Blu-ray Review: Office Comedy ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ Has a Case of the Mondays

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CHICAGO – Without rescue of a creative joke in sight, “Welcome to the Jungle” eventually devolves into an unsavory mash of “The Office” meets “Lord of the Flies”. Adam Brody’s Chris Myers is the lead character in a cube monkey’s generic fantasy, of which this film treats with a checklist. The attractive and amiable office mate (played by Megan Boone of Chicago Film Critics Festival favorite “Leave Me Like You Found Me”) is to be wooed, a manchild boss (Rob Huebel) is to be dethroned from his ego, and a world of freedom is to be revealed for those who have imprisoned themselves to 9-5 pressures.

Rating: 1.5/5.0

This pride against office doldrums would certainly ring true were Rob Meltzer’s film not a champion of mundaneness itself. Refusing to think outside of stereotypical characters, or even toy with a new way to make a penis joke, its humor matches the witticism of a Dogbert coffee mug, but with more emphasis on bathroom humor. In another office culture comparison, this is a movie that Bill Lumberg of “Office Space” might find funny, but not Ron Livingston’s revolutionary Peter Gibbons.

With the film redeemed from complete staleness by who it manages to involve, Jean-Claude Van Damme takes on the type of hulking clown role usually reserved for actors like Terry Crews. Van Damme’s presence slims on its specialness beyond his actual involvement, as his screentime is more more limited than his center stage position on the Bluray cover might make one anticipate. As well, while Van Damme has the playfulness to parody his machismo, his over-the-top physical comedy is outshined by a few slightly amusing images from a slideshow in the beginning of the movie (available to see in its trailer). An indication of what this movie ultimately means to Van Damme’s growing image, his commercial involving a split between two moving trucks is more mentionable than his attempts here.

The irony of this film is that making it must have caused a case of the Mondays for its cast, at the very least for its seasoned comedians like Kristen Schaal and Rob Huebel. “Welcome to the Jungle” best presents the soul-crushing nature of a crappy job by making these talented performers, among others, attempt to sell this weak comedy with professionalism.

Welcome to the Jungle was released on Blu-ray on March 25, 2014
Photo credit: Universal

Synopsis:
Adam Brody plays under-appreciated underdog Chris Myers, a designer at a marketing company whose efforts are foiled by jerk boss Phil (played with extra sass by Rob Huebel), who steals his idea. When a former Navy captain named Storm Rothchild (played by Jean-Claude Van Damme) accidentally maroons Chris and his fellow employees on an island during a work retreat, he decides to take charge.

Special Features:
o Deleted Scene
o Behind the Scenes
o Digital Copy of “Welcome to the Jungle”

By Nick Allen
Contributor
HollywoodChicago.com