“If they can’t start a meeting without you, well, that’s a meeting worth going to, isn’t it? That’s the only kind of meeting you should ever concern yourselves with.” Says Kevin Spacey’s character, Buddy in “Swimming With Sharks” and it’s probably true.
There are some great inspirational movies about office life out there and we at Turnkey have the optimal must-see-list.
1) Being John Malcovich (1999, dir Spike Jonez) Struggling puppeteer, Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) works as a clerk at LesterCorp, a filing company in Manhattan. One day he discovers a small hidden door behind a filing cabinet is a portal to the mind of actor John Malcovich. He and his wife, Lotte (Cameron Diaz) take turns entering the actor’s brain and bizarre, messy drama ensues. But the real comedic moments take place in LesterCorp’s office, located between the 7th and 8th floors of the fictional Mertin-Flemmer Building, the ceiling is only 5 feet high and was originally intended for Captain Mertin’s very short wife.
2) Working Girl (1988, dir Mike Nichols) The story of an aspiring stockbroker down on her luck, Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) is struggling to establish herself in the financial world. A glistening token of 80’s culture, Tess confronts sexism and corporate stress in her bulky grey pantsuit to the vocals of Carly Simon. Filmed in New York, many of the scenes took place in the World Trade Center and One Chase Manhattan Place.
3) Office Space (1999, dir Mike Judge) This one needs no introduction. The quintessential comedy about office drudgery was originally based on Judge’s cartoon series, Milton. The story follows Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston), a desperately bored programmer at a tech company in the suburbs. Favorite highlight: when Peter and his other disgruntled coworkers destroy a fickle printer to the stylings of the Geto Boys.
4) Up in The Air (2009, dir Jason Reitman) Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) travels around the country to different offices as a ‘Career Transition Counselor’ helping businesses downsize, i.e., he’s a professional fire-er. He spends most of his waking hours perpetually with suitcase in hand, on planes, in offices or in hotel rooms He’s the archetypal traveling businessman with a penchant for maintaining his frequent flier status – his home in Nebraska’s only purpose is a return address.
5) Haiku Tunnel (2001, dir Jacob Kornbluth) Kornbluth directs his older brother Josh in this indie comedy about a temp’s ascension to “perm”. Josh is a dopey but charming commitment-phobe in every aspect of life. He decides to take a stance against his transitory nature and “goes perm” for the first time in his life as a secretary for Schuyler and Mitchell law firm.
