Before I entered the thrilling and adventurous life of a movie critic, I spent my fair share of 40-plus hour weeks in corporate hell. And anyone who has worked in a gray-colored corporate office should find a special spot in their heart for Mike Judge’s “Office Space.”

No matter what you may do in that 8-foot-by-8-foot cubicle – data entry, customer service, computer programming, copywriting or any other thankless job – you will recognize the bleak and dim world of Initech.

From the opening credits where the characters are fighting traffic to get to work, Judge captures perfectly the soul-killing life of a corporate cog. He touches all of our nerves, whether it be the dress code, the office equipment that works only half the time, the Monday morning cheerfuls or the cubicle walls that block the sun from reaching our eyes.

Peter (Ron Livingston) is a miserable working stiff. He hates his job, and his girlfriend is cheating on him. His buddies at work are in the same boat, but no one has the cajones to do anything about it. Then one day after a visit to a hypnotherapist, Peter decides to live his dream: do nothing.

The first half of the film is brilliant. It’s perfect. It’s like every awesome Dilbert cartoon cobbled together into a spectacular film. Judge creates a cavalcade of hilarious characters. David Herman steals the show as rage-suppressing software engineer Michael Bolton. Stephen Root brilliantly brings to life Judge’s cartoon character of Milton. Diedrich Bader plays the perfect mullet-wearing redneck neighbor. Gary Cole is incredible as the condescending boss Bill Lumbergh.

However, at the halfway point, the plot does stumble a bit. Unfortunately, there’s not enough plot in this first half to propel us through an entire movie. Instead of making the film a slice of life situational comedy like other working stiff films such as “Clerks,” he forces in a plot where Peter tries to screw the company out of money after his buddies are laid off.

This never quite works, but it does pad out the film. Also, the addition of Jennifer Aniston as his new girlfriend never quite gels in the whole scheme of things. It’s clear that she was dropped in at the request of the studio. Heck, she’s probably the reason the film was made – to get a hot face from a hit TV show. But Aniston is really just a TV actress.

Aniston just doesn’t’ look good on the movie screen. I don’t care if she was once married to Brad Pitt or not. She’s got a face that isn’t made for close-ups, and she’s never carried a decent film. The only movie she’s done that made it big was “Bruce Almighty,” and we all know she wasn’t the star of that. Sadly, “Leprechaun” is the peak of her cinematic career.

The new DVD comes with eight deleted scenes, comprising more than a couple that might have been better left in the film. There’s also a retrospective with Mike Judge and the cast, which offers interesting insight into the making of the film and the public’s reaction. For those with a DVD-ROM, there’re audio clips and screensavers available on the disc.

Even with a plot that’s weak from the half-way point on and a forced love story that doesn’t really work, “Office Space” is still a modern classic. It’s where us troglodytes in corporate American can gain our strength.

Every time that I now grumble about my work, I can pull out this movie and remind myself what I’m not missing. I don’t own a pair of slacks now, and I’m proud of it. I haven’t tied a tie in months, and my dress shoes I bought years ago still need to be broken in. The benefits of work in a corporate office are there, but freedom is much, much sweeter.



Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Widescreen (1.85:1). French and Spanish language tracks. Spanish subtitles. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.