Written and directed by Richard Webb, Remotely Working takes the relatively new phenomenon of working from home to an extreme level. After being caught slacking one too many times, Alex (Christopher Noyes) is fired from his office job. In response he decides to try his hand at remote working.
Instead of applying for roles he is qualified for, Alex brushes up his resume with some creative licence and gets to work applying for anything that pays well. After bending the truth almost to breaking point in the interviews, Alex lands not one but three tech jobs. He’s remotely working a bunch of jobs he isn’t remotely qualified for.
Perhaps thinking it will be easier to bluff his way through work while at home, Alex attacks his new positions with confidence and workplace stock phrases about teamwork. Unfortunately this can only carry him so far. The people he is supposed to be managing begin to underperform and he is unable to help. As a result, the people above him are starting to get annoyed.
As his performance at the various jobs plummets to an all-time low, so does his performance as a boyfriend. Janet (Aurora Watts-Esquibel) feels left behind as Alex loses himself in work. Because home is the office, the work life balance is non existent and Janet is getting more and more frustrated with him.
Finally, the frustrations come to a head and it’s time for Alex to shape up or ship out. He rises to the occasion both as an employee and a boyfriend.
With a generally enjoyable undercurrent of humour throughout, Remotely Working has a few laugh out loud moments. One thing that isn’t quite mastered is the comedy timing. Many scenes just drag out for a little too long where a short, punchy sequence would be more effective. For example, the specifics of Alex’s remote jobs are dull by nature, so a quick fire montage of his bosses being displeased with him might have been more effective than long, fairly technical explanations of targets and percentages and reports. Similarly, there are a few too many long scenes where nothing much happens, including a long scene where Alex is cooking or cleaning. This does little to aid the pacing of the film. While Watts-Esquibel’s character does add to the humour of the film and is an important part of the narrative, Remotely Working didn’t particularly feel like a romantic comedy specifically. Beyond the fact Alex ignored Janet for work, there wasn’t much development between the characters in the way that would be expected in a romantic comedy. However, the way Alex does actually become rich and keep his job while maintaining his relationship with Janet interestingly subverts the romantic trope of giving up the corporate grind in the name of love.
Looking closely at the film, there are a few especially great details. My personal favourite was the increasingly aggressive error messages Alex received when his computer crashed. A lot of the other humour revolves around sexual innuendo and works particularly well in the scene where Alex seems to be watching a lewd video, but in reality it’s two hamsters on a wheel.
A well put together film with some areas for improvement in the pacing. Watch the trailer below. Full film available on Tubi and Prime.