OK, let me preface this review by stating that the first 45 minutes of "Office Space" gave me as many laughs as the opening 45 minutes of almost any other comedy. Particularly hilarious were the two consultants interviewing the Initech staff and Peter's total apathetic meltdown--brilliant! However, the second half of the movie veers so far away from the original intent, that I as a viewer was left wondering who exactly Ron Livingston's character was! That's great in a drama or thriller, but lousy in a comedy.
Jennifer Aniston's character is wasted (esp. for the middle third of the movie); apparently Mike Judge wanted a romantic element in his film, but didn't want to spend time developing it. "Office Space" disintegrates after the guys lose their jobs and embark on a scheme to steal money from their company. The shift in focus is unsettling and unexpected, and everyone suddenly gets a bad case of the consciences. My guess is that the movie was originally closer to 120 minutes, instead of its final 90 minutes, but that the big wheels did some 11th-hour cutting, reasoning that the audience would grow restless in a two-hour comedy. Generally that's true, but "Office Space" would have greatly benefited from a little more character development and a smoother transition to the final 30 minutes. The first half of the movie gets 5 stars out of 5, but the second gets 1 out of 5. 6 stars
Jennifer Aniston's character is wasted (esp. for the middle third of the movie); apparently Mike Judge wanted a romantic element in his film, but didn't want to spend time developing it. "Office Space" disintegrates after the guys lose their jobs and embark on a scheme to steal money from their company. The shift in focus is unsettling and unexpected, and everyone suddenly gets a bad case of the consciences. My guess is that the movie was originally closer to 120 minutes, instead of its final 90 minutes, but that the big wheels did some 11th-hour cutting, reasoning that the audience would grow restless in a two-hour comedy. Generally that's true, but "Office Space" would have greatly benefited from a little more character development and a smoother transition to the final 30 minutes. The first half of the movie gets 5 stars out of 5, but the second gets 1 out of 5. 6 stars