For Greg Godbout, the quintessential scene in Mike Judge's 1999 cult classic "Office Space" comes during Peter Gibbons's (Ron Livingston) blissful revolution of apathy at Initech, the vacuous technology company where he's a corporate slave.
Gibbons has been hypnotized by a therapist — since deceased — who gave him a permanent contentment. Upon his return to the office, Gibbons finds himself free of every workplace concern: the demanding boss, the monotonous routine, the looming downsizing that's affecting his friends. So he kicks down a wall in his cubicle to gain a better view from his desk. He also guts and cleans a fish he caught on company time.
"Most people in this area have worked in an office environment, and appreciate some aspect of it. Everyone's been in a situation where they have a job they can't stand and would do anything to get out of that situation," said Godbout, owner of the Arlington Cinema N Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike, 703-486-2345).
The Drafthouse is hosting a "Bi-Annual TPS Report Managers Meeting" — otherwise known as an "Office Space" film festival — on Thursday, Feb. 8 beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $7; dress up like an "Office Space" character, and earn a two-for-one movie pass.
The event is very much in the spirit of the Drafthouse's festival for "The Big Lebowski," another cult classic with legions of dedicated fans. "What makes it fun, like the Lebowski festival, is that the vast majority of the people who are going to come to this will have already seen the movie," Godbout said. "By doing the trivia games and contests and giving prizes for dressing up, it makes it more interactive experience for a cult classic."
"OFFICE SPACE" was released in 1999, written and directed by Judge, who had previously created the animated TV hits "Beavis and Butthead" and "King of the Hill."
The film followed Gibbons and his co-workers as they deal with the familiar frustrations of office life, flirt with a waitress (Jennifer Aniston) at a T.G.I. Friday's stand-in called "Chotchkie's", and eventually hatch a scheme (inspired by "Superman III") to steal from their company with a computer virus.
According to IMDB.com, "Office Space" earned close to $11 million during its disappointing domestic release, considering its estimated $10 million budget. But it soon found a second life, and a new cult audience.
"When it first came out, it went nowhere. If only really took off when it hit DVD and video," said Willie Waffle, a local film critic whose reviews can be found on WaffleMovies.com. "People started to find it and connect with it. What I like to call a 'Backshelf Beauty.' It's a movie that became popular not because it was mass marketed by a studio or made hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office. It became popular because people watched it on DVD or cable and thought that it's something they missed out on the first time around."
Its popularity carried some of the film's characters and gags into the pop culture mainstream, like the smarmy tone taken by condescending boss Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole). For example, the film's resident nerd Milton (Stephen Root) cherishes his red Swingline stapler; Swingline was flooded with requests for the model after the film gained its cult following.
THE DRAFTHOUSE'S "Office Space" festival will begin at 7 p.m. with a DJ mixing video with songs from the film. A trivia contest, impersonation contests and a costume contest follow before the film is shown at 8:30 p.m. Visit www.arlingtondrafthouse.com for a full schedule and for tickets.
Godbout said a second "TPS Report Managers Meeting" will be held later this year, once again celebrating what's become a multi-generational cult classic.
"The reason 'Office Space' resonates with people is because you recognize people from your own life," said Waffle. "The boss who's kind of a weinie, the weird guy who works in the office and nobody wants to talk to, your buddies who are all upset because you have to work longer than you want to. The idea is that there's something else out there that's going to be your life — not 'this place' right here."