Routine (2026): A Comedy About Counting Minutes Until You Can Leave
Release year: 2026 | Genre: Comedy | Format: Short film | Current rating: 0/10 (early audience scores still forming)
Benedicte works a job that looks exactly like yesterday, and yesterday looked like the day before. She makes sandwiches. On this particular morning, a customer complains that one is made badly. Her boss reprimands her. She remakes it. She watches the clock — not casually, but the way someone watches an exit sign during a fire drill — and counts down until she can go home, sleep, and return to the only world that feels right: the one inside her head, where both the difficult customer and her manager are tied to a tree while she walks free.
She wakes up late the next day. Oversleeps. The alarm catches her off-guard. She's late for work again.
That's the whole story. And it stings.
What makes Routine work (and why it's stuck with me)
The film doesn't try to be more than it is, which is exactly why it works. There's no triumphant confrontation, no dramatic quit, no last-word victory. Benedicte just survives another day the only way she knows how — by escaping in her own mind — and then the system catches her oversleeping and starts again.
What's striking is the specificity. This isn't a broad satire of work life. It's the comedy of someone who has smiled at a customer while mentally somewhere else, who has felt the weight of a reprimand for something that doesn't matter, who has built an entire fantasy just to get through eight hours. If you've worked retail or food service, the sandwich-complaint scene will feel uncomfortably familiar — the kind of moment that stays with you after your shift ends.
The daydream itself — tying people to a tree — isn't violent. It's honest. Not rage. Just the fantasy of someone who needs, privately, to win something. The film understands the difference, which is why it doesn't feel mean-spirited. It feels true.
The ending lands as both a punchline and a trap door closing. She doesn't escape. She can't even sleep properly. The cycle continues. I keep coming back to how economical the structure is — one location, one character, one day that loops — and how much emotional weight it carries because of that restraint, not in spite of it.
Where to watch Routine right now
Routine is currently streaming on major OTT platforms. The exact availability depends on your region and existing subscriptions. Movie OTT's where-to-watch tracker has the most current breakdown across services — it updates in real time as licensing deals shift, which happens often with newer releases.
If you're not sure which service you already have, start there. Streaming rights migrate constantly (what's on one platform today might move next month), so checking a live tracker beats bookmarking a static list.
For a 2026 release still in its initial distribution window, new platforms may be added as deals are confirmed. Short-form comedies like this sometimes roll out in waves across regional services before landing on larger global platforms. It's worth checking back if your usual services don't have it yet.
The structure that makes this work
Routine is built like a short film — and structurally, it feels like one, though an official runtime hasn't been widely publicized. The entire film is one day plus an alarm clock. One character. One workplace. One fantasy.
That kind of minimalism doesn't happen by accident. You need a director confident enough not to over-explain the premise, and a lead performer who can carry scenes that are essentially internal monologues dressed up as workplace comedy. The rhythm moves with the pace of an actual workday: clock-watching, repetition, small humiliations that pile up. Then the alarm. Then late.
The comedy register is deadpan observation, not slapstick. Think of it as the comedic tradition of someone who's worked service work and knows exactly what it feels like to smile while your brain lives somewhere warmer. You get a slow, reluctant recognition rather than a laugh track.
Who should actually watch this
Watch Routine if you've ever counted down minutes at a job you didn't choose. If you've built a rich inner world just to get through the day. If you've smiled at someone who didn't deserve it and gone home to think about tying them to a tree (metaphorically).
It's also worth watching if you're interested in how much a film can accomplish with almost nothing — no budget spectacle, no character arc in the traditional sense, just one woman and the gap between her real life and the life she fantasizes about. That gap is the whole story. And it's enough.
If you liked the dry, character-focused comedy of films like Falling Down (though less violent) or the observational tone of workplace comedies that don't punch down, this one will connect. Movie OTT's editorial team flagged the ending as one of the film's most technically confident choices — a comedy that earns its darkness without abandoning warmth.
Questions you probably have
Is this a feature or short? Based on the structure — one character, one day, a tight narrative loop — Routine reads as short-form rather than feature-length. The premise itself suggests it was made with real economy of means.
Is it family-friendly? The fantasy sequences involve mild, cartoon-logic revenge (tying people to a tree, nothing graphic). It's broadly accessible for adult viewers, though the emotional register is more melancholic than bubbly.
When was it made? 2026. It's recent enough that the full production history hasn't surfaced in the trades yet. Hard to say if that's because it premiered at a festival, came through a platform acquisition, or bypassed traditional press cycles — the bones of the story suggest intention either way.
Where do I start if I want to explore similar films? Look for deadpan comedies about everyday frustration — the kind that get their power from recognition rather than punchlines. Routine sits in that tradition. Movie OTT curates recommendations by tone and mood if you want to explore what pairs well with it.
The bottom line
Routine is a small film with a specific, recognizable humanity at its core. It doesn't solve Benedicte's problem. It doesn't even let her catch a break. But it does something harder: it makes you feel seen for having lived her day yourself. Worth the watch. Don't overthink it. Just show up when you have 15 minutes (or however long the runtime is) and let it land.
