Summary

• The Office's "Stress Relief" episode featured a fake movie called Mrs. Albert Hannaday starring Jack Black, Jessica Alba, and Cloris Leachman.
• Mrs. Albert Hannaday is a detailed and well-made fake film, with its own authentic soundtrack and scenes that were cut from the final product.
• The Office also featured other celebrity guest appearances, but Mrs. Albert Hannaday stood out as one of the zaniest cameos on the show.

The Jack Black The Office appearance came in the season 5 episode "Stress Relief" which featured a fake movie called Mrs. Albert Hannaday starring Jack Black, Jessica Alba, and Cloris Leachman. Unlike some other sitcoms, The Office ensemble cast held the show together without having to rely on big-name guest stars. One exception was in season 5's two-part episode "Stress Relief," however.

A subplot involves Jim and Pam watching the now-infamous Mrs. Hannaday movie with Andy. The Jack Black movie's full title is Mrs. Albert Hannaday, where Jack Black's character is introduced to his fiancée's (Jessica Alba) grandmother, played by Cloris Leachman, and they begin a passionate affair. The in-show trailer for Mrs. Albert Hannaday was so well-made that some viewers wondered if it was actually real. The Mrs. Hannaday movie from The Office is, however, fake — though there are some interesting stories behind it.

Mrs. Albert Hannaday Is Not A Real Movie

The Jack Black & Jessica Alba Comedy Was Made Up For The Office

Perhaps for the best, the Jack Black/Jessica Alba cameo the Mrs. Hannaday movie is an entirely fictional movie that exists in The Office purely for comedic purposes. The episode includes brief glimpses of the fake rom-com throughout, including a steamy scene where Black helps Leachman out of her bath, and they make out, and a later scene where she breaks up with him.

The Office episode ends with Mrs. Albert Hannaday's final scene as Black's character arrives at her house with flowers and a new walker, only to look through the window and see her with a new young lover — he walks away heartbroken. Another gag that recurs throughout this episode of The Office involves Jim and Pam talking about Pam's parents breaking up, with Andy mistaking their comments for amazing insights into Mrs. Albert Hannaday.

Mrs. Albert Hannaday Is A Lot More Detailed Than You Realize

A Lot Of Work Went Into The Gag On The Office

Mrs. Albert Hannaday was obviously not a real film and doesn't exist beyond the trailer seen in The Office. What many viewers don't know about the Mrs. Hannaday movie, however, is that a lot more went into its production than the series shows on the surface. Mrs. Albert Hannaday was made to look as real as possible, which meant that filming was done outside of The Office for the Super Bowl episode.

In addition, the fake film has its own authentic soundtrack, with songs like "You Make My Dreams Come True" by Hall and Oates and "All Out of Love" by Air Supply being included. There are even scenes from the movie that were cut from the finished product and never made it into the episode, such as when Jack Black's Sam meets Cloris Leachman's Lily's new boyfriend, played by screenwriter Nate Federman.

Who Was Cloris Leachman, The Actress With Jack Black In The Office

Jack Black Isn't The Only Famous Face In Mrs. Albert Hannaday

While Jack Black's The Office cameo will have excited many fans who are familiar with the actor from his hit movies, there are plenty who would have been even more excited by the appearance of legendary actor Cloris Leachman. While some of the younger audience may not be as familiar with her work, it is likely they have seen her elsewhere as Leachman had a long and versatile career that spanned decades.

Leachman got her big break in the movies with The Last Picture Show which won her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as neglected homemaker Ruth Popper. While that role showed off her incredible dramatic skills, Leachman is likely best remembered for her comedic roles, especially her scene-stealing performance as Frau Blucher in Young Frankenstein. In her later years, she continued to work in notable projects, winning several Emmys for her recurring role in Malcolm in the Middle as Ida and appeared in Spanglsih opposite Adam Sandler. After a long and acclaimed career, Leachman passed away in 2021 at the age of 94.

Other Celebrity Guest Appearances On The Office

The Mrs. Albert Hannaday Movie Is Far From The Only Celebrity The Office Appearance

Although Black, Alba, and Leachman's roles in Mrs. Albert Hannaday are some of The Office's sneakiest celebrity cameos, the series also made increasing use of such guest appearances in its later seasons, despite the initial effort not to do so. Some of the most noteworthy cameos include Ricky Gervais as David Brent, Michael Scott's counterpart from the British version of The Office, and Josh Groban as Andy's brother in a few episodes.

Stephen Colbert also appears Andy's friend Broccoli Rob, plus Idris Elba, Christian Slater, and Will Ferrell in several minor recurring roles. Warren Buffett, Will Arnett, Ray Romano, and Jim Carrey all pop up in The Office's season 7 finale, "Search Committee." While each of these cameos is iconic and hilarious in its own way, Mrs. Albert Hannaday still stands out as one of the zaniest cameos on The Office.

The Office's "Stress Relief" episode aired during Super Bowl XLIII in 2009, which helped make it the highest-rated episode of the entire show. "Stress Relief" was also designed to be something of a gateway episode for new viewers to The Office, since none of the stories involved intimate knowledge of the previous seasons. This extends to the cameo appearances of Black, Alba, and Leachman in Mrs. Albert Hannaday, which didn't involve them interacting with any of the characters on the show.

The Office's Other Fake Movie Can Be Viewed Online

Threat Level Midnight Is Available On YouTube

The Mrs. Hannaday movie isn't the only fake movie featured in The Office. The Michael Scott-written and directed movie (starring him as the main character) Threat Level Midnight was first introduced in The Office season 2, episode 7, "The Client", where Jim discovers the script and has a table read with the rest of his co-workers. Much later, The Office season 7, episode 17, "Threat Level Midnight" sees Erin telling the rest of the office that Michael has finished his masterpiece, and they are all going to watch it — and the entire fake movie is available online.

Through the official The Office YouTube channel, the fake movie Threat Level Midnight can be viewed in its entirety. While most of it is in the episode, some scenes were cut, but now that footage has been revealed. The Mrs. Hannaday movie, however, only exists as a trailer even outside The Office, and it's unclear if there's extra footage that didn't make it in. Either way, The Office fans are simply begging for a full cut of Mrs. Albert Hannaday, and maybe one day they'll get their wish.

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  The Office

  Cast:

  Mindy Kaling, Jenna Fischer, Kate Flannery, Ed Helms, Craig Robinson, Paul Lieberstein, Ellie Kemper, B.J. Novak, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nunez, Rainn Wilson, Brian Baumgartner, Phyllis Smith, Leslie David Baker, Creed Bratton, Steve Carell, John Krasinski

  Genres:

  Comedy, Drama, Sitcom

  Release Date:

  2005-03-24

  Seasons:

  9

  Story By:

  Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant

  Writers:

  Mindy Kaling, Paul Lieberstein, Michael Schur, Ricky Gervais, Greg Daniels, B.J. Novak

  Network:

  NBC

  Franchise(s):

  The Office

  Directors:

  Greg Daniels, Paul Lieberstein, Paul Feig, Randall Einhorn, Ken Kwapis

  Showrunner:

  Greg Daniels

  Season List:

  The Office - Season 1, The Office - Season 2, The Office - Season 3, The Office - Season 4, The Office - Season 5, The Office - Season 6, The Office - Season 7, The Office - Season 8, The Office - Season 9