Going Perm

While it is not nearly as satisfying overall as Mike Judge's Office Space, the preeminent cubicle comedy of recent years, Haiku Tunnel eventually overcomes the limitations of Kornbluth's manner. Whether or not the film is purely autobiographical, he clearly knows the terrain. Anyone who has ever worked in a business office will recognize such types as the severe head secretary (Helen Shumaker) and the invariably counterproductive computer-system administrator (Joshua Raoul Brody). The introduction of a presumably doomed love affair with a "summer associate" (Sarah Overman), essentially an exploited law student, is a welcome plot complication to the final third. By the end, as the inspiring conclusion to Stravinsky's Firebird builds on the soundtrack, we're gratified that both Josh the character and Josh the filmmaker have finally triumphed.