“The Jungle of Accounting”—much like the sitcom “The Office”—is filmed in the style of a mockumentary and set in a small office space (not a paper company, but an accounting firm). Another similarity the indie shares with the beloved sitcom is it too makes accounting seem only half as boring as it is in real life—also strangely amusing. However, while “The Office” focused on a annoying boss, “The Jungle of Accounting” focuses on the annoying employees who are flagrantly bizarre and frightful. It also helps they are absolute show stealers!
This Chase Pearson-directed venture follows the owners of the accounting firm. Husband/wife duo Charles and Maryanne Bailey are looking for an assistant, as their last three were nothing short of problematic. One of their past assistants was a possible arsonist with body odor, and the next one was too highly competitive. The very last is in trouble with the FBI (just another regular day at the workplace, eh?). Mr. Bailey is cowardly and hasn’t the heart to confront his soon to be ex-employees. As a result, he and his wife are often stuck with this odd group. Their problematic behavior eventually reaches an all-time high (or in this case drops to new and scary lows).
What I liked about this movie is how it resembles the early 2000s era of SNL, which kept most comedy sketches simple. They took on real-life problems and everyday struggles of the common man, but in exaggerated manners. Who among us hasn’t encountered that co-worker who wants to be queen of the water cooler, or the one responsible for an awful stench from his/her cubicle everyone wishes to avoid? Perhaps one reason workers prefer home work over office work these days is to avoid such characters. And I’m pretty sure Mr. and Mrs. Bailey would nod in agreement if their interactions with their creepy and problematic employees occurred solely via Zoom!
Another aspect which I thoroughly appreciated was the music and atmosphere. It lends an old time feel to the proceedings, especially during some scenes set in the ‘80s.
Among the performances, I found Erin Patrick Miller believable as the creepy Jimmy Doyle. And the one-upping session between the boastful Amy (Kate McGarrigle) and her Debbie Downer of a co-worker Mrs. Collins (Joan Shangold) is great. It’s akin to the face-off between the energy draining vampires played by Vanessa Bayer and Mark Proksh in the series “What we Do in the Shadows” (another scene set in a dull office space).
“The Jungle of Accounting,” despite its short running time, will make you chuckle with its absurd, odd characters. The film is definitely worth a watch; I’d love to see a sitcom of these odd, baffling characters some day.
