Anyone who spends 8 or more hours in a day knows “Dilbert”. Back when I still lived in cubeville, there were literally days when the only thing that kept me from quitting was my “Dilbert” calendar. When you can’t get revenge on your evil, soulless boss; crack open a “Dilbert” and let him do it for you. It’s kind of like Office Space, but in a family friendly, handy dandy pocket form.
Adams’ comic has already been a short-lived animated series. Now it’s becoming a movie. Moviehole reports that former Harry Potter helmer Christopher Columbus has grabbed the lapsed film rights to the “Dilbert” strip and is considering making it one of his next projects.
Here’s the thing though: I love the comic strip. I’m not kidding when I tell you that it kept me sane during my six years trapped in office hell. When you’re stuffed in one of those carpeted hell-boxes being screamed at and screwed over by your boss, you’ve got to grab on to whatever lifeline you can find. “Dilbert” did that for me, and it does it for millions of others. Walk through any office building and peak in the cubicles, and you’ll find “Dilbert” posters, calendars, and even stuffed animals pronouncing doom on pointy-haired dictators. But as an animated television series, it just wasn’t very good. If they make an animated movie out of it, I can’t see it being any better. The comics work best as short strips read by people trapped in a certain, miserable setting. On the other hand if Columbus tries to make it into a more loosely adapted, live action movie then it won’t be kind of like Office Space, it will be Office Space. That’s really the problem. Judge’s movie is now the definitive expression of office suffering. There are just too many similarities between “Dilbert’s” misery and that suffered by Peter and the boys at Inatech.
I really can’t see any way to get a decent movie out of this, and I’m a fan. Imagine trying to win over people who don’t give a shit. Plus, this is Chris Columbus we’re talking about here. The Harry Potter franchise has succeeded in spite of him, not because of him. It got better the minute he left. Before that, his was already a track record of mediocrity. I’d love to be completely wrong and get a genius comedy out of Scott Adams’ characters, but the odds are stacked against it.
