I have had a chance to view this dark comedy (I'm not sure the horror classification is entirely accurate, but...) several times now. Bilge Ebiri, a fellow Turkish-American, shows an appreciation for films of many genres. One can see the influences of Kubrick, Capra (yes, I said Capra), Hitchcock, Wilder, DePalma, and the Coen Bros., yet the film is strikingly original. The title character is caught up in a nightmare of office politics, where an annoying toy car and Post-It notes become deeper symbols of his social oppression which indeed follows him home from work. This is illustrated quite well in a scene where the title character is caught between two attractive women as they talk about the difficulties of having sex in New York. The scene is made funny by the fact that both of them are completely oblivious to him despite his physical promixity. Thus, he is a man who is ignored by women and ostrechized by men. He seemingly can not win, but like most tragic heroes, he is determined not to lose. The film's digital shoot gives it an intimate quality and the tight spaces makes us feel for the title's character's inherent suffocation. As a former newspaper reporter, I could certainly relate to this film and it reminds me of the lyrics to that old Nick Lowe song "Cruel to be Kind." "New Guy" is an intriguing, subversive look at the 9-to-5 hell that is the modern workplace.
13 Reviews
If only I saw this 14 years ago when I was the new guy in the office...
thesar-216 January 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Anyone that works in Dilbert's Office Space Cube environment will definitely appreciate the opening third of 'New Guy.' It's portrayed as depressing as it is in real life. Despite the outrageous occurrences, the multiple post-its left behind, the orientation 'team-work' speech, the suspiciously new buddies showing up on top of each other, badge in/badge out or the single fax machine hogger, it's pretty dead-on. Anyone that hasn't worked in the environment, take note: that's not just day one. The mid-section alters the story with strange details of 'New Guy' – Simon Pegg's lost twin, getting locked in and left behind overnight. It's interesting to a halt, and goes on rather long, or at least feels that way, though the entire movie last a mere 85 minutes. He does things most people would, and then things most wouldn't. What concludes is albeit odd, it answers virtually none of the sub-plots throughout – can someone clear the air on the remote controlled trucks? I believe maybe the point was to allowing the viewer to have unanswered clues, but please have some finality on (insert strange occurrence here). Overall, a few laugh-out-loud scenes (note the final question he gives the homeless man, the thrown in teambuilding words in orientation) and an interesting idea, but since nothing completely pans out, I mildly recommend.
The Twilight Zone meets Office Space
michaeljharvey6 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This film has some wonderfully funny observations of office life for anyone who's ever been the "new guy" in that sort of environment. The unfriendly coworkers, the eccentric boss, the confusing "insider" lingo you're supposed to somehow understand, the hastily (and poorly) described first assignment, strange stories about why the previous guy left your position, etc... As someone who has had more than his share of office jobs, the challenges faced by the new guy really hit home with me. Every new company seems a little bizarre and creepy when you first start.
As the story progresses, we begin to realize things truly are a little bizarre and creepy at this company and the plot veers off into Twilight Zone territory. Things become impossibly convoluted and surreal as our protagonist is accidentally trapped in the office for the night. Without going into too much detail, let's just say there's a life-and-death battle with the cleaning guy, remote control cars patrol the hallways and this all (somehow) eventually leads to office workers performing a human sacrifice. I found myself wondering how the writers could possibly tie it all together at the end. In truth, the conclusion is a bit unimaginative. It uses the classic ambiguous storytelling device we've seen millions of times before: "It was all a dream... Or was it??" I appreciate how the human sacrifice element becomes a clever play on being asked to "sell your soul" for the company, but the ending left me a little cold.
Overall, this is a neat, little movie. I'm willing to forgive the ending as the film otherwise offers a good deal of clever writing and observation. Made on a ridiculously low budget, it manages to be far more entertaining than many big-budget movies from major studios.
As the story progresses, we begin to realize things truly are a little bizarre and creepy at this company and the plot veers off into Twilight Zone territory. Things become impossibly convoluted and surreal as our protagonist is accidentally trapped in the office for the night. Without going into too much detail, let's just say there's a life-and-death battle with the cleaning guy, remote control cars patrol the hallways and this all (somehow) eventually leads to office workers performing a human sacrifice. I found myself wondering how the writers could possibly tie it all together at the end. In truth, the conclusion is a bit unimaginative. It uses the classic ambiguous storytelling device we've seen millions of times before: "It was all a dream... Or was it??" I appreciate how the human sacrifice element becomes a clever play on being asked to "sell your soul" for the company, but the ending left me a little cold.
Overall, this is a neat, little movie. I'm willing to forgive the ending as the film otherwise offers a good deal of clever writing and observation. Made on a ridiculously low budget, it manages to be far more entertaining than many big-budget movies from major studios.
Contrived!
moofee11 June 2006
The plot is contrived, completely unrealistic, yet without any discernible symbolism which may redeem, or justify such story telling. If some hidden allegory was the writer's intent it certainly escaped me in total.
The story takes place on the first day on the job for Gregg, a young office worker. Right from the start it presents situations that I have never witnessed in my 30+ years of work in an office environment. How does he walk directly to his cubicle in the new place without having been shown to it by anyone in the office is just the first of many events that are left without an explanation, but is typical of the general unsatisfying flavor of the plot.
It is as if the plot was assembled on the go and it encountered many twists and blind alleys from which it could not recover and so it just moved on with no closure.
Ultimately, it ends (alas, not soon enough) enigmatically in another contrived plot twist still without providing a clue to the meaning of the earlier hour-and-a-half of nonsense.
A complete waste of time.
The story takes place on the first day on the job for Gregg, a young office worker. Right from the start it presents situations that I have never witnessed in my 30+ years of work in an office environment. How does he walk directly to his cubicle in the new place without having been shown to it by anyone in the office is just the first of many events that are left without an explanation, but is typical of the general unsatisfying flavor of the plot.
It is as if the plot was assembled on the go and it encountered many twists and blind alleys from which it could not recover and so it just moved on with no closure.
Ultimately, it ends (alas, not soon enough) enigmatically in another contrived plot twist still without providing a clue to the meaning of the earlier hour-and-a-half of nonsense.
A complete waste of time.
Lack of emotion or anything in this film
jay_billo1234567 June 2011
An overall disappointment although made on a small budget and has good points, it draws blanks at any good twist and has a poor storyline. As the the story folds it tends to get bleak and draws on in a fantasy office. Gregg the new guy never really shows any emotion and the story lacks development in characters. Before the first unexpected twist of a setup the story is really dull and almost turned off. After the twist it could have unravelled out more into maybe a great storyline as gregg turned an offering of sacrifice. But this all came to an end and it was all some kind of long dream for gregg. All in all poor film, not enough detail in characters and surroundings. Twist were good but came to sudden ends and the story comes to a complete standstill with loose ends untied.
very confusing
WankerReviews29 September 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Such a disappointing movie. Started off so good and quite funny. We're introduced to Gregg whose on the first day of his new office job. Seeing him interact with his coworkers, or with homeless people during his break was hilarious. After work he plans on going on a date, until he gets locked inside his office building, with no way out.
I knew next to nothing going in so each scene made me more intrigued, until it started getting stupid. He's inside all by himself, he has a working phone with signal. Why the heck doesn't he call one of his co workers? Why doesn't he call the fire department? Why does he throw his phone across the room and shatter it into a million pieces??? His actions throughout make no sense, thus i started losing more and more interest.
I won't spoil the rest but everything else after that makes no sense and got weirder and weirder
I knew next to nothing going in so each scene made me more intrigued, until it started getting stupid. He's inside all by himself, he has a working phone with signal. Why the heck doesn't he call one of his co workers? Why doesn't he call the fire department? Why does he throw his phone across the room and shatter it into a million pieces??? His actions throughout make no sense, thus i started losing more and more interest.
I won't spoil the rest but everything else after that makes no sense and got weirder and weirder
Great low budget movie. Lots of laughs, great horror.
mhchu14 March 2003
I watched this movie at Cinequest in San Jose on its second showing. The film was as funny as Office Space and as it gradually gets scarier, the feeling was awesome. On top of that, Bilge made this movie for about $55,000, which was an amazing achievement. If this movie is showing in your area in a festival or gets picked up in distribution, you should definitely check it out.
New Guy [2003:NR:85; Comedy:Occupational] (Liked) -- On his first day at his new job, Gregg discovers a strange corporate culture that borders on the absurd and finds himself in a downward spiral that end in a nightmarish evening at the office. -- Starting off as a comedy that can only be described by comparing it to `Office Space', `New Guy' brings laughter without trying too hard. The halfway point of the movie is marked by a transition into more and more horrifying situations that do not leave the realm of plausibility. The movie is well paced and invokes laughter and fear simultaneously in the audience mainly because of the excellent acting by newcomer Kelly Miller.
****1/2
New Guy [2003:NR:85; Comedy:Occupational] (Liked) -- On his first day at his new job, Gregg discovers a strange corporate culture that borders on the absurd and finds himself in a downward spiral that end in a nightmarish evening at the office. -- Starting off as a comedy that can only be described by comparing it to `Office Space', `New Guy' brings laughter without trying too hard. The halfway point of the movie is marked by a transition into more and more horrifying situations that do not leave the realm of plausibility. The movie is well paced and invokes laughter and fear simultaneously in the audience mainly because of the excellent acting by newcomer Kelly Miller.
****1/2
Very Impressed
simonvox30 November 2004
I saw this film about a week ago in the East Village (NY) and have to say I was very impressed. The story was a good one, and it was filmed and put together very nicely. Though truth be told, I don't know how impressed I would have been if not for the performance of Kelly Miller as Gregg. He was truly superb, ranging from absolutely hysterical, to desperately intense. The other actors were fine, they did their job - but Kelly Miller was a true find. Well done! I sort of wanted to end my review, but they want me to write a few more lines, so... My understanding is that the budget was very low, so the filmmakers should be extremely proud of what they were able to do. The end product was a great looking film.
Can't get it out of my head...
kelvinkang197313 September 2005
When I first saw this movie last year, I was generally impressed with the very unique atmosphere the film makers set up even though they clearly had a very low budget to work with. I also liked the main performances, even though there were some small performances that were not so hot. All in all, it was pretty good, nothing big, but just solid, if you know what I mean.
Now, I have been thinking more and more about it since then. I can't get this movie out of my head. From the weird and sad music that plays over the middle part of the movie, to the main character's nearly silent performance, to the strange kind-of-happy kind-of-sad ending where you can't even tell the expression on the character's face. I constantly keep thinking about it and I really want to see it again to see if I am just crazy, or if there are some very interesting things in there. When I first saw it, I would have given it a 6. A couple of months later I was thinking it would be a 7. Then I decided on 8. And now it's all the way up to 10! I hope I can see it again one of these days, to see if my opinions are justified.
Now, I have been thinking more and more about it since then. I can't get this movie out of my head. From the weird and sad music that plays over the middle part of the movie, to the main character's nearly silent performance, to the strange kind-of-happy kind-of-sad ending where you can't even tell the expression on the character's face. I constantly keep thinking about it and I really want to see it again to see if I am just crazy, or if there are some very interesting things in there. When I first saw it, I would have given it a 6. A couple of months later I was thinking it would be a 7. Then I decided on 8. And now it's all the way up to 10! I hope I can see it again one of these days, to see if my opinions are justified.
A truly wild ride, hilarious, strange and cool
reggie_thorne8 May 2007
I had no idea what to expect when I put this movie into the DVD player. A friend of mine had recommended it to me because I really love Scorsese's "After Hours" and she said this had a similar weird one night in hell vibe to it. Boy was she right.
The movie starts off very simple yet strange with the new guy arriving in the bathroom and stepping into the stall that everybody who works there knows not to step into. Then it just gets harder and harder for him to fit in. His co-workers are strange, one minute they're like trying to be best friends with him, the next minute it's like he never existed. It's kind of like high school, come to think of it.
The director must have spent a lot of time in an office because all of the details of office life are right, from the guy who's always faxing, to the creepy stains on the walls that you're always wondering where they came from, to the boss who lets his son run wild around the office. I think this movie was made before "The Office" TV series and all those TV commercials that satirize office life.
And then, the movie goes from weird hilarious to weird creepy and finally weird weird. A lot of people have said they don't "get" the ending, but I think that is part of the point. I think it was meant to be ambiguous and uncertain. I like the fact that there were no easy resolutions or explanations. I look forward to seeing what this director does next.
The movie starts off very simple yet strange with the new guy arriving in the bathroom and stepping into the stall that everybody who works there knows not to step into. Then it just gets harder and harder for him to fit in. His co-workers are strange, one minute they're like trying to be best friends with him, the next minute it's like he never existed. It's kind of like high school, come to think of it.
The director must have spent a lot of time in an office because all of the details of office life are right, from the guy who's always faxing, to the creepy stains on the walls that you're always wondering where they came from, to the boss who lets his son run wild around the office. I think this movie was made before "The Office" TV series and all those TV commercials that satirize office life.
And then, the movie goes from weird hilarious to weird creepy and finally weird weird. A lot of people have said they don't "get" the ending, but I think that is part of the point. I think it was meant to be ambiguous and uncertain. I like the fact that there were no easy resolutions or explanations. I look forward to seeing what this director does next.
Good job !!!
chorcan18 April 2003
I saw New Guy at 22th Ýstanbul International Film Festival today..I liked it so much..And also I had chance to meet with director Bilge Ebiri..She is so nice and talented person..She answered people questions very well with fun.. New Guy is an excellent movie with its low budget...I congragulated Bilge and I started to wait her 2nd movie now..I consider it to all..
Creepy and Different!
stephen-hoyland14 August 2013
I like a Movie that offers something a little strange and different-and this one ticks all the boxes! If you're Into explosive action then this certainly Isn't the Movie for you - but If you like Intelligent,'Twilight Zone-Ish' stuff, then you're gonna love this! I had to watch twice In order to fully get to grips with the Intricacies, but I must confess to have enjoyed It even more the second time around! It's deep-even profound-and you need to understand It to fully appreciate It. The Script Is clever-almost unique even-and while the acting Isn't fantastic,It's definitely adequate,particularly when you consider the strange storyline,which must have been difficult for the actors to translate to screen. It's different,It's special,It's worth a watch-or two! I love It and will be watching for a third time,maybe a fourth,or even a fifth......!
Creepy, atmospheric and funny.
tronvszombies-19 May 2019
Watched this a while back just after release and highly enjoyed it. It has a subtle build up that something's amiss and then piles it on. I've watched a heck of a lot of movies and this is one them that every so often I go back too. Got the dvd and hope maybe one day it will get a hd airing. You gotta dream. Anyhow sweet movie.
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