Couch theater — DVD previews By Sam Struckhoff
It feels like months since I’ve seen the inside of my office. While I’m grateful that I can work from any space with a power outlet and a pot of reasonable coffee, I miss it. Good relationships, conversation and camaraderie aren’t unattainable in the company of my schooling-from-home kids, but it’s not the same as being shoulder to shoulder with your work fam.
But the office ain’t always peaches and sunshine, right? So, here I present a few movies that will nip your office nostalgia in the bud, or at least keep you laughing until life can return to normal.
“9 to 5” -- Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda star in this 1980 classic, where three secretaries are terrorized by their boss, played by Dabney Coleman. The women decide to exact their revenge and live out their office fantasies, and while they do it, they transform the office into an engaging, empowering and rewarding place to work.
“Office Space” -- Another cult classic that’s swimming in archetypes! Peter ( Ron Livingston) can’t stand his soul-sucking corporate job, full of clockwatching and pointless reports. When his therapist dies before he can bring Peter out of hypnosis, the cubicle hero checks out of the rat race without regret, but not before getting recruited into management! But with his cubicle mates facing downsizing, the group hatches a plan to hit the raiders where it hurts -- in the pocketbook.
“The Devil Wears Prada” -She may be classy, but she’s also tongue-lashy. Meryl Streep shines as the hypercritical diva boss Miranda Priestly, a top-echelon fashion editor who takes on Andy (Anne Hathaway) as a personal assistant. The position is prestigious, but it comes with a high personal cost.