Wow, this is a REALLY bad movie!

Sadly Over-hyped

A-maz-ing

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

Eldar Ryazanov's "Sluzhebnyy roman" ("Office Romance" in English) had me properly fooled early on. I assumed that it was going to be a Soviet version of "The Apartment". It turns out that there's a number of surprises on the way, many of them cartoonish. This story of a love affair between maladroit statistician Anatoly Novoseltsev (Andrey Myagkov) and stern boss Lyudmila Kalugina (Alisa Freindlich) hits all the right notes. Overall it comes across as a spoof of day-to-day work in the Soviet Union. It could easily get shown as a double-bill with "The Apartment", "9 to 5", or the opening segment in Monty Python's "Meaning of Life". Really funny.

Office Romance is a film in two parts about the relationship between Ludmila Kalugina, the director of a statistical bureau, and her employee, Anatoly Novoseltsev. The film starts off with Anatoly who is trying to get a promotion and a raise for his children. After some advice from an old friend, and newly appointed co-director Yuri Samokhvalov, Anatoly attempts to flirt with Ludmila leading to some hilarious antics. Although this film was relatively long it did not seem to drag on and kept the viewer interested by focusing on the relationship between the characters and their development as well. The office, which is the main stage of action, is not only a setting, but also a place of observation. Throughout many of the scenes we are shown the office life and this helps the viewer get an idea of how people lived during this era. Office Romance also does a good job of interweaving multiple subplots throughout the film like the story of Yuri and Olga. The montage scenes interspersed throughout the film helped to convey the passage of time, but also helped to establish the mood of the following scenes. For example, the montage scene, which shows the rainy weather and a melancholy song, helps set the somber tone of the next scene involving Yuri and Olga, and his rejection of her love letters. Although it is classified as a romantic comedy, it surpasses that genre and through genuine characters and touching scenes this film is able to delve into deeper, more meaningful themes that are not often addressed in romantic comedies.

This is the best movie I have ever watched. I cried because it is such a great movie. The 2 main actors the boss and her worker did a great job in this movie and I wish to meet them someday. I have lived in Russia my whole life. The 70's in Russia is the best time. If you haven't watched it you need to see it. Its a very touching movie especially if you understand Russian. This movie deserves a 10.5 out of 10 because i enjoyed it so much. I just don't know what else to say. Please if you haven't watched it, watch it, it will be the best movie you ever see.thanks, Novoseltsev

Oh, good old 70s... Oh, incredible Alysa Freindlich :))). An incredibly kind, cute and lyrical comedy, one of the most popular Soviet movies of all times.