Office Space - Special Edition with Flair (1999/Fox Blu-ray)
Picture: B+ Sound: B
Extras: C Film: B-
Did you file your
TPS Report? Whereas Office Space is widely adored by fans around the world; the film
never amazed this reviewer. Office Space without a doubt is smart, funny, and has a cast of
insanely memorable characters; the film, however, does not seem to have the
greatest staying power. Office Space is now a decade old and is
beginning to show its age as technology is surpassing the office setting of the
film; but what continues to work are people.
The office dynamics portrayed on screen are spot on with mostly any
cubicle waste land, with the kiss asses, the indifferent, and the ever watchful
and incompetent boss only being a staplers’ throw away.
The film was written
and directed by Mike Judge of Beavis and
Butthead/King of the Hill
fame. Judge has always prided himself on
being a great observer and whereas he is not necessarily the most creative
force around, he does an insanely brilliant job at picking apart the fabric and
nuances of daily life. Boiling down Office Space to its bare bones we walk
away with one simple message, work sucks!
The film stars Ron Livingston (Band
of Brothers) as Peter Gibbons an office worker who gets fed up with his job
and it’s over inundation of annoying management. At first Peter is apathetic toward his job
and spends most days staring off into space, but his apathy soon evolves into
sheer disgust and he begins skipping work and being blatantly rude (honest)
with his management staff. Peter’s boss,
Bill Lumbergh, sets out to get rid of
him when two downsizing consultants simply known as “The Bob’s” are brought in;
but to Lumbergh’s shock Peter is not viewed as a slacker, but rather an
underutilized value to the company. The
story follows Peter and several other fed up co-workers as they set out to
steal fractions of cents from the company over a period of years in order to
make a mint; but instead find themselves knee deep in trouble when they steal a
large sum all at once.
The film is still
fun and as any fans can tell you, quoting Office
Space has become a favorite past time amongst young males; just like other
film favorites like Caddy Shack or Animal House. To put it simply, there are just some films
that we all can connect with and the monotony of daily life that is portrayed
in Office Space is spot on in a
comedically pleasing manner. We all have
had that boss or that one worker that just gets under our skin, but Mike Judge
takes that seeming meaningless observation and turns it into comedy gold.
The picture quality
on this new Blu-ray release is not the best, but it is the best this film ahs
ever looked. The visually pleasing
1080p/AVC MPEG-4 1.85 X 1 transfer is a huge upgrade from the several DVD
releases of the past and definitely demonstrates some flair with its beautiful
colors, warm contrast, solid blacks, and simple yet well done textures. This is not to say that this Blu-ray will set
your HD television ablaze with picture quality (because it is for the most part
an intentionally bland film), but it is nice and some time was put into getting
the transfer right. The sound is a DTS
HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround Track (48kHz/24bit) that is not quite as
good as the picture, but once again nicer than this film has ever be given
before. The dialogue is crisp and clear
throughout, but with the film lacking any true action the surrounds are never
fully utilized and only click on for certain music moments and the occasional
ambient noise.
The extras are nice,
but hold little rewatchability. Extras
include a featurette entitled “Out of the Office: An ‘Office Space’
Retrospective with Mike Judge” (lasting 27 minutes) that does exactly what the
title says as Mike Judge and cast members look back at the filming of Office Space as well as some insight
from those who made it why the film has reached such a cult status. Other features include Deleted Scenes that
don’t ad much to the film, a Theatrical Trailer, a Picture-in-Picture interactive
game that is not very fun, and finally a trivia track that seems very sporadic
and quickly put together.
This is the best
this film has ever looked and I wouldn’t expect it to be released again anytime
soon, so now is the time to slap on your ‘Oh face’ and scoop up some Office Space.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
