Oh, Jeff! Movie Review
What’s It All About
The opening scene of Oh, Jeff! depicts the informal backyard barbecue reunion of two friends who have not seen each other in several years. Offered in this suburban setting is the stark contrast of a hard-working, 33 year-old single Benjamin Saxon – a 16-hour a day, diaper-wearing Amazon worker, juxtaposed by a former dumpster-diving turned communal-living, Soviet-loving Dave.
As the friends discuss where they’ve been, and how they have adjusted to their new lifestyles, Benjamin reveals his loyalty to the hopeful capitalistic dream, despite its multiple shortcomings, as attested to by three years’ worth of his unanswered submissions to the Amazon “suggestions box”. Benjamin’s friend, Dave, has determined that real happiness is found in the hippie, socialist worldview, and when their conversation is cut short by a phone call requesting that Benjamin come in to work on his day off, Dave tries to talk sense into Benjamin that if he does go into work, it will show that they can abuse him further, and take advantage of him however they want; all that he is getting out of it are the bare minimum perks.
Benjamin is left to defend himself by attempting to argue his side by convincing himself out loud of the ridiculous notion that it is okay for a single man to make the majority of the money in existence, despite lacking the qualities that make up a human being, and that his circumstances are his own fault for not being a better worker.
Shortly thereafter, Dave excuses himself to go to the bathroom. Much to the surprise of Benjamin, THE Jeff Bezos himself mysteriously appears on the wooden deck of his suburban home. He is there to personally address all of the previous years’ suggestions from the suggestions box that had thus far gone unanswered. “The Miracle of the Suggestion Box!” Benjamin hopefully opines.
One after another, Bezos responds to Benjamin’s concerns by reading prepared cards, in what feels like a side-stepping of the real issues by providing PR answers, or a politician reading from the teleprompter. After Mr. Bezos’ robotic proceedings, Benjamin emphatically states that “people want to be happy, and live freely!” He goes on to try to convince Jeff that his workers are people.
What follows is Mr. Bezos weak attempt at understanding people rather than automation, which turns out to be more of a fantastical daydream of how far and wide his influence is felt around the world, and just how great he had become. A flashback to his younger days is portrayed, wherein his father gives him a $100,000 loan to be paid back whenever it was convenient, this being the closest that Jeff had ever gotten to feeling the plight of the “normal man”. Upon bestowing upon Jeff this head start, and Jeff’s giddy receiving of it, his father shakes him into reality with: “Oh, Jeff! Remember, the little people.”
Bezo’s character is ultimately expired, only to come back as a pathetic Amazon worker who gets fired by his superior for going 2 minutes over his lunch break three times in one week.
My Opinion
This was a revealing short, pulling back the curtains into what the life of a real Amazon worker might be like. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, no doubt many begin their careers with Amazon excited to share in the vision that Mr. Bezos has brought to the world with his amazing innovation that delivers anything and everything under the sun right to your doorstep in sometimes less than 48 hours. These hard-working people at the bottom of the totem pole are simply hoping to earn a living wage, and be treated as people. It becomes more surreal given what has been recently shared in the news about Amazon workers having no time for bathroom breaks, and having to pee in bottles, so they remain as productive as possible on their shifts. All of this while Mr. Bezos is wining and dining his new mistress and living the high-life that only regular people can dream of.
But what goes around eventually comes around, and pride cometh before the fall, however long that may take.
The Verdict
The characters were a bit cliché, but the message was on point. The production was an important dialogue about why some in society idealize socialism, due to the faults and failings of capitalism that leave so many dreams unfulfilled.
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