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Gas Break Honk. Gas Break Honk. And so begins Office Space, smack in the middle of a morning traffic jam. This common human bond is supposed to hold your attention through an hour and a half of one dimensional, rehashed parody. While there is little that is actually bad about this movie, it keeps in time with current cinematic trend in a way that leaves you wondering who cares? Mike Judge does. Creator of Beavis and Butthead, and co-creator of King of the Hill, Judge has a knack for pinpointing the absurdities of Everyman's middle-American life, but he can't seem to give them the nightmarishly funny quality that would put his work in the same league as Seinfield. Office Space is the story of life in an office cubicle. Peter Gibbons, played by Ron Livingston, is aptly named, as the Peter Principle propels him upwards and onwards in the corporate world of Initech. Peter unabashedly declares, "I'm not lazy or anything. It's just that I don't care," earning himself a promotion and some privileged information: his two nerdy but eager office-mates (also aptly named), Michael Bolton (David Herman) and Samir Noonecanpronounceit (Ajay Naidu), will be given pink slips. Meanwhile Milton, the movie's quintessential muttering nut case played by Stephen Root, is continually demoted, until he winds up desk in the basement, stapler-less, and salary-less. The impending layoffs create the perfect motive for (dun dun dun dun) Revenge... The outcome is childishly predictable, but suffice it to say you have a nice blend of embezzlement and fire to look forward to. Let us not forget Jennifer Anniston's self-proclaimed "bizarre and distinct" character, Joanna. Her monotonous acting sucked the "flair" from her Waitress-and-Girlfriend-of-the-Hero-with-a-Hippie-Hair-Cut part. She serves only as a subplot whose resolution you could see coming miles away. But all is not lost. Despite the lack of subtlety, there was many a good chuckle, and a couple of priceless Gangsta' parodies, done by hopelessly white men. In a recent interview, Judge is quoted saying "If there is a message to this movie, then I have failed as a director." While some parts try too hard for sincerity and character growth, Judge can rest assured that he passed, making a lowest common denominator comedy that will inspire people everywhere not to show up for work on Monday morning.
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