Out of Office

Matt Roush says...

Former The Office showrunner and actor Paul Lieberstein tells a different sort of workplace story—this one largely unfolding on Zoom—in a comedy film about Eliza (Milana Vayntrub), a free spirit who’s seemingly unable to keep a job until she starts working for “the third largest outsourcing company for in-website help chats.” (Suddenly Dunder Mifflin doesn’t sound so bad.) As she joins the management team’s online meetings, Eliza gets drawn into the marital meltdowns of her distracted boss (Ken Jeong) and his angrily unhappy wife (Leslie Jones)-who’ve apparently never learned how to mute. Bratty Eliza’s meddling in his and other co-workers’ lives invariably backfire, leaving you wondering when work ever gets done. Office is offbeat to a fault, but there’s an amusing subplot involving coq au vin, and the strong supporting cast includes Saturday Night Live alum Jay Pharoah and, as Eliza’s parents, Jason Alexander and SNL’s Cheri Oteri.

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