MONDAYS
One of the best movies of the 1990’s is “Office Space” , yet it sometimes gets overlooked, for some strange reason. Maybe it was the under-the-radar cast (who have all done wonderful work since then, in various aspects of entertainment), maybe it was the fact that people hadn’t been stung by the ‘office comedy’ bug until the past 5 years or so (ex: Here and Here), but whatever the reason, it was a great comedy, in every sense of the genre. It gave an accurate depiction of how people interact in an office environment filled with cubicles, weekly reports, and water coolers. The fact that the cast was so deadpan and was not comprised of your typical leading actors, added a dash of sincerity and appeal, otherwise not construed by box office comedies.Why am I randomly talking about this movie today? Because the script is full of memorable lines that have been often recited between my friends and I, none more so than this exchange:
Peter Gibbons: Let me ask you something. When you come in on Monday and you’re not feeling real well, does anyone ever say to you, “Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays”?
Lawrence: No. No, man. Shit, no, man. I believe you’d get your ass kicked sayin’ something like that, man. “Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays.”
What does that sentence even mean? Do you ever hear of anyone substituting a different day of the week and using that sentence? No. Do you wonder why that is? It’s because no other day of the week elicits the same amount of anger and trepidation as Mondays. Tuesdays (other than when spent with Morrie) are basically irrelevant, other than allowing you to sigh in relief as Monday has come and gone. Wednesdays are known as ‘hump day’, which makes sense in that the week is half over. Thursdays are exciting because you know the next day is the final day of the week. And finally, Fridays are so beloved, that we invoke divinity when referencing it – TGIF!
Why does this otherwise boring day have such a negative connotation to it? Even when you try to add some spice to it (a favorite TV show, a sports rec league, workout night) it still can’t lessen the feeling of angst and sluggishness (anguish and lethargy) that inhabits your mind and body, once you smack the snooze button on those proverbial mornings of gloom. It is an instant rush of melancholy that lasts only a few seconds, but takes the whole day to ware off. Perhaps there is no real reason why this supposed phenomenon exists, but there is no denying the impact it has on the population at large, every week.
Maybe the only way for us to get through the drudgery of fighting through these feelings is to make light of the situation as best we can, just like this funny quip I recently got from Michael Ian Black on Twitter (Here):
“It’s Friday morning! Only 3 days ‘til I start thinking ‘Only 5 days until Friday!’”
He is completely right.
