Office Space

1999

Office Space

Critics Consensus

Mike Judge lampoons the office grind with its inspired mix of sharp dialogue and witty one-liners.

80%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 99

93%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 325,596

User image

Office Space Photos

View All Photos

Movie Info

Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) is a computer programmer working for Initech in Houston. Every day, he and his friends Samir (Ajay Naidu) and Michael Bolton (David Herman as not THAT Michael Bolton), suffer endless indignities and humiliations in their soulless workspace from their soulless boss, Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole). For Peter, stuck in his cookie-cutter apartment with paper-thin walls and IKEA furniture, every day is worse than the one before it -- so every day is the worst of his life. To cap it off, Initech has hired a pair of "efficiency experts" to downsize the company. One Friday night, Peter's soon to be ex-girlfriend Anne (Alexandra Wentworth) forces him to go to an occupational hypnotherapist to relieve work stress. While Peter is under hypnosis, the therapist keels over and dies. As he never snaps out of his hypnotic state, Peter has a new outlook on life. If something annoys him, he just ignores it or walks away from it. He is completely relaxed and enjoying life for the first time in a long time. On Monday, Peter skips work and sleeps in. He gets up for lunch and drives down to a restaurant next to his office and asks the waitress he's had a crush on, Joanna (Jennifer Aniston), on a date. When Peter stops into the office to pick up his organizer, he's called in to talk to the efficiency experts. Relaxed and friendly, Peter charms them as he describes everything wrong with the office, including his boss. Even as Peter now appears at work only as the mood strikes him, the experts decide he's management material and give him a promotion even as they lay off the hardworking Samir and Michael. Peter then convinces his friends to exact revenge on Initech based upon an idea from Superman III. Not everything works out quite as planned. Office Space originated from writer/director Mike Judge's first animated short of the same name, created in 1991. The short was about Milton (reproduced in the film by Stephen Root), a damaged office drone whose complaints and threats about his sufferings go unheeded. ~ Ron Wells, Rovi

Watch it now

Cast

Ron Livingston
as Peter
Jennifer Aniston
as Joanna
Gary Cole
as Bill Lumbergh
David Herman
as Michael Bolton
Ajay Naidu
as Samir
Alexandra Wentworth
as Anne
Stephen Root
as Milton Waddams
John C. McGinley
as Bob Slydell
Diedrich Bader
as Lawrence
Richard Riehle
as Tom Smykowski
Joe Bays
as Dom Portwood
Paul Willson
as Bob Porter
Todd Duffey
as Brian (waiter)
View All

News & Interviews for Office Space

The 21 Most Memorable Movie Lines of the Last 21 Years
Mike Judge Might Bring Back King of the Hill with an Older Bobby and Do Another Beavis and Butt-Head Movie
Steven Yeun’s Five Favorite Films
View All

Critic Reviews for Office Space

All Critics (99) | Top Critics (27)

  • Given the terrific setup, the rather lackadaisical ending is flat. Still, the performers have a lot of fun getting there.

    Feb 19, 2018 | Full Review…

    Michael Rechtshaffen

    Hollywood Reporter
    Top Critic

  • With a judiciously executed hip-hop soundtrack and the same anti-conformist spirit that informs Judge's TV cartoons, "Office Space" can expect to attract people who aren't even old enough to be stuck in dead-end jobs.

    Feb 19, 2016 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Jami Bernard

    New York Daily News
    Top Critic

  • Office Space, a knowing, somewhat slight, often hilarious sendup of cubicle culture, exploits the yuks in the chronic misery of those routinely exposed to the monotonous gray of corporate minds and company decor.

    Nov 2, 2013 | Full Review…

    Rita Kempley

    Washington Post
    Top Critic

  • The more you peer beneath the surface humor of Office Space the scarier and more serious its vision of contemporary existence becomes.

    Nov 2, 2013 | Full Review…

    Kevin Thomas

    Los Angeles Times
    Top Critic

  • A hilarious knockdown of corporate culture.

    Nov 2, 2013

    Michael Sragow

    New Yorker
    Top Critic

  • Office Space feels cramped and underimagined. I think Judge is capable of making an inspired live-action comedy, but next time he'll have to remember to do what he does in his animated ones -- keep the madness popping.

    Sep 7, 2011 | Rating: C | Full Review…

    Owen Gleiberman

    Entertainment Weekly
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (99)

Audience Reviews for Office Space

  • Jul 14, 2015
    I am not sure why I never saw this until now. It has elements that any office worker can easily identify with. A great cast with believable characters kind of makes this the Ferris Bueller of office movies.
    Ian W Super Reviewer
  • Apr 30, 2014
    Umm...yeah. Office Space is an outstanding workplace comedy that brilliantly satirizes office life. After going to hypnotherapy, software engineer Peter Gibbons has a change in attitude and begins to rebel against the cubicle life that he feels trapped by. Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Stephen Root, and Gary Cole lead the cast and give strong performances. The writing is also especially good, particularly the dialog; which is quite clever and witty. Overall the film does a great job at satirizing Corporate America, and at finding humor in the mundane. A poignant and timely comedy, Office Space is incredibly smart and funny. "PC load letter! What the f*** does that mean?"
    Dann M Super Reviewer
  • Nov 08, 2012
    For a comedy in the realms of the start of the new millennium, Mike Judge does well in maintaining the satirical nonsense and laughter within the realms of the corporate-cubicle genre. Office Space is sly and humorous. 4/5
    Eugene B Super Reviewer
  • Aug 01, 2012
    Like Judge's Extract, Office Space may not be laugh-out-loud funny, but it definitely puts a smile on your face and entertains you throughout. I really loved the way the film presents an office: as something that can really waste your time when you could be making money in better ways. It shows that not everyone is meant to be cooped up in an office for the rest of their lives, which is important to consider when making career choices, therefore making the film itself important.
    Kevin M Super Reviewer
See all Audience reviews

Office Space Quotes

View All Quotes

News & Features