chris-2270 I just looked this film up and saw it was only garnering a 5.8 and I was appalled. I've seen it 3-4 times in the past nine years. I have always been a Parker Posey fan. I love the "elevator music". It moved me to go buy some Les Baxter stuff off i-tunes today. It's a dark view of our strange, modern times. It's well shot. It may appear to some perhaps as a chick flick, but I'm a guy and I don't go for chick flicks. It's a heartfelt and provocative film. Totally cool atmosphere. But apparently not popular with the masses. As it should be, I suppose.But that's not all! The IMDb has reminded me that I have not provided enough detail in my comment, so I have to add more. Uhhh, Lia Kudrow and Toni Colette both did admirable jobs. Am I done yet?

groovymarlin Is this movie slow? Occasionally boring? Kind of depressing? Yes. Unfortunately, that is the reality of working as a temp in an office! Take it from one who's been there. I spent several years temping on breaks from college in the late 80s, and this movie brought it all back, vividly. The office politics, the way the permanent workers "look down" on the temps, the menial and mind-numbing tasks, the good old boys (mostly white males, at that time) who were in charge and above it all. Not all of my jobs were as horrible as the office depicted in this movie, but enough were that it occasionally gave me chills. I hope that things have improved, with the proliferation of computers and other advanced technology, at least in terms of the work itself. But I can guarantee that in some places, that temp vs. perm "caste system" will always be there, regardless of how the jobs get done.The performances in the movie were excellent. I really liked Parker Posey's exuberant portrayal, as well as Toni Collette's studied, more subtle effort. She expresses so much pain and frustration through her facial expressions and quiet, even-toned narration.The movie is not for everyone, and some viewers will no doubt be bored and/or confused by it. But if you've ever been a temp of any kind, or worked in an office, I think it will resonate with you.

vchimpanzee Iris is a temp at a company called Global Credit. She makes several friends who are also temps, but she is never really accepted by other employees. The company is not pleasant to work for--the bosses are not shown being really mean, but they just don't truly appreciate their employees. The temps are bored, and most people at the company tend to do as little as they can get away with. Though I have to admit, there doesn't seem to be enough work for the number of people in that office. A couple of examples of the company's attitude--after some thefts, new rules are made and security measures such as cameras are added, and the bosses are always suspicious. Then there is the music--Muzak, elevator music, dentist's office--whatever you want to call it. I'm one of the few people who actually likes that music, and it made the movie worth seeing for me, though the music could have been used more in some scenes where it wouldn't fit, just for irony. Parkey Posey was great as usual. Margaret was charming and almost perky but also cynical and prone to cheating and stealing whenever she felt she could get away with it. She wanted a better career but was having a hard time moving forward. I enjoyed some, but not all, of the scenes with her character. Lisa Kudrow was perky, beautiful and slightly ditzy as an aspiring actress. I assume Toni Collette did a good job as Iris. I just didn't care much for her character, who wanted more out of life just like her co-workers and occasionally narrated. Her father wanted her to work at his company, International Foods, but she didn't seem motivated to do that for some reason.This seemed to be a pretty good movie. There was some comedy, even if the movie tended to be depressing. Something about it suggested an art film that might appeal to, say, Woody Allen fans. It just wasn't really my kind of movie.

doktor d Inappropriately marketed as a comedy, Clockwatchers is actually a sad, almost disturbing slice-of-life concerning the empty lives of four office temps and the realistic and/or idealized ways they seek to escape their individual predicaments. This low-key, purposefully bland drama, with spare touches of humor from Margaret (Parker Posey), is steeped in realism, making it all the sadder. Margaret, Paula, and Jane befriend Iris, the central character, at her new temp job. Margaret is loud-mouthed, foul-mouthed, and smart. Paula (Lisa Kudrow) is a young woman with fast-fading beauty, loose morals, and no hope for a future. Jane (Alanna Ubach) is biding her time waiting for her man to marry her and take her away from the temp world. And Iris (Toni Collette) is intelligent but timid. Unlike her new friends, she has the opportunity to score a real job at an interview that her father has lined up for her; however, low self-esteem, shyness, and a new-found friendship with the office girls contribute to her procrastination. Outward, upward mobility seems to scare her. One day Iris stares blankly at her empty diary. Her temp job affects her so badly that she can find nothing to write about; she's been turned into a mindless zombie. During a moment of introspection, she thinks, `Sometimes it hits you, how quickly the present fades into the past. And you question everything around you. You wonder if anything you'd ever do would matter, or if you could just disappear without a trace.' Jill and Karen Sprecher's script is punctuated with perceptive, thought provoking lines, many of which comment on the individual's insignificance in society. Early in the film, Margaret comments on how `a person can just drift through life like they're not connected to anyone or anything.' Later, Iris admits that `even if a person wanted to break free, they could find out they've got nowhere else to go.' Ultimately, the Sprechers' four-character quasi-study can be applied to everyone, every day. Some characters move on, thus positively changing their lives forever; others, whether out of preference, procrastination, or lack of education, stay put, forever locked in dead-end jobs. At the film's end, Iris realizes that improving her situation can come only from `never hiding, never sitting silently, and never just waiting -- and waiting -- and watching the world go by.' Clockwatchers may be a `small' film with a soft voice, but at least it has something to say.