Mike Judge Office space It's one of those cult films that holds sway because it lampoons corporate culture with its humor. Anyone sitting in gridlock, wearing only a shirt and tie (suitably creased trousers) in a windowless room full of kitchens, shouldn't have to suspend much disbelief when Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) steals from an Initech printer. So he hits it off with his co-workers in the middle of nowhere after finding out they've been fired. But one Office space It's about the "bobs" that I've never heard anyone talk about, and Peter's first meeting with them is an accurate description of how he's not just making a bunch of petty complaints about his employer's shortcomings. Corporations at Initech's level operate inefficiently.
What's more, The Bobs - who are smart enough to be tricked into looking like complete idiots - are 100 percent correct in their assessment that Peter Gibbons is "a straight shooter with an over-the-top lead."
Bobs
Office Space introduces us to Bob Slidell (John C. McGinley) and Bob Porter (Paul Wilson), more affectionately known as Peter "The Bobs", two consultants brought in by Intech to help Intech's day-to-day operations run better. Efficiently (read: killing more people) while increasing profitability. It doesn't take long for Tom Smykowski (Richard Riehle) to come to the conclusion that he's about to lose his job, which puts Michael Bolton (not the pop singer, but David Herman) and Samir Naginanajar (Ajay Naidu) on edge. They are hard workers who are willing to put their heads down and do grunt work as programmers for fear of losing their jobs.
After working in middle management as an auditor for a company that produced TPS (which stands for Transaction Process Summary) reports, I developed a newfound appreciation for The Bobs. Office space After going through the worst five years of my professional life. Consultants like The Bobs are not fiction, and are contracted by real corporations to reduce costs and reduce operations to benefit their shareholders.
Peter's state of mind
Peter's character arc Office space It's simple: He meets a professional hypnotherapist named Dr. Swanson (Michael McShane), who puts him in a nightmare that makes him no longer care about his job. Dr. Swanson suffers a heart attack and Peter dies in a state of complete euphoria, meaning that this version of Peter meets The Bobs and sets up the rest. Office space Conspiracy in motion.
No longer afraid of losing his job, Peter quits, only returning when he needs to take personal items out of the kitchen, and he doesn't yet know how attached he is to the man.
Walk in a normal day
When Peter meets The Bobs for the first time Office spaceMichael and Samir are sure to be fired immediately because of the delay, and there's no compelling reason to believe otherwise. When The Bobs ask Peter to walk them through a typical day at Intech, Peter's yelling, coming from a place of complete indifference with no purpose other than coordination, really shows every bit of effectiveness the two mentors want. To do their own work.
On the surface, Peter is having fun poking fun at his mentors, and that's all he has on his mind. However, his day-in-the-life account is so telling to the Bobs that when he finishes, they jump across the table to shake his hand and introduce him. If you go through every point that Peter raised Office spaceit's no wonder why the Bobs love Peter's attitude, as much as he seems to.
Peter arrives 15 minutes late every day and enters through the side door so that no one calls him. He tells Bobs that there are managers like Bill Lamberg.Gary Cole)) They're not looking after their employees, and they're slowing themselves down.
Peter has an "open space at the desk" and does "real, proper, work for 15 minutes," which goes unnoticed by top management; He is still on the payroll and has job security. Peter may be exaggerating how much he's working to get out of The Bobs, but he unwittingly tells the entire department that Initech is not important to day-to-day operations, leading to Michael and Samir being fired.
Stating that "he won't see an extra penny if he works his ass off and Initec ships a few more parts," Peter tells Bobbs in so many words that there is no incentive program like bonuses or commissions to reward his hard work. Employees who go the extra mile.
Salary reduction
At this time Peter was surprised Office spaceTelling Bob that he has eight different bosses has yet to deliver the death penalty that comes with it. Bob Slidell's jaw dropped as soon as Peter dropped this bombshell, and he leaned forward for more information. Still, in Peter's mind, he's complaining about why he hates working at Initech because he's incredibly micromanaging, but he suggests a huge pay cut to The Bobs.
Remember, the only reason Initech hired efficiency experts was to help them effectively downsize the company and get rid of unnecessary employees. Although not explicitly stated, the consultants immediately put Bill Lumbergh on the hot seat and ask him how much time he spends reviewing TPS reports each week because they want to see if the work is important after sitting down with Peter.
In other words, Peter has absolutely no idea that he's done all of Bob's work for them, which is why they're so eager to promote him and give him stock options even though everyone thinks he's the next employee to get the ax. Even though Peter gets a big raise, it's a net gain for Initech because they can fire many highly paid executive-level employees without even losing what they bring to the table.
The Bobs know this, and as they still wash their consulting contract with Initech well into the third act, even after Peter wraps things up and gives them all the information they need to move on to their next gig, their intelligence becomes clear.
The hidden genius of the office space
You don't have to be an office drone to enjoy it Office spaceBut getting insider knowledge of how real-life bobs work in the corporate world adds to the fun by a huge margin. On the surface, The Bobs can be enjoyed as useful idiots looking to promote some meathead who hates his job, which is insulting to his co-workers and comical in nature. On the other hand, The Bobs are smarter than they let on because every business decision they make for the rest of the movie is informed by Peter's invaluable intel, which comes from a place of mild frustration.
As of this writing, you can stream it. Office space It's Hulu.
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