[.ca] Clockwatchers

Subtle and brilliant:
As another movie might have brought to life the sounds, sights and smells of some exotic location, this one evokes the endless gray carpet, xerox fumes, and soft shuffling paper sounds of the office. If you've ever had a pointless, boring office job you hated, you'll find yourself saying "yes, oh my god, that's exactly how it is" over and over again. From the dress code to the ticking wall clock, this movie succeeds in capturing the dreary office limbo that so many 20-something women (and not few 30-somethings) toil away in every day, waiting for the mysterious something better that is presumably lurking down the road. Everything in their lives is temporary, superficial, without substance - even friendship. There's not much of a plot, it's 'slice of life' style - a single temp job, some minor office intrigue, a few happy hours, and a lot of clock watching. In a category with Office Space and In the Company of Men, it's by far the darkest of the three, with a mordant wit that's more mordant than witty. It wasn't hilarious or "fun," like Office Space, or quite as edgy and downright evil as In the Company of Men, but it resonated more strongly with me than either one. I give it a five because was such a brilliant, stingingly accurate statement about being 20-something, single, and female at the turn of the millenium.

Small Movie, Big Kudos:
I liked this film a lot. Besides the fact that I like to support smaller, independent films (especially since this one features a lot of women in front of and behind the scenes), CLOCKWATCHERS is simply an entertaining show! It has a smart tone, and is a close cousin to OFFICE SPACE (featuring that *other* FRIENDS star, Jennifer Aniston). The story is engrossing and concerns a pack of temps. Toni Collette plays Iris, who starts out as a timid, shy and introverted person. Her encounters with the other girls changes her (especially with the outspoken and quirky character played by Parker Posey - she's great in this!). Toni Collette is very good here - and although she is an Academy Award nominated actress (THE SIXTH SENSE) it's funny how the director's use of a new shade of lipstick is filmatic shorthand for the character change Iris goes through! Lisa Kudrow is not quite as ditzy as she usually is on FRIENDS. It's nice to see her in a different mode. There's not much more story than that. If you've been a temp or work in an office environment you will appreciate this film. The film's theme is about sleepwalking through life and making your mark. Most of the girls cow to the corporate machine. One of them scratches "I was here" on her desk - just to make her mark. There's an interesting subplot about an office thief that gets tied into the movie's theme nicely. Please rent or buy this film. It's not SPIDERMAN, but it deserves your attention. Again, it is a "small-character-study" sort of film. But it is very well done, with excellent performances from its cast.

Satire on Temp Hell:
Clockwatchers is a movie about four office temps who work at a dreary, mind numbing assignment. The temps are basically treated like the scum off the earth. They bond but then are sadly drawn apart. If you have ever temped or even worked at a boring office job, you will probably laugh and nod your head at some of its humor. It captures the craziness better than some of the more recent office comedies like Office Space. It's not for everyone and is very unusual film. It's not a "laugh out loud" comedy. The characters are a sad set and the humor is subtle and may be go "over the head" for some non-temps. It is not pretty either. The set design is gray and depressing. Have heard some people call it boring. Temping is boring. In other words, it is a lot like like temping. I am so glad someone made this movie. Can't believe it got made, but am glad. It is a story that needed to be told. As someone who used to temp, it brought back a lot of memories. I knew people like these characters. People who stayed in these jobs because they lacked the confidence or education to change jobs. Being Hollywood, they exaggerate a bit, but get much of it right. Temping is one of the biggest scams the business world has ever created. I was disappointed that they did not explore in detail some of the other problems with temping, like the relationship between the temp and the agency. There is some satire there, trust me. As a temp, you basically forfeit basic worker's rights. Little or no benefits, no sick time, no "wrongful" termination, never knowing if you will even have a job tomorrow, doing all sorts of busy work to keep your job. I suggest that anyone who "wants" to temp see this film and run like hell.

One of indie comedy's biggest downers.:
This film is bizarrely uneven. What seems like a reasonably straight-forward comedy (albeit a pretty subdued one) gradually gives way to a depressing portrait of displacement in the inhuman contemporary work force. However, while changing gears, the film never loses the audience. The more comedic beginning commits us to these characters. We like them, we like them together, and we like them together in the ridiculous and pointless do-nothing jobs they keep. So as they drift apart and as the work conditions become more and more dehumanizing, we empathize totally and feel a disappointment in the deterioration of this little community we'd really come to like. Furthermore, most of us have had friendships drift apart, and more specifically working relationships become estranged. "Clockwatchers" preys on this and as a result is one of the more effective downers I've seen. Much of the early half of the film reminds most viewers of a more tame "Office Space," for obvious reasons. But "Clockwatchers" distinguished itself well from this movie and others of its type. Actually, I think a far closer companion film would be the early portions of "Fight Club" (another film that dramatically shifts gears but keeps the audience in tow). Like "Fight Club," "Clockwatchers" relies on cynical and ironic wit and moreso on extremely stylized sets, lighting, and camerawork. Another unusual aspect of this film is the unmistakable lack of anything resembling a romance plot whatsoever. How many girlfriend comedies - commercial or independent - can you think of that don't land boyfriends on the laps of at least one of the characters before the credits roll? "Clockwatchers" succeeds by these differences. Its a film like really no other, and it fascinates us and sticks in our memories as a result. I mean, "Clockwatchers" isn't saving lives or anything, and Bresson it ain't, but it is a film I keep going back to for its many (refreshingly) atypical handlings of a pretty well-tread concept.

Funny, yet can hit a little close to home:
As someone who has been both a "perm" and a "temp," I find much in "Clockwatchers" to be completely truthful. Where "Office Space" (a movie I also loved) offered a cathartic revenge fantasy, "Clockwatchers" dares to tell it like it is -- that dead-end jobs really have no way out or up -- even if it is dreary and depressing. There is humor, but rather than the cartoonish humor of "Office Space," "Clockwatchers" shows the ridiculous in little everyday workplace happenings: playing with the adjustment mechanisms on your chair, popping sheets of bubble wrap, or using Liquid Paper as nail polish. The weird combination of emotions that these temps go through -- hopelessness and ambition, despair and frivolity, anger mixed with s**t-eating grins -- are extremely realistic and something that those in a similar work situation can probably easily relate to. The performances are outstanding, especially Toni Collette and Parker Posey. Highly recommended!