My 200 Favorite Movies: Reviews of Office Space & Wanderlust

Photo Credit: Entrepreneur 

This will probably be the last multi-film installment; they'll be singles, the rest of the way out. Here's how we got here:

Three Best Picture nominees: L.A. Confidential, Mystic River and Hannah and Her Sisters
Three Oscar winners: No Country for Old Men, Kramer vs. Kramer and The Wrestler
Three "Sleepers": Bernie, The Drop and Lucky Number Slevin
Two Rom-Coms: Pretty Woman and Love, Actually
Two Crime Dramas: Zodiac and Collateral

And now? Two comedies...

OFFICE SPACE (1999)

The quintessential Working In a Cubicle Kills Your Soul movie, Mike Judge's Office Space began as a cult classic, but has since morphed into the most well-known film about middle class malaise in the workplace. I feel like anyone who considers themselves (even a moderate) movie buff knows this movie. 

As the under-stimulated and underwhelmed Peter Gibbons, Ron Livingston -- known round these parts as Andrew Meyer's kindred spirit -- delivers a fun deadpan performance in the lead. Livingston really takes control of the movie when he decides to go rogue at work, doing the exact opposite of Lumbergh's (Gary Cole) requests.

Do I even have to mention that Lumbergh is his boss? He's probably a more famous character than Peter. "Umm, yeah, Pete, umm, about those TPS reports..."

For me, one of the highlights of Office Space is when Bob and Bob arrive at the Initech to evaluate employee performance. Played by the chameleon John C. McGinley and the Verne Lundquist-looking Paul Willson, "The Bobs" bring energy and hilarity as a perfectly cast duo. "Samir Naghe...Nagheena...Not gonna work here anymore, anyway!" gets me every time. David Herman (as Michael Bolton) and Ajay Naidu (Samir Nagheenanajar) are also memorable as Peter's co-workers and best friends. 

Simply put, this is a classic comedy that will always have its own niche in film history.

** Frascella's Score: 9 out of 10 **

WANDERLUST (2012)

This is one of the most underrated comedies of the last 20 years. This movie is laugh-out-loud funny. I love a good comedy, but I very rarely laugh out loud. This one got me more than a handful of times. 

When George and Linda Gergenblatt (Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston) fall upon hard financial times and are forced out of their yuppified city apartment, they decide to shack up temporarily with George's obnoxious brother, Rick (Ken Marino) and his dysfunctional family. Marino is f'n hilarious in this movie. He is over-the-top obnoxious and abrasive, in a good way. 

When things predictably go south with Rick's family, George and Linda hit the road and stumble upon "Elysium," a commune full of eclectic hippies and free spirits. Once there, supporting cast members Justin Theroux, Kathryn Hahn, Jordan Peele and Alan Alda provide a number of big laughs. Theroux is particularly outstanding as the de facto leader of the commune, the multi-talented Seth. In some ways, Theroux's character and performance remind me of one of my all-time favorite comedic characters, Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) of Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him To the Greek. 

The cherry on top is Rudd's solo act in front of a mirror toward the end of the film. I will not describe it. You have to see it for yourself. If you can't laugh at that, you don't have a sense of humor.

** Frascella's Score: 8.5 out of 10 **

MY UP-TO-DATE ARCHIVE OF ALL REVIEWS AND SCORES

(The Top 200 series will continue, but the list below includes ALL of my past reviews and scores.)

1. Up in the Air (9.5/10)
2. Steve Jobs (9.5/10)
3. Collateral (9.5/10)
4. No Country for Old Men (9.5/10)
5. The Wrestler (9.5/10)
6. The Drop (9.5/10)
7. Zodiac (9.5/10)
8. Kramer vs. Kramer (9.5/10)
9. Margin Call (9/10)
10. Office Space (9/10)
11. Hannah and Her Sisters (9/10)
12. Mystic River (9/10)
13. L.A. Confidential (9/10)
14. Lady Bird (9/10)
15. Stay (9/10)
16. Gone Girl (9/10)
17. Nocturnal Animals (9/10)
18. 45 Years (9/10)
19. The Edge of Seventeen (9/10)
20. Bernie (9/10)
21. Lucky Number Slevin (9/10)
22. Tape (9/10)
23. A Perfect Murder (9/10)
24. Wanderlust (8.5/10)

25. War Dogs (8.5/10)
26. The Founder (8.5/10)
27. In Bruges (8.5/10)

28. Split (8.5/10)

29. Bad Moms (8.5/10)

30. Basquiat (8.5/10)
31. Love, Actually (8.5/10)

32. Moonlight (8/10)
33. Pretty Woman (8/10)
34. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (7.5/10)

35. The Revenant (7.5/10)
36. The Good Shepherd (7.5/10)

37. The Shallows (7.5/10)
38. Focus (7.5/10) 

39. The Night Before (7.5/10)
40. The Walk (7/10)

41. 10 Cloverfield Lane (7/10)
42. Loving (7/10) - No review available
43. Hail, Caesar! (7/10) - No review available
44. A Most Violent Year (6.5/10) - No review available
45. The Shape of Water (6/10) - discussed in this review
46. The Boy (6/10) - No review available
47. The Accountant (6/10) - No review available
48. Bridge of Spies (6/10) - No review available
49. The Firm (6/10) - No review available
50. Muhammad Ali: Say My Name (6/10) - No review available

51. Joy (5.5/10)
52. Taking Lives (5.5/10) - No review available

53. La La Land (5.5/10)
54. The Visit (5/10) - discussed in this review
55. The Mule (5/10) - No review available
56. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (5/10)
57. Make Love Great Again (5/10) - No review available
58. Molly's Game (5/10)
59. Set It Up (5/10)
60. Get a Job (5/10) - No review available
61. The Interpreter (5/10) - No review available
62. Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars (5/10) - No review available
63. Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (4.5/10) - No review available
64. Brooklyn (4.5/10) - discussed in this review, and this review
65. Ocean's 8 (4/10)
66. Everything Must Go (4/10) - No review available
67. Why Him? (3.5/10) - No review available
68. The Program (3/10)
69. Open Water 3: Cage Dive (3/10) - No review available
70. Pitch Perfect 3 (2/10)
71. Shut In (2/10) - No review available
72. Premonition (2/10) - No review available

73. Rings (1.5/10)
74. Mother's Day (1.5/10)
75. I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (0/10) - No review available