I guess what makes The Office work is that it’s so real. I keep saying this. Not because it’s made ‘documentary’ style, but because it is founded on some very basic, palpable truths.
Every office around the world is different. But somehow, the show managed to touch on what was the same. The writers based some of their stories on their experiences working for General Electric, and right there you can be sure that they didn’t just dream up the scenarios.
We’ve always known that commonplace is often funnier than complicated plotlines. Sometimes even Friends writers forgot this, and they ended up with an exhausting 30 minutes about Ross and his stupid monkey. The Office’s premises can be outrageous and amplified sometimes, but they get away with it because they treat it so matter-of-factly.
Funny is everyday life, seen from a certain vantage point (a single camera with great zoom, perhaps?). Funny is catching people’s reactions after an officemate’s emotional outburst. Not all reactions consist of an exaggerated frozen gape while the studio audience laughs. No one does that in real life anyway especially when a furrowed brow would be sufficient.
Everyday life is sad, poignant, heartwarming, bittersweet, awkward, sincere, and so many other things. The show captures this range of emotions so beautifully in such a simple way: just by watching the characters. In the foreground, background, to the side, wherever they are. They don’t even need to speak – because in reality sometimes our words belie how we really feel. The show understands that the devil is in the detail, and that the whole weight of an emotion can be seen literally in the blink of an eye, or a quiet sigh or a pause between sentences. The show delivers these subtleties and nuances perfectly. Props also to the actors who truly understand the material they’re working with. The characters of The Office are so well developed that during shooting the actors do their own stuff in the background for hours, with the single camera catching them only once in while, and they never miss a beat.
What can I say? I love the show. If you haven’t seen it then go grab a DVD. That’s what she said.
6 comments:
I love the show too..
I remember the episode where Michael Scott told Pam she was being let go but as a joke and she cried.. I'm glad I have not encountered such an a** for a boss!
my boss probably won't go that far. but i really wouldn't put it past him hahaha.
haha!!! Where are you spending xmas pala?
wow. looks like i should drop by mcs and get a dvd. para may magawa ako sa holy week habang walang pasok.
go amie! you'll laugh your ass off.
ano ba yun kl now ko lang ata nabasa comment mo from last year hahaha!
PS Amie, be patient with the very first episode, it could be dragging, but they get their groove on in the succeeding ones.
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