Mike Judge directs Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston and Stephen Root in this satirical comedy where a depressed worker in a bullshit job accidentally gets hypnotised not to give a shit about work anymore.

One thing 90s comedies were great at was showing just how oppressive and pointless most jobs were and are. Employment sucks. This movie reaches deep into the Generation X psyche and shows a world without adventure, ambition, expectation or romance. And it is really casually funny. Whereas The Apartment or 9to5 end on the promise of something better… your Office Space or Clerks treat the whole of western existence as a cruel existential joke… the punchline is that joke feels never ending. And I’m there for that. Root and Gary Cole are iconic in smaller roles. Both became memes that stood the test of time. Not bad for a movie that went direct to video in the U.K. “Michael, I did nothing. I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything that I thought it could be.”

8

Perfect Double Bill: Fight Club (1999)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/

Deran Sarafian directs Jean-Claude Van Damme, Robert Guillaume, and Cynthia Gibb in this action thriller where an undercover cop goes into a prison to investigate its mysteriously high death rate.

Has the obligatory line to explain what a cop with that accent is doing in LA, an obvious conspiracy with minimal sense and race relations that are… a bit… special. Yet there is a certain degree of style and flair to the production design, lighting and stereotypes. Death Warrant rarely rings true but is often beer spilling exciting. Cynthia Gibb makes for a cute romantic interest. One of JCVD’s most muscular productions. AND THEN THE SANDMAN IS TRANSFERRED INTO HIS WING!!!

7

Perfect Double Bill: Bloodsport (1988)

My wife and I do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Bob Fosse directs Mariel Hemingway, Eric Roberts and Cliff Robertson in this true crime drama of the short lived career of a Playboy playmate destined for bigger things who was murdered.

A pretty straightforward film except for its providence. Bob Fosse doesn’t instantly leap out as the correct pair of hands for this material. Though his fascination with fame and self-destruction probably qualifies him more than most on closer inspection. Still it is The Lost Boy on his impressive filmography. And then there is also the Bogdanovich factor. Peter is played here by Roger Rees, and his character is a minor composite rather than a true representation. The failing auteur really got obsessed with the death of his girlfriend and it pretty much stalled what was left of his career while he investigated, wrote an autobiographical novel in response to this movie and started dating the victim’s younger sister. All this happens outside the actual running time but a cinema fan can’t ignore its pall over the already grim and seedy experience. Star 80 doesn’t pull many punches and the shifting timeline means any victory or pleasure Dorothy Stratten achieves is intercut with her brutal fate. And vice versa. Hemingway is convincing in the title role but Roberts is an absolute powerhouse as the dumped suitcase pimp who spirals out of control. He keeps the often voyeuristic, nasty affair valid.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Lovelace (2013)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/