Quote Originally Posted by vaticanplum View Post
I was a big fan of the British office and held out on this one for a long time, but it is incredibly good. it's now gone about twice as long as the British version, I think, so the characters have become better developed as well.
When I first saw the British Office I had never seen anything like it - the documentary-style filming, the mordant wit, and Ricky Gervais. I didn't like it at first but when I got used to it, I became an admirer.
Ricky Gervais embodied that role. Just as he does in his current series (the Extras - on HBO) he is about the best actor I can think of at playing really unpleasant people. Steve Carrell does a good job, but his coloring is satirical. The American Office is entertaining but it has a satirical distance from the material that the British version was unafraid to get close to. That's the difference I see - the British Office's humor was bitter and corrosive, while the American Office pokes fun.
Office Space is still the best work movie/series.