Clockwatchers (1997)

Director:

Jill Sprecher

Writers:

Jill Sprecher (written by) and
Karen Sprecher (written by)

Release Date:

15 May 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

FOUR GIRLS. FOUR DREAMS. ONE OFFICE.

Plot:

Iris can best be described as a wallflower. She begins her first day as a temp for the nondescript Global...

Plot Keywords:

Origami | Eating Disorder | Office | Revenge | Bar

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Toni Collette	...	Iris Chapman
Parker Posey	...	Margaret Burre
Lisa Kudrow	...	Paula
Alanna Ubach	...	Jane
Helen FitzGerald	...	Cleo
Stanley DeSantis	...	Art
Jamie Kennedy	...	Eddie
David James Elliott	...	Mr. MacNamee
Debra Jo Rupp	...	Barbara
Kevin Cooney	...	Mr. Kilmer
Bob Balaban	...	Milton Lasky
Paul Dooley	...	Bud Chapman
Scott Mosenson	...	Jack Shoberg
Irene Olga López	...	Coffee Lady (as Irene Olga Lopez)
Joshua Malina	...	Global Credit Receptionist

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief language.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Netherlands:AL | Iceland:L | Australia:M | Norway:A | Spain:13 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Goldcrest Films International

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Iris addresses the recommendation letter that she got for Margaret, she writes her last name as Burrell, when it is actually Burre.

Quotes:

Iris Chapman: I once read that there are two kinds of time: mechanical and human. You could say my story began at 8:59 the day I started that job, and ended months later, when I left it. But I'd tell you it began in the past, with my old self; and ended in the future, the new one.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in New Guy (2003)

Soundtrack:

Red Hat

A masterpiece in a minor key

Blistering black comedy co-written by Jill Sprecher (who also directed) and Karen Sprecher, "Clockwatchers" gives us a suffocating office setting so vivid and real I half-expected my own co-workers to show up in it. Toni Collette plays the new temporary in a nondescript office building where insipid supplies are slowly disappearing from the supply cabinet. The ensemble acting is delightfully accurate, and the strife which ensues in this scenario is comically overwrought and horrifying. Sprecher's direction is focused and brave (no overtures to broadly comical sensibilities), and she nimbly stretches the film's satirical edge quite far without faltering. The movie is a genuine American original, and by the final third I couldn't wait to see it again from the start. ***1/2 from ****