The Office: Cage Match
By: Mark Runyon | Category: Show Review | 05/09/06 | 08:19 PM
 |  |  Grade: A | Genre: Comedy/Mockumentary
Summary: This was grade-A choice comedy. The Dwight-Jim feud has never been funnier, and Michael's zany mediation suggestions almost toppled the entire office, showing just how incredibly daft he is.
When the Office first made the brave leap across the pond, making its big debut on ever struggling NBC, I was more than a bit skeptical. Other BBC imports have failed the transition miserably, trying to dampen English humor for American audiences (Coupling anyone?). How could the extremely politically incorrect Rick Gervais-inspired Office hope to retain its clever sting? NBC's season one struggled to find its footing, but season two has rocked tha' house, becoming the best comedy series on television. It has escaped the BBC's long shadow to the point where the series is on par, if not better, than the original. The characters are more full and wily, the interactions more electric and you can just see your droll cube farm existence unfold to comic delight. This week, we have an old fashion cage match, Michael Scott style. Michael (Steve Carell) puts every problem every person in the office has with one another on the table for review. Pass the popcorn. |
So Pam (Jenna Fisher) is abuzz with wedding preparations. Wedding invitations have gone out and certain members of the office, ahem...Angela, got edited out of the guest list. "It's my wedding, and I don't want anyone there who called me a hussie," she explains. Evidently, 'ho bag' would have been just fine though, almost a term of endearment if you will. Due to security concerns, all Dunder Mifflin employees are getting fitted with ID badges. Phyllis gets all gussied up for her photo with a look that would make Tammy Faye Baker proud. Dwight (Rainn Wilson) comments with utter seriousness, "what's on your face -- clown paint?" Dwight relays the security problems plaguing the branch, talking about his, I kid you not, potato gun that he brought into the office one day. "Can you imagine if I were deranged?" Oh it's a quite a stretch, but my mind just might be able to wrap itself around that one.
 | | | The Office: Cage Match | | Starring: Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer & B.J. Novak |
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A ruckus spills out of the conference room as Oscar is off the reservation on Angela's kiddie porn poster of babies playing their instruments. Toby attempts to allow Oscar to blow off steam, but Michael wants the situation resolved. Michael whips out his book on mediation, cellophane still on the cover, to chisel out the sticky issue. After a heated exchange, its concluded by Michael that the poster would be made into a t-shirt that Oscar would wear so Angela could always look at it thus Oscar never has to. Brilliant I say! What other show would have come up with such a wacky compromise? Fresh off his mediation victory, Michael forcefully steals Toby's complaint file box and sets forth to resolve all the office deep seeded troubles. Little does he realize exactly what is brewing under the surface of the seemingly cordial co-workers.
Dwight, teetering pillar of sanity that he is, is pushed over the edge when Jim (John Krasinski) prints out Dwight's new ID badge. Its notebook paper sized, labels him as a security risk, and his middle name is fart. Where does this crafty little devil come up with this stuff? Dwight storms into Toby's office to put in his weekly complaint against Jim, only to find out that four years of complaints have been squirreled away where no one will ever catch sight of them. Dwight loses it, babbling like a two-year-old to Michael that Jim must be fired, transferred or he would leave.
After a brief pause to eye the Yellow Book girl -- speaking of, advertisers should take note. If you want to cause your DVR happy viewers to halt their fast-forwarding tendencies, you should just plaster a hot chick all over that space. It has worked wonders for Victoria's Secret and Old Spice. So Michael starts to read Dwight's laundry list of grievances that have been piling up over the years. One day, Jim got everyone in the office to call him Dewayne for the day. Another time, he hid a bloody glove in Dwight's desk drawer and tried to convince Dwight that he had committed a murder. My personal favorite was when Jim, over time, weighted down Dwight's telephone handset with nickels so that when he took them all out, Dwight knocked himself over the head with it.
But wait you get more. Pam finds out that Jim has been complaining about her doing wedding preparations during company time, putting a chilly wall between the two lovebirds in denial. Feeling generally unloved, Jim goes to corporate to interview for a sales manager position in a branch far, far away. Is Jim leaving the Office? This week's installment was grade-A choice comedy. The Dwight-Jim feud has never been funnier, and Michael's zany mediation suggestions almost toppled the entire office, showing just how incredibly daft he is. The Office is finally hitting its sweet spot, and there isn't anything on your dial that is funnier (sorry Scrubs). This Thursday features the season finale, which is super sized starting ten minutes earlier than usual.
Don't miss a single belly aching laugh of the Office Thursday nights at 9:30/8:30 on NBC.
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