Small revenge

>> Clockwatchers pokes office politics in the eye

by JOANNE LATIMER

A clock ticks behind the film's opening credits. Toni Collette approaches a reception desk--doing her best wallflower act from Muriel's Wedding. The receptionist refuses to acknowledge her until the clock strikes exactly 9 a.m., then puts on a cheery greeting that could curdle milk. Welcome to Clockwatchers, a wicked and sly comedy about corporate drudgery.

This isn't a mainstream comedy, so it's safe to expect more than 9 to 5. Using an offbeat cinematic tone, director Jill Sprecher observes the anal tics of office life--in her own sweet time. She notes it all down through Iris (Collette), a sluggish temp at Global Credit. Iris meets the office's other three temps, and learns a thing or two about feeling invisible and undervalued.

If the glass ceiling is at issue here, Sprecher is careful to keep the main action focussed on the temps, and how they fend off the spiritual inertia of "looking busy" at Global Credit. Margaret (Parker Posey) is the malcontent who wants a permanent job. Paula (Lisa Kudrow) poses as an aspiring actress, while Jane (Alanna Ubach) tries to remain happy about her upcoming wedding. They shun a new worker, hired permanently from the outside, and hit happy hour together at pickup bars after work.

The harmony among the group is disrupted when items get stolen around the office and blame falls on the temps. Their individual self-destructive streaks take over: Margaret, a boozer, gets reckless; Jane, the obsessive compulsive, cuts herself repeatedly on jagged staples, and Paula's ego goes berserk.

Clockwatchers is a poke in the eye to office bullshit. And because it isn't about high-level bullshit, Clockwatchers is all the more poignant. Happy muzak is piped into the office, a motivating shade of green is painted on the walls, and the lunchroom is (self-) segregated by status. Sprecher, and co-author/sister Jill Sprecher, carefully note the temps' insecurities. The permanent staff is hilarious, with their foot fetishes, condescension and feigned pleasantries.

At work, Iris is corrected on the way she uses the "URGENT" stamp and how she keeps her skirt's hemline. The tyranny of the office sucks the oxygen out of each frame of the film. Frustration is palpable, as the temps squirm under scrutiny for petty theft. Clockwatchers feels like a film written by temps (maybe actress/temps) and that makes all the difference.

Acting-out never occurred to Iris before she met Margaret. Posey (as Margaret) brings more than her usual cockiness to Clockwatchers. As the renegade temp with ambition, Posey is the one we cheer for. Yet it's Iris who extracts the final revenge. It's a small and simple revenge, just like the film.

Clockwatchers opens Friday, June 12