Out of Office

Out of Office is a 2022 Comedy Central exclusive film that focuses on the reality of working from home via video chats. The film begins with Eliza (Milana Vayntrub) as she interviews with a technology company via video chat, and despite having no qualifications, manages to land the job by giving the boss horrible relationship advice. The film features an ensemble cast of well-known comedic actors -- Jason Alexander and Cheri Oteri star as Eliza's parents; Ken Jeong and Jay Pharoah star as members of the new company Eliza begins working with; Leslie Jones stars as Jeong's angry wife; and Jim Rash (Community) and Oscar Nunez (who seemed to channel Michael Scott in his role) are in supporting roles. The primary story of the film revolves around Eliza's entry into the company; the awkward connections between all of the employees; as well as a healthy dose of uncomfortableness surrounding the pasts and social lives of some of the characters.

All the comedy in the film is based on the idea of the silliness and distractions that can come from working at home. While there are certainly some laugh out loud moments (typically tied to the antics of Jeong), there are also a lot of jokes that fall flat and feel overly forced. In addition, the awkward dramatic elements (which mostly feature in the last third of the film) detract from the comedy and bring the mood of the film down quite a bit, leaving a less than satisfactory ending.

Overall, the film feels like an extended pilot for a television series that may be a bit too close to The Office to really be successful. It unfortunately also struggles with its identity a bit -- it begins as a typical comedy but ends more as a dramedy.

I saw the ratings. I don't agree. Yes. It was a bit over-the-top but it's a COMEDY or sitcom. Michael Scott was over-the-top.

In a word, the movie was pleasant. It has nothing to do with The Office. The characters liked each other just like in The Office. People are flawed. Relationships are difficult. Because this was a movie, things were expedited. Milana was wonderful. Most of the characters were interesting and there is a desire to know more about each. Again, it's a sitcom and I can't think of any show in this genre where characters aren't a bit unreal at times.

There is potential here. It should be a series.

The cast is ok but the story and script miss the mark.... There are directions in the story that could've been taken to make this a good comedy....same with the script.... Jay Pharaoh has some chops but needs to be pushed further to maximize the talent....it definitely wasn't the worst thing I've ever seen. Vayntrub was much better than expected....the movie just had so much potential that was never realized. It could've used a bit more physical comedy for effect....a couple of scenes just didn't make sense....then there was the ending....its weird to gather a bunch of comedians to do a movie that's not really funny.

I don't understand the negative reviewed. It's a hilarious movie featuring a lot of familiar faces and side-splitting humor. It's an hour and a half of fun and distraction. You will not be sorry that you watched it. Ken Jeong and Leslie Jones steal every scene they're in. Jason Alexander makes some appearances and it's hard not to see an aged George Costanza. The gags and physical comedy are noteworthy as well. It definitely wreaks of the pandemic out-of-office live we were all forced to endure for so long. Some may not like it because it's smartly written with slapstick humor and a limited plot. It focuses on several individual stories co-mingled. Still - it's great. Have some coq au vin and enjoy. ;)

No plot, bad acting, feels like an overlong sitcom episode or a backdoor pilot for a potential series. The characters do nothing to move it along. Ken Jeong is especially grating and nowhere close to funny in this. Jason Alexander is present, but gets too little time and has nothing to do when he's on screen. Milana Vayntrub of "Lily AT&T" fame is somewhat miscast as the lead, would be better as a supporting character. This suffers from lack of story and bad acting all around. Don't bother watching, it's nothing more than another Comedy Central attempt to get a series and capitalize off a few 'names'.