Bartleby (2001)

Director:

Jonathan Parker

Writers:

Herman Melville (story)
Jonathan Parker (screenplay) ...

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

I would prefer not to.

Plot:

A clueless boss has no idea what to do with his mundane office worker whose refusal of duties only gets worse each passing minute.

Plot Keywords:

Office | Employee | Records | Employer | Insubordination

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

David Paymer	...	The Boss
Crispin Glover	...	Bartleby
Glenne Headly	...	Vivian
Maury Chaykin	...	Ernest
Joe Piscopo	...	Rocky
Seymour Cassel	...	Frank Waxman
Carrie Snodgress	...	Book Publisher
Dick Martin	...	The Mayor
Greta Danielle Newgren	...	Boss's Date
Ken Murakami	...	Landlord
Josh Kornbluth	...	Property Manager
Nick Scoggin	...	Street Philosopher
Stoney Burke	...	Soup Kitchen Server
Terry Allen Jones	...	New Tenant
Stu Klitsner	...	Professor Bum (as Stuart Klitsner)

Also Known As:

Bartleby at the Office (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content.

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Novato, California, USA

Company:

Parker Film Company

Trivia:

Dick Martin's final acting performance.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the boss's date is straddling him in his office, sometimes her hair is wrapped in a scarf and sometimes it's not.

Quotes:

Rocky: Let me tell you something: It's the sensitive guy that gets the needy woman.
Ernie: Yeah, well it's the worm that gets the hooker.

Movie Connections:

Version of Bartleby (1970/I)

Soundtrack:

Preludes

an obscure little gem

I had never seen this or heard of it before I found it for cheap at the local video store as they were busily dumping their VHS tapes in support of forced obsolescence. Lucky me! This turned out to be a real gem. Crispin Glover always plays pretty odd-ball roles, and this is no exception. This is based on the Herman Melville novel "Barnaby The Scrivener" and is the tale of a underachieving young man who appears to be barely functional. After a career with the dead letter office, he shows up at this delightful office upon a hill, inaccessible by pedestrian traffic, but he gets there somehow anyway. And he won't go away, no matter what happens. He seems to be a good worker until the one day he suddenly begins to say "I'd prefer not to" to any task he's given. Much effort is put into getting rid of him, but he's persistent, in an almost catatonic kind of way. This has a rather tragic but touching ending to it, and I felt this was a rather good effort, despite it seeming to be pretty obscure....I'd never heard of any reference to it before stumbling across it. The supporting cast is rather good, including Joe Piscopo and Glenn Headly as the way-too-smart-for-her-position secretary. Highly recommended.