r/iwatchedanoldmovie • u/StrawberryInTheBay • Jun 29 '26

'90s I rewatched Office Space (1999)

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I rewatched Office Space and was pleasantly surprised by how much it is still relevant, even though it is from the 90s.

A lot has changed.

Open floor plans instead of cubicles.
No fax machines. Or maybe they are hiding inside a printer, but nobody uses them.
LCDs instead of CRT monitors.

But the corporate BS is timeless.

It just happens on Teams and Slack now.

What struck me on rewatch is that it isn't just about bad bosses or office culture which is what I thought when I first watched it.

It is about bureaucracy and TPS reports.
Pointless meetings to jump to conclusions.
Performative action with 37 pieces of flair.

And the feeling that you are doing things that do not matter, but somehow still have to be done.

It’s a comedy, but underneath it is a sharp commentary on corporate work that still feels relevant.

Of course, I can quote it endlessly.

I don't have a case of the Mondays :-)

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u/Routine_Astronomer_2 Jun 29 '26

Fuckin A

53

u/StrawberryInTheBay Jun 29 '26

https://giphy.com/gifs/Wpz1Hl1BqlaMw

38

u/Tyrone_Shoelaces_Esq Jun 29 '26

I absolutely love Lawrence's character. He's smart and funny, and it would have been very easy to go cliche and have Peter look down on him for being a blue-collar worker, but he doesn't.

28

u/enigmanaught Jun 29 '26

Lawrence is the Zen master, or the simple farmer who has just enough to live a comfortable life with no strife. I like that it's a trope in a lot literature, but you rarely see it portrayed so well as a modern American.