(5 out of 5 stars)
February 23, 2009
by: Aileen Pagdanganan
“Hi, so it's my birthday today. No big deal. I had a whole lobster to myself. It cost me zero dollars because I caught it with a spear in my backyard. Yeah, I raise lobsters. No big deal. Do I invite my friends over? No, because they didn't help me raise the lobsters. Plus cupcakes are my favorite. Who's ever heard of sharing a cupcake with your grandparents and your cousin? It's very unpractical.”
Do you think you need to read that again? You're probably thinking “What did you just say?” Exactly. You have just tasted a piece of what I'd like to call the distinctive humor that characterizes the NBC hit series “The Office,” now in it's 6th year.
It's short, sweet, with no distinct point other than being a random joke. With no screaming punchlines or cues to laugh, “The Office” has a witty and clever way of grabbing your attention and making you laugh. Based on the successful British series of the same name, “The Office” pokes fun at the bland daily lives of office workers through a mockumentary-style sitcom with outlandish characters who just radiate fumes of ignorance.
Michael Scott (Steve Carrell), an oblivious man who views himself as the coolest worker of Dunder Mifflin, believes his position as regional manager of the paper company deserves all the praise all the time. Lacking the natural common sense and courtesy of a normal human being, Michael's exaggerated authority creates an always hilarious and always awkward tension among the workers at the office.
The only one who succumbs to his illogical way of running a company is Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) who regards himself as the most correct and efficient employee at the office. As the assistant to the regional manager, he is convinced that his position holds prestigious importance. Working under the erratic and intsensitive demands of Michael, he takes his job seriously and prides himself on working hard to suck up to his own boss.
In season 4, Dwight says, “I have been salesman of the month for 13 of the last 12 months. You heard me right. I did so well last February that Corporate gave me two plaques in lieu of a pay raise.” No matter what the situation is or who he is arguing with, Dwight never fails to convince himself that he's the one that's right. Almost just as oblivious as Michael is, he is blinded of his own arrogance and always does things his own way – the way he thinks it's supposed to be done.
However, his co-worker, Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), always finds a way to tease him. Despite Dwight's confidence in himself, he has difficulty in retaliating against Jim's antics. A lovable character, who is probably the one the average reviewer relates to, Jim possess a personality opposite of his two bosses. Unlike the other two, he creates a connection between the audience and the office.
It seems as if he represents a character that depicts how it would be if the audience were actually in the office setting. With his random glares toward the camera, he smirks at the audience as if to cue them of the absurdity that just happened in the office as if they could feel it through the screen.
It's obvious this show isn't your conventional traditional sitcom, in which the majority of the characters represent “us.” However, the humor in this show, once it is understood can be addicting. After watching just one episode of the show, I couldn't help but want to watch the whole season. Then after watching a few more episodes, I couldn't help but try to talk like Dwight Schrute, which leads me back to his comments at the beginning. “The Office” contains a unique type of humor that only some can fully appreciate. And I believe it is those few who can appreciate this kind of humor and this kind of show to be people who possess the best humor around.
I rate this sitcom a 5 out of 5 just because I feel nothing obvious is wrong with this show. I enjoyed, I loved it, and I want to watch more.
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