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.

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.

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'.

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. ;)

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...