DVD/Movie Review: Office Space

 

Office Space is a 1999 comedy written and directed by Mike Judge. It stars Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Stephen Root, Gary Cole, John C. McGinley, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, Diedrich Bader, and Richard Riehle. The movie centers around three guys who have crappy jobs at a corporation called Initech. Ron Livingston plays Peter, who is the lead character. He becomes completely apathetic toward his job after a botched hypnotherapy session and basically tries to get fired. He ends up hatching a plan to rip the company off that goes haywire. As I said, that is almost ancillary to the real purpose of the movie, which is to poke fun at office life and the various characters.

I really think this movie will hold up in any era. Really as long as corporations exist this movie will be hilarious. To the extent there is a plot it almost takes a back seat to making fun of the corporate culture. And let's be honest, for those of us who work in the corporate world, some of the things they are making fun of (albeit in over-the-top ways in some instances) still very much exist. It was made from an animated short by Mike Judge the creator of Bevis and Butthead and King of the Hill.

The DVD does have a handful of extras. Those include an approximately half-hour retrospective made in 2005, about 10 minutes of deleted scenes, and the trailer. There is definitely enough to satisfy those who like going through the extras.

The movie has a true ensemble cast, which was made up of relative unknowns. They made a pretty big casting coup in landing Jennifer Aniston when Friends was immensely popular. She really did not dominate the movie though and really fit in well with the ensemble cast. The two most memorable characters in my opinion were Milton, played by Stephen Root, and Lumberg played by Gary Cole. All the actors did a wonderful job, however, even those with the smallest roles. It really seemed like they were all having fun with it, which along with the well-written script (which has tons of quotable lines) really make the movie.

It is really a "cult classic" kind of movie. The brand of humor is probably not for everyone, but it holds up as well or better as any of the more modern-day comedies do. I think anyone who likes any of Judge's other work will find this enjoyable. There is a lot of swearing in the movie, and in that respect, it earns its R rating, but it is really nothing more than you get in any R-rated comedy. It is absolutely worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Horrible Bosses (Totally Inappropriate Edition)

 

Horrible Bosses is a 2011 comedy directed by Seth Gordon. It stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, and an almost unrecognizable Colin Farrell. The movie also has a strong supporting cast, including Donald Sutherland, Julie Bowen, Wendell Pierce, Lindsay Sloan, and Jamie Foxx, who steals every scene he is in, playing a character named Motherfucker Jones. The plot is pretty simple. Three friends named Nick, Dale, and Kurt hate their bosses. They go from joking about killing their respective bosses to actually planning to kill them when things go wrong.  It is mainly about the stupid plan put together and badly executed by the main characters. From trying to find a hitman to the reconnaissance gone wrong, everything they try spirals out of control. 

You will likely love this movie if you like vulgar, sometimes over-the-top comedies. I think all of the actors did a great job. Bateman was very much like his character from Arrested Development with looser morals. Aniston really stole the show in a role that was totally different than anything she had ever played before. You can tell she was just trying to play it as over the top as possible. The other one who just really got into the role was Spacey. He played his character without any redeeming qualities and really did make you hate him. Of course, Spacey has become a persona non-grata since the allegations of sexual harassment and abuse have come out against him, so you kind of wonder how much his slimeball character was made up. 

The blu-ray set is a three-disc set. Each version of the movie (the theatrical and the extended unrated cut) is on its own disc. The extended cut adds about 8 minutes of additional material, none of which changes the movie in any significant way. The A/V quality of the blu-rays is good, but not outstanding. The special features include deleted scenes and a handful of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes. The bonus content totals about half an hour, give or take. Ultimately, this is an enjoyable movie if you like the brand of humor. The movie is absolutely not family-friendly. There is a lot of sexual humor (mostly involving Aniston's character), and some bathroom humor, but no nudity. If you are not into hard-R rated comedies (which this undoubtedly is), or are easily offended, you will hate it. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Friends: The Complete Series

 

In the 1990s and early 2000s, the two biggest comedies on TV were probably Friends and Seinfeld. Friends was aimed at the younger demographic, going for the viewers that were in their mid to late 20s, while Seinfeld was aimed at the demographic about a decade older. Friends premiered in 1994 and was about a group of friends living in New York. The series starred Courtney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc. I actually never watched the series consistently when it was on the air. I was a senior in high school the year it began, so I just never really got into it and never appreciated how good it really was.

Friends was one of those shows like ER, where the cast was made up of relative no names (at least at the time), but unlike ER the main cast stayed together for the entire run. I think that allowed the show to keep the same feel and tone throughout the series. The writing was very very good in that they allowed the characters to evolve and grow over the course of 10 years but never lost the core of who they were over that time. They also did a great job of referring to old jokes without (for the most part) making them stale. For the ones that did, it got to the point that they would even poke fun at it (for example "We were on a break"). I also liked how the show relied on more than just sex jokes for the comedy (unlike many of the sitcoms of today). While there were certainly sex jokes throughout the series, the show did not lean on them and there were a lot of smarter jokes in the series too, that presumed the audience was smart enough to be entertained by other material.

The Blu-Ray set is a 21-disc set. The 234 episodes and some of the bonus content are spread across discs 1-20, and disc 21 has additional bonus content. The A/V quality of the set is good, but not outstanding, especially if you are a big A/V wonk. Even though the A/V quality is not perfect, it is a step up from the A/V quality of the DVDs. One big drawback (for some) in this release is that the episodes were only the ones that were broadcast. Apparently, the DVD sets included a lot of extended episodes, but this is just going to give you the show as it was intended to originally be seen. If that is a deal breaker for you, then don't waste the money. The extras include commentary tracks on select episodes, trailers, "Friends of Friends" featurettes, which give a breakdown of all the guest stars for that particular season, featurettes on the fans, the on-location episodes, gag reels, and more.  The final disc also includes appearances by the cast on The Tonight Show and the Ellen DeGeneres Show, the "I'll Be There for You" music video, a couple of series retrospectives, and the original version of the episode "The One Where Rachel Tells Ross" which aired shortly after 9/11 and was edited because of a bomb joke. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Horrible Bosses 2

 

Horrible Bosses 2 is the 2014 follow-up to the original 2011 movie, Horrible Bosses. It brings back Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudekis, Jennifer Aniston, and Jamie Foxx from the first movie, as well as Kevin Spacey in an extended cameo. The main additions to the cast are Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine. The supporting cast includes recognizable names such as Jonathan Banks and Keegan-Michael Key. This movie follows the continuing adventures of Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis), and Dale (Charlie Day), who have invented something called the "shower buddy" and get ripped off by Christoph Waltz's character Bert Hanson, who steals their idea and leaves them in financial ruin. So, they decide the best course of action is to kidnap Bert's son Rex (played by Chris Pine) and demand a $500,000 ransom. Of course, the plan goes sideways, and mild hilarity ensues.  

The Blu-Ray set is a two-disc set. The Blu-Ray disc includes both versions of the film: the theatrical version and an extended version that adds about 10 minutes to the movie. The extended version does not change anything; it just has a few more jokes in it. The DVD just has the theatrical version of the movie. Both discs include the bonus features. Those include a few making-of and in-character featurettes, one-liners that were cut from the movie, and some fake shower buddy promotional material. Nothing that I would say was great bonus material, but it is there for people who like watching it.

Overall, the movie is okay but not as good as the original movie, which was a mild hit in large part because of the cult following that Arrested Development had achieved by that time. Jason Bateman was as popular as he had ever been, and it was one of the first roles in which Jennifer Aniston really embraced doing raunchy comedy. The premise of this movie is just as dumb as the original movie's premise was, and some of the jokes, while good, were recycled. Aniston was pretty funny as the sex-addicted dentist who wanted to jump Charlie Day constantly, and she goes all in being raunchy and shedding the "good girl" image she had after Friends ended, and Jamie Foxx was again hilarious as MF Jones, who is continually telling the group how stupid their plans are. Really, of the new cast members, Chris Pine was given the most material to work with and seemed to have fun with the role. In an ironic twist, Kevin Spacey did have a cameo appearance as his character from the first movie, which is in jail, which may be a life-imitates-art situation at some point. While the movie did have a lot of very good actors, including Breaking Bad's Jonathan Banks, it was just not executed as well as it could have been. It is pretty much a tongue-in-cheek dumb comedy. If you do not expect it to be more than that, it is enjoyable. If you are expecting comedy gold, you will be sorely disappointed.

DVD/Movie Review: The Good Girl

 

The Good Girl is an independent movie from 2002 that stars Jennifer Aniston, Jake Gyllenhaal, John C. Reilly, Zooey Deschanel, and Tim Blake Nelson. Aniston, who was probably at the height of her "Friends" popularity, and Jake Gyllenhaal play cashiers at a large discount store. Justine (Aniston's character) is in a rut in her marriage to John C. Reilly, a house painter who smokes dope with his best friend constantly and pretty much ignores her. Gyllenhall plays a guy obsessed with the novel Catcher in the Rye, so much so that he gives himself the name Holden. Justine ends up having an affair with Holden, which goes sideways for her when she discovers how unstable Holden is.

The DVD includes a handful of extras. There is a director's commentary track on the movie, scene-specific commentary by Aniston, and a gag reel. Overall, the movie is very good. It has the feel of a smaller-budget independent movie, but that does not detract from its quality. Both Aniston and Gyllenhall do great work in their respective roles. Reilly is far outside the comedy realm he is known for and does a great job in his role. Of course, the movie has one of the few (if not the only) topless scenes Aniston has ever done, but it is definitely not gratuitous as the movie does not focus on sexual content. So, if you are looking for a good drama that is definitely not cookie-cutter, this is a good one to check out.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: We're the Millers

 

We're the Millers is a fun, raunchy comedy from 2013 starring Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, and Will Poulter in the leading roles and Ed Helms, Nick Offerman, Katherine Hahn, and Moly Quinn in supporting roles. Sudeikis plays David Clark, a low-level pot dealer who gets into debt to a drug kingpin, played hilariously by Ed Helms. To settle his debt Clark agrees to make a "small" pot delivery from Mexico and enlists the help of a stripper who lives in his building (Aniston), his nerdy neighbor Poulter, and a street kid (Roberts) to travel with him as his fake family to make getting across the border easier. Of course, things do not go smoothly and hilarity ensues. Nick Offerman and Kathryn Hahn play a hilarious pair of fellow travelers that make life even more complicated for The Millers and steal pretty much every scene they are in.

The Blu-Ray includes both the theatrical and extended editions of the movie. The extended edition is not much longer than the theatrical version. It basically just adds to some of the scenes. Then there are about 16 minutes of deleted scenes, about 7 minutes of outtakes, and several making-of featurettes that range in time from 1 to 3 minutes, give or take, and total about 20 minutes in all. So, if you like watching the extras, you get a decent amount. Overall, the movie is a fun, but very adult comedy. It is akin to the other comedies like Horrible Bosses, that Aniston has done recently. Of course, she plays one of the only strippers ever who only strips down to her underwear, but looks very good doing it. Of course, she really never shows anything other than cleavage and her very toned abs and legs. You can tell she enjoys shedding the "good girl" image she had from friends when she can. Sudeikis is hilarious with the smarmy comedy that he was known for on SNL, but it is really the interactions with (and especially between) Roberts and Poulter that generate most of the laughs. It is a movie that definitely is very tongue in cheek the entire time, and does not take itself too seriously. So, if you are a fan of the more raunchy comedies, this one is a good one to check out, but just be aware that it is definitely not something that will appeal to everyone.