to try and create some joy in his life despite the bleak obstacles that are in his way. Only…that’s not what happens…that’s not what happens at all.
See, Peter does get hypnotised, he does enter into a state of pure bliss and carefree assurance, but the only problem is that due to an unforeseen circumstance, he is left in that state permanently. And so, as a result of this…hilarity ensues.
From that point on Peter re-enters the world with a devil-may-care attitude that shakes his life up in ways he doesn’t expect.
An office filled with a neurotic, anxiety-ridden workforce is not ready to deal with Peter as he approaches life with a confidence and a serenity that leaves his higher-ups powerless- and in some cases amazed- in the face of his indifference towards his corporate responsibilities.
Peter is not without his issues though, and despite the fact that he has a new outlook on life, he isn’t done just yet. He, alongside his friends Michael (David Herman) and Samir (Ajay Naidu) hatch a scheme to get the last laugh on Intitech before they are inevitably let go by the soulless corporation.
Office space is a film whose dry interpretation of office life is something that simultaneously sets it apart and unfortunately, holds it back.
The repetitive interactions Peter has with his co-workers, and the especially passive aggressive interactions with his boss Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole) make it quite a relatable depiction of the mundane nature of work life in the modern day, but it does make the film seem as if it is lacking energy.
There are no overly tense scenes filled with highly emotional confrontations, there are no large exuberant set pieces where the protagonist overcomes the antagonist.
There is almost a lethargic nature to the way the dialogue flows in the film that makes someone feel as if they are actually at the office instead of watching a movie.
But, it does work. And if you cannot get through the boring interactions about how the copy machine isn’t functioning properly, then there are moments in the film designed to raise the eyebrows for the viewers who want more of a spectacle.
Whether it is Peter and his friends ruthlessly assaulting the copying machine, or Peter’s rather flat pursuit of Joanna (Jennifer Aniston), a waitress who is uninterested in Peter pre-hypnosis, but after experiencing his care-free attitude, is emboldened to leave her job at the restaurant, Office Space does have moments that break the monotony. Much like real life.
Now granted, in the case of Joanna, she leaves the restaurant for another restaurant, but the same sentiment of taking control of one’s own free will is still there.
If you want a film that is evocative of everything that was mind-numbingly frustrating about the life of an employee in the late 90s, a film that rewards its viewers with the satisfaction of seeing one of their own cast aside the illusory power the corporate animal has over them, whilst finding freedom in the act of being honest about the state of his life, as well as being able to take charge by finding out what they don’t want in it, and rejecting it- an important step in the pursuit of personal freedom- then Office Space is worth the hour-and-a-half of dry jokes, call backs to 90s pop-culture, and the experience of an environment with figures that pre-date the iconic characters portrayed by the likes of Ricky Gervais and Steve Carrell in their respective sitcoms.