BJ Novak in Inglourious Basterds

by Kevin Crossman

It's true we often have full episodes of The Office where BJ Novak has little or no screentime as Ryan Howard, but fans of the show did miss our favorite temp/salesman/VP/receptionist/bowling clerk/salesman/temp during an extended absence this season.  Ryan's absence was explained as a "trip to Thailand" but TWSS listeners knew this was Novak so could film Inglourious Basterds for writer-director Quentin Tarantino.

Basterds opens this weekend and fans hoping to see their Office hero with lots of screentime will feel a strange sense of deja-vu. Novak is there... but does he say anything? Hardly. It's almost like an episode of The Office where Novak is there in the scene but we're all paying attention to the name actors or leads.

Complicating matters is that the crew of "Inglourious Basterds" soldiers of which Novak is a member appear on screen in only a couple of the six chapters of the movie.

Nonetheless, do no be afraid of the film's two and a half hour running time, because if you stick through to the end not only will you enjoy an exceptional movie you will, finally..., get to see Novak on the big screen in a big way at the film's conclusion.  Novak goes toe to toe with Brad Pitt (effective and hilarious throughout the movie) and German TV star (and future Oscar winner) Christoph Waltz who plays a Nazi Colonel.

If you're a fan of BJ Novak, Quentin Tarantino, killing of Nazis, French Cinema, or entertaining dialogue then Inglourious Basterds is a must see.