Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

I was laid off two times in 2001. When this movie came out on 1999, the layoffs were not as many as now. As a matter of fact, at that time, it was at a peak of hiring because of Y2K bugs. I have watched this movie before and after my lay offs. I still found fun to watch because I also worked in the computer field and also got laid off. However, I don't know if I should recommend to those who are in the middle of lay off even though this is a comedy because I have missed the office fun for many months. Sometimes, some complaints from the office can be fun too.

Summary of the Movie

Office space is a comedy that offers sense of humors about workers working in an office environment. In this case, it's in a Computer Software company. The company was about to lay off or downsize. They were hiring a "consultant" to interview individual and to see which ones should stay and which ones should be laid off. I wonder if this were done in my previous companies, I probably would have avoided the lay offs .... sigh A group of 3 computer geniuses were trying to con the company by sending viruses to the company and transfer money to their secret banking account. At the end, it turned out that the company was burnt down because of a fire accident or incident.

Characters

What is so good about the movie is not the plot or the summary but the characters played by each actor. I applauded to each actor especially the co-actors. Every one of them played so good. I found this movie the best comedy of all time in terms of casting and acting.

Peter Gibbons
A bored computer worker who was sick and tired of coming to his office space because of being annoyed by his boss and coworkers. And he decided to make a change of his life.
Bill Lumbergh
The Boss (always held his cup)--- aaaaah, Yeeeah, right, the boss was just annoying like all other bosses, always demanding.
Joanna
She was a waitress next door and became Peter's girl friend.
I don't think this character was necessary, but it was added to make the movie more realistic. That was also linked to company next door. In that case, a restaurant business was also not a pleasant place to work because of the restricted policy, but someone liked it.
Milton Waddams
A nerd who mumbled a lot and complained a lot about being moved from cubical to cubical and always threatened in his mind that he would quit and/or burn down the company. I found him the funniest nerd to watch. Although sometimes I didn't know what he was mumbling about, it was just fun when he did that.
Michael Bolton
A funny guy that had the same name as Michael Bolton. His name added some fun to the movie.
Samir
Arabian guy whom also added fun to this movie with his accent and his dream in America.
Tom
Tom (Richard Riehle), an old guy who lived in constant fear of being laid off.

Fun Parts
I was chuckled with the following parts.

1. The boss talked, always started "Yeeeeeah... Hmmmm... Yeeeeeah "
2. Milton murmured and complained about being moved around and wanted to keep his stapler.
3. Kicking the copier. Both Samir & Michael got frustrated with the copier. They cursed and kicked the copier..
4. Receptionist in the background using her high pitch voice answer the phone. "Just a moment, please"
5. Jump to conclusion idea by Tom.
6. The memo or TPS report problem kept coming back to Peter.

There were lots more, but those were the ones I remembered very well.

How to make a good Comedy

I have seen lots of comedies. This movie is probably rated the best among all of them. It could be because of the economy situation that we are in now. Or it could be that it is so realistic that we take a laugh out of truth. This movie is simple. In a simple word, a company was trying to lay off people, period. However, what made the most out of this movie were the characters. You don't need Jim Carey to have a good comedy. All you need is someone who can understand what real life is all about. There is no acting needed in that sense. However, knowing the truth of real life could be challenging in acting. In this case, all you need are " A boring worker - Peter, A worried worker - Tom, A nerd who complained a lot - Milton, A computer genius - Michael, A foreigner - Samir and of course ........aaaah ....yeaaah, the annoying boss - Bill "

Why I think it may not be too appropriate for people who got laid off?

Well, to me for instance, being laid off is not the greatest thing. It could be the worst thng. It affects lots of things, you mood in particular. When viewing this sort of movie, you may get a laugh, but you will hate yourselves even more because you are not in the working environment anymore.



Conclusion

In reality, if we the workers can be treated with respect, I don't think that anyone will hate to work. This movie may exaggerate a little bit, but I found it fun to see it exposed to the movie screen. It's worth watching. And I think one of those characters will happen in any company. Don't you think you have one of those characters at your company???

Cast

Jennifer Aniston - Joanna
Ron Livingston - Peter Gibbons
Gary Cole - Bill Lumbergh
Alexandra Wentworth - Anne
Stephen Root - Milton Waddams
David Herman - Michael Bolton
Ajay Naidu - Samir
John C. McGinley - Bob Slydell
Diedrich Bader - Lawrence
Paul Willson - Bob Porter
Richard Riehle - Tom

Crew

Director(s):
Mike Judge

Writer(s):
Mike Judge

Producer(s):
Michael Rotenberg
Daniel Rappaport

Executive Producer(s):
Guy Riedel

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age