Take the purest form of humor – dark and dry with sadistic undertones – and add estrogen. The special edition DVD of Office Space does just that by breaking down the lovable third wall and forcing its audience to see the characters beyond their comical fronts.
Writer and director Michael Judge guides his audience through the process of making the film while intertwining in-depth analyses of his characters. This humanization pollutes the guru-like personas that are so envied in the film proper.
Peter Gibbons, played by Ron Livingston, is the nonchalant icon of lazy males everywhere. The extra commentary, however, contradicts this truth by accusing him of being “whole-hearted” and “pure.” Who worships uncontaminated people these days? We want delinquents.
Michael Bolton is no longer that skinny dweeb with a receding chin, but an overweight David Herman with unruly facial hair and compassion. He sees Michael as an angry badass, despite his innate geekiness. Then we must discuss glam-girl, Jennifer Aniston, and remember that she is not a hot “stoner chic” waitress with 15 pieces of flair (i.e. the pins that servers don at Chachki’s, that look-alike TGI Friday’s establishment). She’s sexy, rich and certainly not the girl next door with whom you share the occasional romp.
Judge scrutinizes each character, from the most significant to the guy who plays the role of a crack head. This segment is more psychoanalytic babble than the perverse humor we bargained for.
The deleted scenes, however, were very well chosen. They certainly deserved omission: Half of the lines were woven throughout the film, while the others sincerely sucked.
While the movie has touched the hearts of pessimists, cynics and deadbeats across our great country, it would have been better off left in its natural state. No reality. No sentiment. No flair. m
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