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| Title: | I Really Hate My Job |
| Director: | Oliver Parker |
| Starring: | Shirley Henderson, Neve Campbell, Alexandra Maria Lara, Anna Maxwell Martin, Oana Pellea, Danny Houston |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Runtime: | 1 Hours 29 mins |
| Music: | Charlie Mole |
| Studio: | 3DD Productions |
| Certificate: | US: R UK: 15 |
| Release Date: | USA: May 6 2008 UK: September 22 2014 |
| See If You Like: | Waitress, Three To Tango |
When an unproduced project lands on the Hollywood Blacklist only to make its mark a year or two down the line it’s not necessarily a bad sign. What is a bad sign, is when a cheap, no frills, already finished movie, is held back for release for over seven years, before eventually going straight-to-DVD; as is the case with the upcoming comedy I Really Hate My Job, a film about five downtrodden women working in a busy London restaurant.
Chronicling a single busy night in the small basement restaurant, I Really Hate My Job introduces onlookers to five extremely different women, exploring their individual hopes, dreams, fears, and idiosyncrasies as they attempt to see to the needs of their customers. There’s the manager (Anna Maxwell Martin, Philomena) who’s concerned with her failing love affair, and failing restaurant, the hopeful young art student (Alexandra Maria Lara, Rush), the angry foreigner (Oana Pellea, Children of Men), the disillusioned writer striving for a better life (Shirley Henderson, Trainspotting), and, of course, the loud-mouthed American (Neve Campbell, Scream).
Throughout the night, which is spent waiting for an appearance by actor Danny Houston (playing a strange fictionalised version of himself, and Al Bowlly), we learn the girls’ individual hopes and dreams, how many of them have been dashed, and how they all view life in starkly different ways, and blame others for their lot in life (all except the strangely happy young art student); with the writer’s publisher coming under fire, the owner’s partner being blamed for owed debts, and the American blaming everyone for the fact she hasn’t made it as an actress; all as they serve a number of customers, struggle to fill-in for an absent chef, spend a good deal of time ‘tasting’ the wines, trying to avoid doing any actual work, and trying to conceal a crafty rat from the eyes of any would-be customers, whilst waiting for the arrival of an inbound celebrity (Houston).
It’s a situation, and a film title, a huge number of people will be able to relate to, not just in London, or even the rest of Britain, but the world over; being stuck in a menial job, hoping to one day make it big, but slowly realising that maybe this is as good as it gets; and the fact the film takes place over a single night, in a single location, is a not only a good idea, but effectively mirrors the idea of being stuck in a rut, and gives us more of a snapshot into the girls’ personalities, their flaws, and their relationships with one another, than a wide-ranging standard rom-com may have done.
It’s also interesting to see a comedy which isn’t a rom-com, that doesn’t simply shoot for the cheap laughs, and is trying to do something a little different. The only problem is, the way in which it’s trying to be different has created a rather niche film which will only appeal to a fairly limited market (hence the seven year release date delay); as while almost the entire population of the western world will be able to relate to the title, to the job dissatisfaction, and working with a cobbled-together band of misfits which would never be seen dead together outside of work, I Really Hate My Job is clearly a woman’s film, and not even a wide-reaching one at that. It’s a film which will only really appeal to women who’ve been in the same miserable situation, women who appreciate artsy, indie comedies, and don’t really have anything better to do of an evening than staying in and watching a bunch of no-name actresses complain that being a waitress simply isn’t good enough.
Yet calling the cast a bunch of no-name actresses may be a touch harsh, because while you likely haven’t heard of anyone here except Neve Campbell (actually a Canadian actress who fulfils her role well enough here but should, by rights, be in a much better film and not simply having to go naked for no other reason than to get a reaction), Shirley Henderson is perfectly capable is perfectly fitting as the neurotic little writer, Anna Maxwell Martin is acceptable (though far from astounding) as the beaten-down manager, and Alexandra Maria Lara is actually quite endearing and believable as the only happy member of the bunch.
The real problem with I Really Hate My Job isn’t the actresses however, it’s the writing; because while the direction is fairly capable for a low-budget film of this type (neat touches like refusing to show customers faces, mirroring how staff ignore their patrons, are both subtle and effective), the script often seems pretentious; sure there are some funny bits (some of the arguments, exchanges, and rat-involved shenanigans), hints of emotion, and even some thought provoking comments (often coming from the art student’s unorthodox take on life), it all seems like it’s an overt comment on writer Jennifer Higgie’s life, and how she clearly thinks she deserves better than what she’s got. A feeling not so subtly expressed by Shirley Henderson’s writer-character basically saying as much about herself, and using self-aggrandising language to basically put everyone else down, and dump on the life of people in the serving industry (not a great plan, when servers and female restaurant workers should really be the target audience for your film).
So while there may be hints of promise, that’s really all they are. I Really Hate My Job is watchable (a film to put on in the background while you’re doing the ironing maybe?), but far from exceptional; an average cast, so-so direction, and a self-important script do little to elevate it above the string of more successful British comedies, and it’s no surprise to earn Jennifer Higgie has no further writing credits to her name, and that I Really Hate My Job was delayed for so long. Appealing to an extremely niche market, it’s acceptable but far from astounding, fails to make the most of its potential, and would’ve probably worked far better as a generic sit-com (the characters are certainly clichéd enough). Rent it, or catch it on ITV 3 in a couple of years time if you’ve got a Sunday afternoon spare, but don’t feel like you have to rush out and buy it; I Really Hate My Job just isn’t that good.
Matt Wheeldon – @TheMattWheeldon.
