This crackerjack parody of the network TV series, "The Office," as well as the kids' game, "Telephone," is hilarious. Its tempest-in-a-teapot plot involves the buzz about the office Boss's having murdered an employee, Rob Jeffers, who hasn't been at work for a few days. The perpetrator of this rumor, Gary, is a cubicle nerd trying to gain "social points" at the water cooler. In an instant the office blazes with gossip -- while, from the outset the piece has come alive with sound effects of phones ringing, computer keys clicking, even someone urinating before flushing the toilet. Throughout, "The Office" is awash in sound-rich bits.
The Boss makes a brief appearance, uttering muffled, unintelligible wuh-wuhs to his all-too-articulate underlings. Before long we realize that it is Jeff Roberts who's been recently out of the office, not Rob Jeffers, who died of a "carpal-tunnel-related illness"! Coworkers corner the rumormonger, Gary, in a supply closet. Finally locked inside the Boss's "secret room in his study," amid creepy drip-dropping water, Gary whines, 'Hey guys, it's really dark in here. Hey, anybody. . . ?"
Despite its half-dozen names of characters to keep straight, this spoof on what could be called "Cube Culture" is right on target, amazingly precocious, considering it's youth-produced. One boo-boo: toward the end nearly two minutes of the piece -- almost one-third of its length -- is devoted entirely to an accordion and what sounds like a muted trumpet riffing. The music is good, but -- like, duh! -- two whole minutes of it?
Licensors need not be deterred. Lop off the end-game musical filler for a drop-in that lasts four, not five-and-a-half, minutes of a laff riot.
Review of The Office
James Reiss
Posted on March 27, 2007 at 07:50 AM
This crackerjack parody of the network TV series, "The Office," as well as the kids' game, "Telephone," is hilarious. Its tempest-in-a-teapot plot involves the buzz about the office Boss's having murdered an employee, Rob Jeffers, who hasn't been at work for a few days. The perpetrator of this rumor, Gary, is a cubicle nerd trying to gain "social points" at the water cooler. In an instant the office blazes with gossip -- while, from the outset the piece has come alive with sound effects of phones ringing, computer keys clicking, even someone urinating before flushing the toilet. Throughout, "The Office" is awash in sound-rich bits.
The Boss makes a brief appearance, uttering muffled, unintelligible wuh-wuhs to his all-too-articulate underlings. Before long we realize that it is Jeff Roberts who's been recently out of the office, not Rob Jeffers, who died of a "carpal-tunnel-related illness"! Coworkers corner the rumormonger, Gary, in a supply closet. Finally locked inside the Boss's "secret room in his study," amid creepy drip-dropping water, Gary whines, 'Hey guys, it's really dark in here. Hey, anybody. . . ?"
Despite its half-dozen names of characters to keep straight, this spoof on what could be called "Cube Culture" is right on target, amazingly precocious, considering it's youth-produced. One boo-boo: toward the end nearly two minutes of the piece -- almost one-third of its length -- is devoted entirely to an accordion and what sounds like a muted trumpet riffing. The music is good, but -- like, duh! -- two whole minutes of it?
Licensors need not be deterred. Lop off the end-game musical filler for a drop-in that lasts four, not five-and-a-half, minutes of a laff riot.