‘I can sit there and do nothing as good as anyone...’
It’s been remarked upon before that the most insidious horror imaginable in the ’90s was to be forced to work a steady office job for decent money and to live a comfortable and humdrum life in the suburbs, culminating in the release of both Fight Club and Office Space in 1999. While most people in the current economic climate would give anything for the kind of security depicted in those films, that’s not to say they weren’t effective in depicting the clash between the cynicism of Gen X and the quiet ennui of millennials. Clockwatchers beat out those two films by almost two years, and while it isn’t as effective as either, it’s still a fascinating snapshot of corporate culture at the end of the millennium…
When Iris Chapman (Toni Collette) begins a temp job at the anonymous credit company Global Credit, she soon befriends aspiring actress, Paula (Lisa Kudrow); timid and passive Jane (Alanna Ubach) and group leader, Margaret (Parker Posey). When objects start to go missing from the office, the group (who really should have some kind of collective name) suspect new starter, Cleo (Helen Fitzgerald). You know it’s the ’90s because the supporting cast features Josh Malina and Jamie Kennedy.
Firstly, the whole premise of Clockwatchers hinges on the fact that these four women could work in the offices of a big corporation and go completely unnoticed. While this is far-fetched in all cases, the idea that actual Parker Posey, one of the most charismatic actors of her generation, could blend into the background in any setting is clearly preposterous. If you can put that to one side, however, Clockwatchers is a gentle and heartfelt workplace dramedy in which the connection between the four main characters feels warm and genuine despite the fact that all four characters are essentially caricatures. This is possible due to the sheer talent involved. Collette is great, Posey steals the show, and Kudrow, divorced from her role in Friends (something it was impossible to do in 1997 but is possible now), is unsurprisingly excellent.
While it lacks the dour cynicism of Office Space and the biting satire of Fight Club, Clockwatchers is a perfectly fine way to spend 96 minutes. Man, I miss the ’90s…
