Office Space

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Office Space
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Mike Judge
Produced by	Daniel Rappaport Michael Rotenberg
Written by	Mike Judge
Starring	Ron Livingston Jennifer Aniston David Herman Ajay Naidu Diedrich Bader Gary Cole Stephen Root
Music by	John Frizzell
Cinematography	Tim Suhrstedt
Editing by	David Rennie
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	February 19, 1999
Running time	89 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$10,000,000 (estimated)
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Office Space is an American comedy film written and directed by Mike Judge. It satirizes work life in a typical software company during the 1990s, focusing on a handful of individuals who are fed up with their jobs. The film's sympathetic portrayal of ordinary IT workers garnered it a cult following among those in that profession, but also addresses themes familiar to office workers and employees in general. It was filmed in Austin, Dallas, and Houston, Texas.

Office Space is based on the Milton series of cartoons created by Mike Judge. Office Space was Mike Judge's first foray into live action film and his second full length motion picture release (the first being the animated Beavis and Butthead Do America). The promotional campaign for Office Space often associated it with Beavis and Butthead, ensuring that audiences would expect a brand of humor similar to that of the creator's previous animated efforts, rather than the relatively low-key ironic humor of this film.

While not a box office success, the film has become a cult classic; it has since sold very well on video and DVD,^[1] and some of the movie's dialogue has entered into the popular lexicon since its release.

[edit] Plot

The film depicts a group of employees in the late 1990's at Initech, a company plagued by excessive management, and the everyday annoyance of office work in a cube farm setting evocative of the Dilbert comic strip. Soon after the movie begins, two consultants (John C. McGinley and Paul Willson), nicknamed "The Bobs" since they both have the same first name, are brought in to Initech to help with cutting expenses. The workers at Initech are then interviewed in order to determine which employees will be downsized or outsourced.

Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) is a programmer who spends his days updating bank software to remedy the then-expected Y2K disaster. His co-workers include Samir Nagheenanajar (Ajay Naidu), who complains that no one in the US can pronounce his name correctly; Michael Bolton (David Herman), who is angry that he shares his name with the real-life singer whom he hates; and Milton Waddams (Stephen Root), a soft-spoken, fixated collator who mumbles to himself incessantly (most notably about his co-workers borrowing his stapler) and is repeatedly bullied by management, especially the callous vice president Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole). Lumbergh is Peter's nemesis — a stereotypical corporate middle-manager who spends most of his time wandering the office with coffee mug in hand, wears white-collared shirts, suspenders and a belt (a fashion faux pas), and emotionlessly micromanages his employees while engaging them with superficial small talk.

Peter finds himself stressed, burnt out, and ineffective, and will likely be on the Bobs' downsizing list. Fortunately for him, something unusual happens during an occupational hypnotherapy session urged upon him by his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend Anne. The obese "occupational hypnotherapist" Dr. Swanson, portrayed by Mike McShane, suddenly dies of a heart attack before he can snap, or "unhypnotize", Peter out of a state of complete relaxation. The newly relaxed and still half-hypnotized Peter finds out that Anne is cheating on him but takes the news in stride and doesn't seem to care. He announces that he will not work anymore, instead pursuing his lifelong dream of "doing nothing", and finally asking out Joanna (Jennifer Aniston), a waitress he's long wanted to date.

In a parallel story, Joanna is experiencing a similar frustration with her boss regarding trivial issues, notably the "flair" on her uniform (catchy slogan buttons that supposedly contribute to the "fun" atmosphere of the restaurant). Although she wears the required number, 15, she is constantly harassed for only doing what is required, although it is never explicitly stated that she should wear more. Meanwhile, during his interview with the Bobs, Peter opens up for the first time about the absurdity of his job and of how Initech is run, including the issue with having too many managers and not having any real motivation to work except to avoid hassles. The Bobs interpret Peter's candor, easy-going attitude and lack of regard for his job as evidence that he is unmotivated in his current position and thus a prime candidate for a managerial position. Much to his surprise, and Lumbergh's dismay, Peter receives a promotion while his friends Samir and Michael, two of the department's best programmers, are scheduled to be laid off. At a bar with Michael, Peter reveals that his strange behavior is not so much due to the residual effects of hypnotism, but instead to seeing the hypnotherapist keel over in front of him, which has given him a new perspective on life, mainly to not waste it on pointless activities.

In order to get back at the company, the three friends decide to infect the accounting system with a computer virus, which will round down fractions of a cent from accrual of interest and transfer the leftovers into their own account over a period of years, leaving them with a slow but steady trickle of cash undetected by the corporation (see salami slicing). Peter, when questioned by Joanna about what he and his friends had been celebrating, attempts to diminish the sense that he is doing something illegal by comparing the theft to taking the pennies from the penny tray at a convenience store. The plan, however, backfires when a bug in the virus program's code causes it to take $305,326.13 in one day. The three friends are certain that such a large amount going missing in so short a time period will be noticed and result in their arrest. After a crisis of conscience, Peter decides to write a letter in which he takes all the blame for the crime. Peter slips an envelope containing the letter and the money in unsigned Travelers checks under the door of Lumbergh's office when Lumbergh is not there, expecting to be arrested soon afterwards.

However, all their problems are solved when Milton finally snaps due to Lumbergh, who took away Milton's beloved red Swingline stapler and moved his desk to a cockroach-infested storage room in the basement. Milton's paychecks also stop when the Bobs fix an accounting glitch wherein Milton had, unknown to him, been laid off years earlier but continued to come to work and be paid. Milton sets the Initech office building on fire, having warned several times that he would "set the building on fire" throughout the film, destroying all the computers and the virus code. The comic strips, pinned to the cubicle walls, seen burning in the fire are from the Cathy series.

After the fire is extinguished, Peter finally finds a job that makes him happy: working construction with his neighbor Lawrence (Diedrich Bader) on Initech's former site. Peter finds a red Swingline stapler while shoveling up rubble from the fire, and thinks of Milton. Samir and Michael get jobs at Initech rival Initrode. They stop by the Initech site to see Peter as they are going to lunch, where Samir asks Peter if everything will be okay. Peter assures him the fire destroyed all evidence of the crime. Michael and Samir offer to help Peter seek employment at Initrode, but he replies that he's happy working outdoors and getting good exercise. In a deleted scene on the special edition DVD, it is revealed that Lumbergh is killed in the fire and none of the conspirators attended his funeral.

Milton makes his way to a resort in Mexico with the $305,326.13 he found in unsigned traveler's checks in an unmarked envelope inside Lumbergh's office.

[edit] Cast

Artie Lange also auditioned for the role of Milton.^[2] He describes his audition as being so bad it was "like a plumber who won a radio contest and got to try out for a movie."

Lumbergh's ring is an EarthForce Academy class ring, which Gary Cole had also worn on Crusade.

The DVD release contains a scene not included in the theatrical release which establishes a different fate for the character of Bill Lumbergh. In one deleted scene, characters refer to his funeral. In the theatrical release, he does not appear in any of the final scenes.

[edit] Production

The origins for Office Space lie in a series of four animated short films about an office drone named Milton that Mike Judge created, which first aired on Liquid Television and Night After Night with Allan Havey, and later aired on Saturday Night Live.^[3] The inspiration came from a temp job he once had that involved alphabetizing purchase orders^[4] and a job he had as an engineer for three months in the Bay Area during the 1980s, "just in the heart of Silicon Valley and in the middle of that overachiever yuppie thing, it was just awful."^[5] The setting of the film reflected a prevailing trend that Judge observed in the United States. "It seems like every city now has these identical office parks with identical adjoining chain restaurants," he said in an interview.^[3] He remembers, "There were a lot of people who wanted me to set this movie in Wall Street, or like the movie Brazil, but I wanted it very unglamorous, the kind of bleak work situation like I was in."^[4]

Judge sold the film to 20th Century Fox based on his script and a cast that included Jennifer Aniston, Ron Livingston, and David Herman.^[3] Originally, the studio wanted to make a movie out of the Milton character but Judge was not interested, opting instead to make more of an ensemble cast-based film.^[5] The studio suggested he make a movie like Car Wash but "just set in an office."^[5] Judge made the relatively painless transition from animation to live-action with the help of the film's director of photography who taught him about lenses and where to put the camera. Judge says, "I had a great crew, and it's good going into it not pretending you're an expert."^[4]

[edit] Reaction

Office Space barely recouped production costs, earning $10,827,813 at the box office.^[6]

In his review in the New York Times, Stephen Holden wrote, "It has the loose-jointed feel of a bunch of sketches packed together into a narrative that doesn't gather much momentum."^[7] Owen Gleiberman in Entertainment Weekly criticized the film for feeling "cramped and underimagined."^[8] However, in USA Today, Susan Wioszczyna wrote, "If you've ever had a job, you'll be amused by this paean to peons."^[9]

[edit] In popular culture

Several phrases, items and concepts from the film have found their way into common usage (particularly in office environments):

• PMITA prison refers to 'pound me in the ass prison' as opposed to soft time in white collar prison.
• TPS report — denotes any type of pointless office paperwork, based on the film's satirical example of such work.
• PC Load Letter — an actual HP laser printer error message indicating that the printer needs letter-sized paper, but more generally a catch-all for any nonsensical error message. The "PC" in the phrase stands for "Paper Cassette", a paper reservoir for many printers. This error is more common in Europe when printing US documents on printers loaded with size A4 paper.
• In the movie, the printer's unreliability finally prompts Peter, Samir and Michael to take a baseball bat to the device in an open field as "Still" by Geto Boys plays, in a scene visually referencing a violent episode in Casino. The term Office Space-style, or "Going Office Space on" is used to refer to this type of destruction.^[10]
• Did/Didn't you get that memo? — refers to a question a worker is asked by multiple supervisors at varying levels.
• A case of the Mondays — refers to expressions of frustration at one's job (especially on Mondays); phrase is used by a cheery co-worker to describe Peter's attitude at the start of the film, and again later by Brian, the insufferably upbeat Chotchkie's waiter.

• Red Swingline stapler — The item that is the only constant in the life of abused employee Milton Waddams, who snaps after it is stolen. Swingline hadn't made red staplers in years, and a red Swingline was not available from office supply shops when Office Space was released (a prop department employee, named Ric Trzeciak, painted one PPG red, according to the film's commentary), but due to popular demand Swingline released a limited run of the red version in 2004. The official Swingline product page describes the product thus: "Discover the stapling star of any office space - the bold head-turning design and legendary performance of Swingline's Rio Red Stapler."^[11]

The Swingline 747 Classic stapler in red

• No-talent ass clown — expression of Michael Bolton's antipathy for the pop singer Michael Bolton, with whom he shares his name. The term is now used to refer to a celebrity or performer who is successful despite having only marginal talent. It is also used as a general term of derision. The term "ass clown" was also used in the film Bad Santa, by Ajay Naidu, as a tribute to this film. WWE wrestler Chris Jericho was known for using 'ass clown' during his earlier years with the company.
• Pieces of Flair — refers to the mass quantities of buttons and pins Joanna is required to wear while working at the fictional Friday’s-esque restaurant "Chotchkie's", as in the title of the 2005 "Special Edition, with Flair" DVD release. (Tchotchke is a Yiddish word meaning "worthless trinket"—like the pieces of flair). Peter Gibbons criticises the practice, saying, "You know, the Nazis had pieces of flair they made the Jews wear."^[12]

[edit] In other media

[edit] Television

DVD cover showing the character Milton

• The animated Office Space short appeared on Liquid Television (MTV) in 1992, involving Milton and his stapler.
• In the similarly-themed British television series The Office, "Pete Gibbons" is mentioned on two occasions as a former Wernham Hogg employee.
• Although Gary Cole is credited as supplying numerous voices on the Fox series Family Guy, he reprised his role as Bill Lumbergh in the episode titled "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz."
• In the television series Lost, John Locke has a flashback of working in a cubicle office and being harassed by his obnoxious boss, Randy, asking about TPS reports.
• In the episode "The Redneck on Rainey Street" of the animated series King of the Hill, Kahn Souphanousinphone tells his boss on the phone that he has filed his TPS reports. King of the Hill is another Mike Judge production.
• A red Swingline stapler is seen in an episode of Scrubs ("My Bright Idea") when Dr. Percival "Perry" Cox (played by John C. McGinley, who portrayed one of the Bobs in the movie) is seen talking to Elliot Reid through such a stapler.
• In the "High" (originally aired 8/22/07) episode of Rescue Me a scene opens with Janet Gavin at work as she hands a colleague some papers and says, "The TPS reports."
• Actor Greg Pitts appeared as himself in a second season episode of The Sarah Silverman Program ("Ah, Men", original air date 10/31/07). Throughout the episode he is referred to as "the 'oh face' guy from Office Space" and repeatedly recites his famous catch phrase.

[edit] Commercials

• In the series of Reebok commercials featuring "Terry Tate: Office Linebacker", after one of his devastating hits on a co-worker, he yells "You know you need a cover sheet on your TPS Reports, Richard! That ain't new, baby!"
• In a promotional ad for an episode of the show 30 Days about job outsourcing, series creator Morgan Spurlock is seated in an office cubicle. He drinks from a coffee cup and says the Lumbergh line "Yeah, we're gonna have to move your desk ... to India."
• Blizzard Entertainment used a scene in this film in a commercial for World of Warcraft. The scene in particular was of Peter playing Tetris on his work computer while blowing off Lumbergh. The Tetris game running on the monitor was digitally replaced with footage from World of Warcraft, and the game's box was digitally added to the top of the monitor. Additionally, the Cheetos on Peter's desk were digitally replaced with WoW CDs.^[13]
• A commercial for Absolut Vodka themed for "Absolut: Case of the Mondays" uses the scene of the printer being pummeled.
• The 2007 Super Bowl Ad for CareerBuilder, "Promotion Pit," features a character covered in sticky notes.

[edit] Music video

• In the video "Virus Alert" from the album Straight Outta Lynwood by Weird Al Yankovic, people are observed running from the flaming Initech building.

[edit] Video games

• In the video game Enter the Matrix, in a scene set in a post office building, there is an area where the player can hear two employees discussing TPS reports, and referring to one having the other's stapler.
• The video game F.E.A.R. contains several levels with shootouts set among cubicles in an office building. Papers entitled "TPS Report" litter desks, notes with the phone number to "Chotchkie's" are on cabinets and there is a red Swingline stapler on one of the desks. A poster entitled "Planning to Plan" is seen.
• In the MMORPG City of Heroes robotic office workers/adversaries refer to 'TPS Reports'.
• In the computer game Counter-Strike, as well as the Source engine sequel, TPS reports can be seen on the shelves in the multiplayer online map cs_office. On the same multiplayer map, the same computer screens display a Windows desktop with an open Excel spreadsheet titled "TPS Report." The same screen has a command prompt window with the command "embezzle.exe" typed at the prompt.
• In the game Doom 3, one of the magazines called "UAC" has a red stapler on it and has the caption "Where is my Stapler?"
• In the mod Zodiac for the game Deus Ex, you infiltrate an office complex modelled after the workplace in the movie, with Milton sitting in a corner enclosure talking about his stapler, TPS reports on his desk.
• In the MMORPG Guild Wars: Eye of the North, in the map Magus Stones, there is a NPC called Blimm that is searching for his staff and thinks that his ex-employer stole it. He says to players: "And, if you see my red staff, bring it back to me. It's not okay, and if she took my staff, I'm going to burn the laboratory down." as a reference to Milton.

[edit] See also

• Office Space soundtrack
• Dilbert
• The Office (UK TV series)
• The Office (US TV series)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Office Space

• Office Space at the Internet Movie Database
• Time "Cue the Stapler!"
• Lumino Magazine's 5th anniversary retrospective article
• Filming Locations
• BullshitJob.com an office space fan site
• Entertainment Weekly retrospective article