Out of Office

Eliza (Milana Vayntrub) gets fired. She can't keep a job. Her parents are concerned. She's living with them and they're selling the family home. She gets a new Zoom-based job run by Kyle (Ken Jeong). He has a contentious marriage to Ally (Leslie Jones) and Eliza has all the wrong advice.

This is a Zoom-based comedy that seems to come out of the pandemic. It has no rights to be funny, but Ken Jeong is unrelenting. He's the Michael Scott of this company. It helps that he's paired up with Leslie Jones. That's comedy dynamite. I wouldn't do number two, but number one could be more hilarious if he pees on the neighbor. Emily Pendergast and Chris Gethard are the next funniest. Jay Pharoah is playing the straight man. This is a bunch of sketch comedy people coming together. I want more Ken Jeong and staying with his marriage. That's the comedy with the best potential. The best comedic moments come from Eliza giving bad advice to the couples. The coq au vin is hilarious. That's a fun screwball comedy concept. Eliza should be paired up with Kyle. That's the pairing I want. They would try to save his marriage and maybe the Rocks... the Roqs... the Revers... the Rs.

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.

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.

The movie is about as good as it's going to get within the first 2 minutes. That's what the whole movie is like. Disjointed, all over the place and just a bit like a long pilot for sitcom on TV. It could very easily just continue on as a series. Maybe one day they will do it. As a movie it's very weak. There is no overall story arc other than vaguely being about the end of a marriage that was so toxic it was better to end it. The lead is a lovely character that brings joy into everyone's life, even a kettle that burns the office space. I liked the movie, it was light hearted entertainment and I think it's watchable but seriously don't expect too much from this. It's a sitcom that goes longer...

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.