Career Movies

Office Space Peter Gibbons is an office drone like many others, and he hates his routine life. One day, the occupational therapist who was hypnotizing him keels over dead, leaving him with a permanently altered attitude. Asked to come in on weekends, he responds by coming in only when he wants to, playing games on his computer and moving furniture to give himself a better view. But instead of firing him, the company takes this oddness as evidence of his managerial potential.

The Full Monty Set in the British steel town of Sheffield, a group of out-of-work steel workers are organized by fun loving, slightly irresponsible Gaz into a Chippendale-style dance troupe. The group is made up of Dave, Gaz’s overweight best friend who has recently been struck with impotency; Gerald, an ex-forman and amateur ballroom dancer; Horse, an old guy with dance moves that slightly resemble the funky chicken, the bus stop, and the bump; and Guy, who, despite his love of classic Hollywood musicals, is hopelessly cursed with no sense of rhythm. Despite these handicaps, they are soon dancing to the sounds of Donna Summer, Hot Chocolate, Gary Glitter, Sister Sledge, and Tom Jones.

Cinderella Man During the Great Depression, a common-man hero, James J. Braddock–a.k.a. the “Cinderella Man”–was to become one of the most surprising sports legends in history. By the early 1930s, the impoverished ex-prizefighter was seemingly as broken-down, beaten-up and out-of-luck as much of the rest of the American populace who had hit rock bottom. His career appeared to be finished, he was unable to pay the bills, the only thing that mattered to him–his family–was in danger, and he was even forced to go on Public Relief. But deep inside, Jim Braddock never relinquished his determination. Driven by love, honor and an incredible dose of grit, he willed an impossible dream to come true. In a last-chance bid to help his family, Braddock returned to the ring. No one thought he had a shot. However Braddock, fueled by something beyond mere competition, kept winning. Suddenly, the ordinary working man became the mythic athlete. Carrying the hopes and dreams of the disenfranchised on his shoulders, Braddock rocketed through the ranks, until this underdog chose to do the unthinkable: take on the heavyweight champ of the world, the unstoppable Max Baer, renowned for having killed two men in the ring.

Kindergarten Cop An undercover policeman poses as a pre-school teacher to protect a child from his at-large paroled father.

Bruce Almighty Bruce Nolan is a local Eyewitness News TV reporter in Buffalo, New York, best known for doing human interest stories–which makes everyone happy but him. Bruce would much rather be replacing the soon-to-retire anchorman. Essentially, Bruce is disconnected with everything in his life and rarely misses an opportunity to complain about it. He has a loving girlfriend, Grace, who runs a day care center and adores Bruce in spite of his negativity. Bruce is handed a great opportunity when he’s asked to do the 23rd anniversary of Niagara Falls’ famed Maid of the Mist boat, which will air live during sweeps. But the mist hits the fan when it’s announced on-air–just before Bruce goes live–that the co-anchor position, about to be vacated, is going to Bruce’s superficial rival. In front of millions of viewers, Bruce has an on-camera meltdown, punctuated by a four-letter word not yet cleared for network television. On this worst day of Bruce’s life, he’s fired from the station, beaten up by a gang of toughs, and his car is vandalized. Furious, Bruce rails and rages against the Lord for his rotten luck–which is followed by a curious set of signs, one of which leads him to an old building called Omni Presents, Inc. There, Bruce meets a janitor who reveals himself to be who he really is–God! He’s heard Bruce’s complaints and now has an offer for the choleric newscaster–his job. By endowing Bruce with all his powers, God challenges him to take on the job and see if he can do any better!

Joe Versus the Volcano Convinced that he’s dying,a man agrees to jump into a volcano to save an island from an angry god. Joe versus the Volcano is a fable which opens with somewhat surrealistic scenes of the dehumanization of Joe Bank’s job and work environment (at a company whose product rather literally screws people) with imagery that seems to have been inspired by the classic film Metropolis. Joe is diagnosed with an incurable disease, quits his dehumanizing job, and accepts an offer to briefly “live like a king, die like a man” – but to fulfill his agreement he must willingly jump into a live volcano on the island of Waponi Woo in order to appease the volcano god. En route to the island, Joe meets a series of interesting characters in NYC and LA, then boards a yacht, captained by Patricia Graynamore. During the voyage Joe and Patricia survive disaster, fall in love, and finally arrive at the island where they face their destiny.

9 to 5 Three female employees of a “sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot” find a way to turn the tables on him. Frank Hart is a pig. He takes advantage in the grossest manner of the women who work with him. When his three assistants manage to trap him in his own house they assume control of his department and productivity leaps, but just how long can they keep Hart tied up?

City Slickers City Slickers blends sight gags, one-liners, and sincerity, with both humor and drama arising from the characters and their situations. Mitch (Billy Crystal) is a radio station sales executive who finds himself in the throes of a mid-life crisis; accompanied by two friends, Phil (Daniel Stern) and Ed (Bruno Kirby) in the grip of similar problems, he heads to New Mexico for his birthday to participate in a two-week “vacation” cattle drive to Colorado. The three friends and the rest of their group, including an attractive, newly single young woman and two African-American dentists, are all urbanites lost when it comes to herding cattle and surviving on the prairie; it’s up to authentic, almost mythic cowboy Curly (Jack Palance, who won an Oscar for the role), to whip them into shape. As various adventures occur along the way, including run-ins with outlaw cattlehands, treacherous natural mishaps, and Mitch’s delivery of a newborn calf, the three “city slickers” open up to each other, learn to appreciate Curly’s Old West values, and begin to resolve their midlife dilemmas. When Curly dies, it’s left to Mitch, Phil, and Ed to bring in the herd. er.

Fun with Dick and Jane The day before Globodyne’s stock tanks, a la Enron, and its pension fund evaporates, the corporation’s CEO and CFO set up middle manager Dick Harper to be the public face of the disaster. Jobless, and with no savings, pension, or home equity, Dick and his wife Jane sink slowly into poverty. He looks for work (as do all former Globodyne executives); he even tries day labor with the relatives of their Mexican nanny. A foreclosure notice sends Dick and Jane over the edge into a life of blue-collar crime. Then, as things finally look up, the report of an looming indictment pushes Dick and Jane toward a denouement with the real criminals, the white-collar guys.