Office Space (1999)

 "The thing is, Bob, it's not that I'm lazy. It's that I just don't care."

It's a shame I waited so damn long to see this film. So long, in fact, that the office life it depicts is not really that of the present generation with its working from home, no office dress code and less use of printers.

This is, simply put, brilliant. It's interesting that this is the year before The Office and ploughs similar ground- albeit through the delightfully twisted mind of Mike "underappreciated because a lot of his stuff is animation" Judge. Yet it's extraordinary how low budget this film is, and how- Jennifer Aniston aside, for 'tis the 90s- there is so little star wattage. This film stands or falls by whether or not it's funny. And it is, by God.

We've all been Peter. I certainly was, circa 2003 to '05, only without the embezzlement, or the cubicles, which seem to be very much an American thing. But the petty office jealousies over things like staplers ring very true. And I love the concept of Peter ceasing to give a crap about work and suddenly finding his career in the ascendant; alas, the world isn't quite like that. 

The period details have dated. But the underlying points haven't. The gentle digs at the "I can't be bothered to pronounce your name" racism directed at Samir rings true. So do all those annoying microaggressions of management. Fortunately I'm now promoted just far enough for that not to be a part of my life, but I've certainly been there.

This film is exquisite. Watch it. And be glad it isn't 1999 any more.

Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996)

 "Are you threatening me? My bumhole will not wait!"

 I last saw this in, well, the '90s. On a VHS videotape that was my prized possession. It’s brilliant, of course, and a style of humour (“Heh. You said ‘anus’!” that has lasted.

I suspect Mike Judge is no metalhead, and this fan of heavy guitar riffs is a bit suspicious that people like my young ‘90s self should be portrayed as such thickos. Thing is, though, it’s funny.

It’s weird seeing Beavis and Butt-Head in a whole movie, doing no less than a road trip with Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, instead of just watching the telly as is their wont. But it works, thanks to good old puerile humour done with an evil wit, and Robert Stack is superb.

It’s also very, very ‘90s, though, from the perspective of 2018- teenage Chelsea Clinton’s braces, teenagers actually watching the telly, a very ‘90s kind of youth culture-focused nostalgia for the ‘60s and ‘70s leading to that glorious Robert Crumb psychedelic bit in the New Mexico desert. One could almost say that bit was genuinely cinematic.

Well done, Mike Judge and co; cavity searches all round. The campaign for a sequel with middle-aged Beavis and Butt-Head starts here!