Bob Balaban, Jamie Kennedy, Joshua Malina

Generation X falls into the mold. The back cover blurb of this video describes it as a "smart and wry Working Girl for a postmodern world"--but let's be clear. Actually, sisters Jill and Karen ...( read more  read more... )Sprecher have cowritten (and Jill Sprecher directed) a modernist dark comedy about working Generation Xers. Were it truly postmodern, it would not work so well--instead, the Sprechers have given us dark but funny commentary on working life as a temp. The clean, straight lines of cinematographer Jim Denault's aesthetic bolster the woman-against-the-world motif of the meaningless pursuit of full-time employment. Why four intelligent, capable women languish in perpetual boredom looking for this unfulfilling nirvana is not at issue, but it is this unquestioned conformity to tradition that frustrates the audience while letting us laugh at what is and is not happening.

Toni Collette's (Muriel's Wedding) portrayal of Iris is sharp: a shy, mousy, somewhat insecure twentysomething provides interior monologue, both through her voice-over commentary and the notebook diary she religiously keeps, and evolves over a year of temping at a credit company--but it is difficult to explain what she evolves into. She gains an understanding of friendship and betrayal, but at the cost of not even the least sentimentality. She asserts her personal desires for career that are in conflict with those of the working world and her father, but without reaching true fulfillment. She outgrows her don't-notice-me haircut to become an assertive, self-confident person, yet suffers intensely and silently when a handsome coworker doesn't recognize her on the street.

Strong performances from both Parker Posey and Lisa Kudrow (who since Friends and the witty Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion seems to be suffering increasingly from stereotyping) give Collette a solid surface off of which she bounces her quiet, psychological role to great satisfaction. --Erik Macki

Flixster Users

59% liked it

4,081 ratings

Critics

87% liked it

23 critics

PG-13, 96 min.

Directed by: Jill Sprecher, Lisa Sprecher

Release Date: May 15, 1998

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DVD Release Date: September 26, 2006

Stats: 154 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (154)


  • July 11, 2007
    This is a story about some 20 somethings types that work in a doll droll office, and the office experiences that they each encounter, THe stand out in this film is Toni Collette.
  • March 14, 2009
    Watched this movie a lot as a teenager. I love it's dark humor and the different characters.
  • September 26, 2009
    Cubicle ennui
    Temps play existentially
    Moppy satire
  • July 2, 2009
    Rough piece of reality where nothing really happens if you don't want to..
  • January 24, 2009
    toni collette really is a chameleon..a true sign of a talented actor. this movie is depressing..because i'm guessing an office job would be more like this rather than the tv show 'the office' which makes office jobs look like a party!
  • January 11, 2009
    Toni and Parker? need I say more?
  • October 17, 2008
    No thankyou - Not interested
  • January 6, 2008
    If you have ever been a Temp worker before then this movie is for you. This movie really captures the horrible aspects of being a Temp. There are some funny parts in this movie but also some very serious ones. It deals with work relationships very realistically.
  • January 3, 2008
    might be good, don't know what a dark movie means, though.
  • December 29, 2007
    Can't they just tell us about the movie?

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