Two Movies I Actually Liked!

Good news! There really isn't anything wrong with me. I finally liked two movies I saw. Two movies in a row! They were Office Space and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

First, Office Space. Yeah, OK, I'm just gonna have to go ahead and say that I loved this movie. If you've seen this movie, you know what I'm talking about.

Peter is a cubicle-dwelling corporate drone who hates his job and realizes that every day is worse that the last so essentially: every day is the worst day of his life. His girlfriend takes him to an occupational hypnotherapist where he finds peace and calm and a permanent state of relaxation due to a little glitch in the hypnotizing process, (namely his doctor keeling over with a heart attack before he can bring him back from his hypnotized state). Peter decides, in his new state of peace, to do what makes him happy, which is nothing. He sleeps in, goes to work in his flip flops, and tells the corporate consultants the truth about how much he slacks off and how unmotivated he is at work. He dismantles his cubicle and speaks his mind to his boss. No matter how bad his behavior gets, Peter never gets fired, in fact, he gets promoted.

I've never worked in an actual cubicle, but in my old office I experienced so many of the same insanely frustrating situations. The same tiny mistake brought back over and over by multiple managers, the repetitive redhead in the cube next door. At one point I was laughing so hard but trying not to laugh because I was watching it with Luke, who, although he hates his job, has never worked in an office. I thought that he would think I was insane since he's never been frustrated enough with office machines to fantasize about taking a copy machine out to a deserted field and beating the crap out of it with a baseball bat. But I was wrong. This movie speaks to the frustrated worker in all of us.

Whether you work at a desk or driving a truck, you still have management to deal with and I'm sure they still say incredibly ridiculous things to you and make your work life miserable. This movie was hilarious and everyone working in upper management should watch it as a training video to learn what not to do to your employees.

Next, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I loved this movie. I want to hug this movie. It was quiet and subtle and fast moving and it just made me happy inside.

For the first time ever I actually liked Jim Carey. His acting wasn't over-the-top and his character, Joel, was truly likeable in a pathetic sort of way. Kate Winslet was fantastic as the spontaneous and wacky, screwed-up girlfriend, Clementine, who decides to have all memory of Joel erased from her mind so she can forget about him and their relationship. Hurt and angry, Joel decides to do the same but realizes during the memory-erasing that he truly loves Clementine and doesn't want to forget her.

There's a scene between the memory-erasing doctor and his secretary, Kirsten Dunst, that makes the point that love isn't just in the mind, it's in the heart. You can have the memory taken away, but the love will still come back.

I was worried that the movie would end on a sad note but I loved the end. It makes you think: if you knew the beginning of your story and you knew the end, would you still want to go through the middle? And the answer is YES!

OK, now for the true test. Up next from the Blockbuster selection: Fahrenheit 911 and Honey.