SPUG: Office Space, the movie

[Kirby Krueger]

> No, it was a Hollywood movie all right. 20th Century Fox.
>
> http://us.imdb.com/Title?0151804
>
> I get the definite impression that, like many cult favorites, it didn't
> get a lot of exposure the first time around, but its reputation has
> grown since then.
>

I think a lot of folks were turned off by the promos, which seemed to focus
on the fact that it was from the creator of Beavis and Butthead.  While this
certainly appeals to a certain crowd, that's not exactly a selling point to
an older or more intellectual audience, which covers a lot of the geek
crowd.

But, this movie turns out to be a far cry from a fart-joke on wheels -
really, there's very little of the lowbrow B&B-style humor.  Instead, you
get something that's more akin to Dilbert at its peak - the eerie
combination of absurity and familiarity to anyone who's ever worked in
something similar to a software house.  It manages to pack in a lot of
memorable characters and moments, and isn't the one-note show I'd have
expected.  Worth seeing for anyone here just to pick up on a common source
of pop-culture references, and almost everyone I've talked to actually likes
the film.

Er, not to overhype it or anything.  It's not The Princess Bride or
anything.

It did indeed bomb at the box office, with only 4.2M on its opening weekend,
and just over 10M overall.  That's terrible.  Came out in February 1999.
The trailer is available on IMDB, and watching it, it's like I'm watching
all the _worst_ scenes of the movie, how bizarre.  But, at least it's found
its audience a bit later in life.

-- Kirby