Cheap Clockwatchers (DVD) (Toni Collette, Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow) (Jill Sprecher) Price

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Customer Reviews of Clockwatchers

Wonderful.
Reading the other reviews here, I felt compelled to submit my own. Clockwatchers is one of my favorite movies of 1998, perfectly capturing the aimlessness and degradation of being a temporary worker. I can't figure out the current trend of completely inaccurate movie synopses on video boxes (Muriel's Wedding, another Toni Collette favorite, is definitely not the madcap adventure the box would have you believe)... True, there are some truly great comic elements here, but THIS MOVIE IS NOT A COMEDY. i guess some of the other people expected a laff riot--this is definitely not it. Toni Collete's understated performance as sweet-but-shy iris is perfect. Parker Posey is hilarious as usual, playing the bitchy temp veteran. This movie is subtle, complex, well-developed, there is tons of foreshadowing and symbolism, the muzak-y score is perfect... again, this is definitely not a comedy, but it is one of the best and most thoughtful movies I've seen in some time.

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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.

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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.