The Office: Season One
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Movie Reviews of The Office: Season One
Movie Review: Eclipses the Excellent BBC Series
Summary: 5 Stars
The Office is one of the funniest shows on television. Owing its format to the award-winning British TV series of the same name, the US cast takes the formula and makes it their own. Don't think of it as "The Office: Rehashed for US Television". The US series goes above and beyond.
This type of comedy may be a bit of an acquired taste - laughs come not from "jokes", but from the awkward, and sometimes downright painful, situations the characters put themselves in. But really, if you can't find humor in Dwight's sad existence, it might be time to have your soul checked.
If you answer "yes" to any of the following, then The Office is for you:
- You work in any kind of corporate environment
- You have an inept boss
- You have a co-worker you can't stand
- You like the "This is Spinal Tap" mockumentary style
- You just want something different than the standard sitcom.
Comparing the US version of The Office with the British version, I personally prefer this version. Especially now that season 2 has turned out to be so good. The characters are better developed, and as an American, the show is a little easier for me to relate to (natch). That is not to say the British version isn't excellent - I highly recommend it as well.
This show has flown a bit under the radar. It would be a tragedy to lose another great, off-beat comedy (like "Arrested Devolopment") while garbage like "Yes, Dear" continues on year after year. Check it out!
Movie Review: Abraham Lincoln once said, "If you are a racist, I will attack you with the north."
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok, so episode one sucks and is a total rip off of the britsh version. Ignore that. Totally. Then watch the next episodes. After the mistake of the pilot, this show completely becomes its own thing. And it is now the funniest show on television. Michael (Steve Carell) is perfect as the boss who is most of the time a total jackass, but has those moments where you feel bad that he is what he is. Dwight (Rainn Wilson) is SO great and wonderfully played with his little offside glances at the camera. He is a different version of Gareth that works (and in a less perverted manner). Jim (Jon Krasanski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) are perfectly cast as the wish-we-were-a-couple with sexual tension so tight you could snap it like a rubberband. Jim is really my favorite (I'm actually kind of in love with him) and does well as the guy who wishes he could get his life together and have a dream so he wouldn't work a paper company, but doesn't know how. The "minor" characters are hardly minor and sport tons of their own great moments. I could just go on forever. There are also great quotes, such as:
"I have been Michael's number two guy for about five years, and we make a great team. We're like one of those classic famous teams. He's like Mozart and I'm like . . . Mozart's friend. No, I'm like Butch Cassidy and Michael is like Mozart. You try and hurt Mozart, you're gonna get a bullet in your head, courtesy of Butch Cassidy."
--Dwight
It really doesn't get better than that.
Movie Review: Finally, a US production worthy of its UK predecessor
Summary: 5 Stars
I am and always have been a huge fan of British comedy. The wry sense of humor and the intelligent wit has always held far greater appeal to me than the cheap/obvious laughs that many American sitcoms tend to go for. Sadly, many copies (or attempted copies) of British comedies have been overadapted for the American audience (Coupling is a perfect example) and the result is a weak translation that loses all or most of what made the series so funny/original in the UK.
Fortunately, this version of the original UK show is absolutely hilarious, perhaps because the producers are tied closely and stay faithful to the original version. There was no dumbing down of the comedy - the irony, the facial expressions, the unbelievable audacity of the characters - for the sake of easier/louder laughs. The fact that there is no studio audience here makes it even funnier - the viewers are left to laugh on their own, without canned tracks or cues from a studio audience.
While there are certainly things that would cause you to think "There's no way a manager would say/do/get away with anywhere near that bad of behavior" I can say that in 6+ years in leadership development that I've seen all this and more.. and we all know that one person who just has absolutely no clue how little others think of him/her.
This is truly brilliant comedy, but subtle and atypical when compared to other sitcoms on TV (with the exception of Seinfeld reruns and Scrubs). You won't be disappointed!
Movie Review: The season that started it all
Summary: 5 Stars
Office hype is all over the media these days. The show won an emmy and Steve Carrell is "hot" right now. So, if you've become a fan of the show during the second or third season, you need to buy this DVD so you can see where it all began.
The first season was only six episodes. I guess NBC wasn't sure the show would succeed, being a remake of an extremely popular British show. And at first the show wasn't successful. Very few saw it and it seems like the only people that checked it out were fans of the British version and they didn't like it. But slowly the show built momentum and now it is where it is today.
The DVD contains deleted scenes and commentary (for four episodes I think). There aren't many features but this is still a great buy.
The pilot is almost a scene for scene remake of the British pilot I guess. I happen to think it is a great episode and sets the tone for the series. The second episode is the first one I saw and immediately won me over for its great acting and political incorrectness. The Diversity Day episode is must see if only for Carrell's Chris Rock impersonation.
From the beginning of season one, the foundation is laid for the Jim/Pam relationship. The minor characters don't get as much screen time as season two yet they are all there floating in the background.
So, to all office fans, buy this set. Its cheap and its a classic.
Movie Review: Forget comparisons to the British version
Summary: 5 Stars
Like most people who'd seen British humor mangled by clumsy American handling (Coupling comes to mind), I wasn't sure what to expect when NBC aired their version of The Office, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was actually funny. I'd seen some of the British original but wasn't a rabid fan, and kept an open mind for this show, and was happy to see it improved as it went along.
I find most people who bash this show haven't even seen it, or are clouded by their love of the British original, and won't give this one a shot with an open mind. If you don't juxtapose this show with constant comparisons to the other, it's enjoyable and does manage to find its footing with some uniquely American humor. "Health Care" is a personal favorite episode, but "Diversity Day" is pretty hilarious as well. But they all have their shining moments.
The actors, similar to the cast of Arrested Development (another favorite of mine), have really done fantastic jobs of doing a lot with little -- reaction shots and comic timing are really what make this show, more than dialogue or wacky office hijinks. Dwight is a hilarious character, and the Pam-Jim unrequited-love angle is well done -- not so drawn out that it's frustrating, but always there in the background. Hopefully the second season will continue to amuse.