20th Century Fox, Rated R
Written and directed by Mike Judge

This movie basically covers the same territory as "Dilbert" and Clockwatchers but is done better than the former and almost as good as the latter. It's also less realistic than Clockwatchers and never ventures into serious territory like that underrated film but nonetheless.
The story concerns Peter (Ron Livingston, one of those actors who gets less work than he should), an office drone at one of those soul-stealing corporations, this one known as Initech. He spends day after day there, his life almost controlled by his Mr. Rogers-like boss Lumbergh (Gary Cole, topping his hilarious performance in The Brady Bunch Movie). One day, he receives hypno-therapy when the hypnotist suddenly dies. Peter stays in that hypnotic state and no longer cares about going to work. His life becomes much more fulfilled and he even has the courage to ask out a waitress named Joanna (Jennifer Aniston, doing her best in an underwritten role) at the local T.G.I.-Apple-Chili's establishment (this is one of the best jokes in the film). Soon, however, he wants revenge on Initech and, with his friends Samir (Ajay Naidu) and Michael Bolton (David Herman) plots a way to give the company a computer virus like in Superman III. Yes, the character's name really is Michael Bolton and yes, they do mention that the plot was used in Superman III. These are perfect example of the reality-based wit that almost effortlessly comes from the mind of Mike Judge, whose cartoons I would take over Stone/Parker and Matt Groening any day.
Office Space makes for a rather-impressive live-action directing debut for Judge, who based this movie on a "Saturday Night Live" cartoon short called "Milton." Milton has a small role here, as played by the terrific comic actor Stephen Root. The film is not without its problems, most of which involving the abandoning of various plot points and the somewhat-disappointing ending. The plot is basically a vehicle for Judge's uproariously funny observations on day-to-day life, so it's a notch below "King of the Hill," the best prime-time cartoon on television these days. That show is more concerned with character development but I suppose Judge figures he has little time for that in a movie as opposed to a weekly series. No matter, the movie is one of the better mainstream comedies to come out in a while (and it was joined two weeks later by an even better one), and unfortunately far too few people caught it in the theatre. I do foresee it being big at video stores, perhaps even gaining cult status. I certainly look forward to the next non-animated work by Mike Judge, which I suppose will follow the next Beavis and Butt-head movie. Here's hoping "King of the Hill" becomes a movie before long, animated or otherwise. ***