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The Movie: The US remake of "The Office" did come under some fire, understandably, before it even aired. The British version is so widely loved that many were understandably anixous about whether a remake could do any sort of justice. Thankfully, I think the US version of "The Office" turned out well, although with the one note that the series will likely take a little while for some to get used to. The series takes place in the Dunder Mifflin paper company offices in Scranton, PA., with boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell, of "The Daily Show" and "Anchorman") looking over the handful of employees that work under him in the office, all of whom appear as if they've been locked into a workplace loop, and have quietly given up on getting free of it years ago. They've reached that point where they've stopped worrying more about getting deadlines done and focused more about figuring out how (putting other people's office equipment in Jello) to make 5pm come around quicker. Carell's performance as Scott is terrific, mixing the character's self-importance with just a twist of lunacy (he turns corporate-run diversity day into a disaster, and tries to "punk" an employee, telling them they're fired for stealing, and then tells her - to her horror - that it's all a practical joke.) Scott is joined by downtrodden, nervous receptionist Pam (Jenna Fischer), salesman Jim (John Krasinski),Dwight (Rainn Wilson) and a series of other supporting characters. Although Carell offers a brilliant performance with his own style, the other three play it all more subtly, walking a fine line between playing comedy and playing up the comedy in realistic situations. The show's style of humor is very dry, and doesn't try to push any of the jokes. Carell is the only one really pulling off to do his own style (and Carrell does create a character that's not likable, but awfully funny), but the others manage to get laughs from realistic - often awkward - situations. The show is shot with one camera and is free of a laugh track, much like other sitcom efforts "Scrubs" and "Malcolm in the Middle". There are only six episodes in this short-run season, and they include the very funny previously mentioned episode about diversity, another where Michael - not smartly - challenges the warehouse workers to a basketball game, and another episode where the workers battle over their health care plan. "The Office" starts another season this Fall, and although I wasn't really able to get into the series during its first season network run, after watching it all here on DVD, I'll definitely be tuning in. The DVD VIDEO: Universal presents "The Office" in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The presentation is generally excellent, as the image remains crisp and well-defined throughout much of the running time, with only a couple of moments of slight softness here-and-there. Some minor shimmering and slight edge enhancement appears at times, but both are visible only briefly, and aren't much of a distraction at all. Colors are bright and vivid, with no smearing or other faults. SOUND: The 2.0 soundtrack remains perfectly fine throughout, with clear dialogue. EXTRAS: Commentaries are included: "Pilot" has commentary with Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson and BJ Novak, "Pilot" also has a second track with John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fisher, BJ Novak and producers Greg Daniels and Ken Kwapis, "Diversity Day" has commentary with Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, BJ Novak and Greg Daniels, "The Alliance" has commentary with John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fisher, BJ Novak, exec producer Greg Daniels, producer Larry Wilmore and writers Paul Lieberstein, Mindy Kalin and Michael Schur and finally, "Basketball" has commentary from Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, BJ Novak and producer Greg Daniels. The commentaries are great, as the cast have a great deal of fun joking about filming the episodes, and everyone has great stories to share about putting the show together and getting into their characters. Deleted scenes are offered for each of the episodes, and they're worth watching, as some of the deleted material is as funny as what's in the episodes themselves. Final Thoughts: "The Office" has its own unique style of humor, which I found supremely funny at times. Carell offers a great lead performance, but he's very capably backed up by a superb supporting cast. Universal's DVD set of the short-run first season offers excellent audio/video quality and a nice helping of supplements. Recommended. |