Oh. What. Fun. Review
You can probably count the number of genuinely good Christmas films on the fingers of one hand. OK, let’s be generous and say both. Setting aside the annual Die Hard debate, chances are It’s A Wonderful Life, The Muppet Christmas Carol and Elf would be there, perhaps with the more recent Klaus and The Holdovers. Trailing in their wake is a seemingly infinite list of also-rans, which tap into all the traditions but, instead of good cheer, bring little more than sentiment and slush. With such an ambiguous title, Michael Showalter’s latest for Prime Video, Oh. What. Fun. could fall into either camp. It depends on how much irony you hear in it and your definition of fun.
As ever, the director has assembled an attractive cast, this time for an attempt at a festive family comedy which takes its inspiration from Home Alone. Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer) is getting ready for yet another spectacular Christmas with her expanding family – husband Nick (Denis Leary), daughters Channing (Felicity Jones) and Taylor (Chloe Grace Moretz), son Sammy (Dominic Sessa), son-in-law Doug (Jason Schwartzman), grandchildren …. you get the picture. She’s turned the holiday season into an art form, up until midnigh,t preparing for the big day, filling their palatial home with Christmas spirit and feasting until it bursts. Yet all her efforts go unnoticed, so when the family set off for a concert in town, it’s only when they arrive at the theatre that they realise they’ve left Claire behind. Hurt and outraged in equal measure, she packs a bag and sets off into the snowy night in search of her own Christmas dream.
There’s a sniff of potential in the idea behind Oh. What. Fun. The festivities all depend on one person to make them happen, and it’s all too easy for the rest of the family to take Mum and her efforts for granted. This is all established right at the start in a nicely tart scene, which sees Pfeiffer rebuking a trio of unpleasantly noisy children. But, as we soon discover, this is actually the highlight of the film, and we’re soon whisked away on her road trip as she heads for the studios of her favourite daytime TV show. Back home, the rest of the family struggles with the practicalities of Christmas Day and having to spend time with each other. Fun? Not really. More a case of Oh. Dear. Me. Because this is just over 100 minutes of cliches, feeble attempts at humour, an ongoing rivalry with a neighbour and a quality cast trying their hardest with a script which sounds like it’s had too much eggnog. In fact, it’s probably more interesting trying to work out how one woman manages to run their massive home single-handed. The immaculate house is vast, totally dust-free – and inexplicably free of any domestic help. How does she do it?
It’s deeply disappointing to see a classy cast squandered in such a sad effort, especially Jones, who is woefully mis-cast as the eldest daughter and Sessa, who has little else to do other than create a lesser version of his character in The Holdovers. As for the rest of the line-up, it’s all very much by numbers: the loveable but hapless men, the guest whose diet causes culinary chaos and a family that’s excessively dysfunctional. Christmas cracker rejects all round. No doubt Oh. What. Fun. will find an audience – one that wants something Christmassy on the TV in the background while their minds are elsewhere. They’ll be writing last-minute cards, decorating the tree and scoffing mince pies. In other words, doing anything but watching this film.
★
On Prime Video from December 3rd / Michelle Pfeiffer, Denis Leary, Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Dominic Sessa, Jason Schwartzman, Joan Chen, Eva Longoria / Dir: Michael Showalter / Prime Video / 12
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