Clockwatchers (1997)

83% of critics liked it
(24 reviews)
56% of users liked it
(4,670 ratings)

Four women reflect on their lowly place in the corporate caste system in this dryly satiric comedy. Iris (Toni Collette) is a college graduate who hasn't decided what she wants to do with her life, except that she doesn't want the job her father has lined up for her at a frozen food company. While… More Four women reflect on their lowly place in the corporate caste system in this dryly satiric comedy. Iris (Toni Collette) is a college graduate who hasn't decided what she wants to do with her life, except that she doesn't want the job her father has lined up for her at a frozen food company. While pretending to look for other work, she signs on with a temp agency, which sends her out to do office work for Global Credit, a particularly faceless corporation where the permanent employees go out of their way to avoid the temps. Iris is very much aware that she's at the bottom rung at Global, and she bonds with three other women in the temp pool. Paula (Lisa Kudrow) talks about her career as an actress and insists that she will only temp until one of her auditions pans out. Jane (Alanna Ubach) prattles on about her wealthy fiancé, although her friends are convinced that he's cheating on her. And Margaret (Parker Posey) is at once the rebel of the group, regarding her job and general office procedure with a barely disguised contempt, and the one who most desperately wants a "real" job with Global. When office supplies and various personal items start to disappear, all signs point to one of the temp workers (most likely Margaret), though none will own up to any wrongdoing. Clockwatchers was the directorial debut for filmmaker Jill Sprecher, who co-wrote the screenplay with her sister Karen Sprecher. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Jill Sprecher, Lisa Sprecher
Written By: Jill Sprecher, Karen Sprecher
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: May 15, 1998 Wide
On DVD: Sep 26, 2006
Studio: BMG

Critic Reviews

David Noh, Film Journal International
You just want to shake these four twits out of their collective, weirdly unsubstantiated malaise.
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
Insightful and well-acted comedy of inter-office angst.
Carlo Cavagna, AboutFilm.com
Like the unrelenting Musack that fills the heroines's offices, Clockwatchers is a bit too sedate. If you don't watch carefully, you'll miss half the fun.
Jon Niccum, Lawrence Journal-World
Expertly captures the drudgery of 9-5 office gigs
Nick Davis, Nick's Flick Picks
Complex characterization makes Clockwatchers a far more interesting picture than it would have been as a simple, breezy comedy.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A bold drama about the strange and often outrageous things that happen in the work-a-day world.
Karina Montgomery, Cinerina
The production design of Clockwatchers is great - brilliant use of almost no money, good performances and nice ensemble.

Read all 7 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Daniel P

What starts as a kind of Nine to Five comedy about a group of young women temping at a credit company, evolves into a rather dark, frustrating, realistic and somewhat depressing dramedy. Iris (Toni Collette) is the newest temp recruit at a credit company… More
What starts as a kind of Nine to Five comedy about a group of young women temping at a credit company, evolves into a rather dark, frustrating, realistic and somewhat depressing dramedy. Iris (Toni Collette) is the newest temp recruit at a credit company where the key is to "look like you're busy". Incredibly shy, somewhat insecure and lonely Iris is soon befriended by three fellow tempers (Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow and Alanna Ubach) who welcome her into their world of boredom, under-appreciation and aspiring dreams unfulfilled or out of reach. The catalyst for their friendship becoming stronger before ultimately falling apart is the arrival of a new office assistant and a subsequent string of thefts of everything from stationery to personal diaries. As suspicious eyes turn to the temps ("it's them and us"), it isn't long before bitterness and resentment break out, and things are never the same again. Despite the truly terrible, 80's looking DVD cover which inaccurately suggests a kooky office comedy, this is actually quite a bleak look at friendship and office politics, and is powerful stuff in parts. Toni Collette, as narrator and lead player, is truly excellent and has a way of portraying inner thoughts not spoken that is quite unique. As the film enters its second phase, you can see her think through possibilities and suspicions and, though the transformation of character she promises in voiceover at the start isn't (thankfully) completely fulfilled, her depiciton of Iris remains compelling throughout. Parker Posey provides excellent support, and has a heartbreaking and frustratingly real scene when her friends seemingly abandon her. A very cheap and plainly looking film (though that's probably half the point), Clockwatchers doesn't have enough of a satisfactory conclusion to make this entirely successful, but still remains a film you shouldn't judge by its tacky cover.
Sunil J

Watched this movie a lot as a teenager. I love it's dark humor and the different characters.