Oh. What. Fun. Review: Michelle Pfeiffer Shines in Michael Showalter’s Passable Christmas Comedy
The opening scene in Oh. What. Fun. perfectly encapsulates the inner frustration of an underappreciated mum like Claire Clauster, played by Michelle Pfeiffer. In one of her voiceover narrations, she mutters about how she could name a dozen holiday movies featuring men as main characters, covering It’s a Wonderful Life to The Santa Clause and particularly, Steve Martin in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Yes, that 1987 holiday classic about a frustrating marketing executive experiencing the worst days of his life trying to get home from New York to Chicago for Thanksgiving. And yet, holiday movies about mums are sidelined, and according to Claire, they need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays.
No doubt a spot-on meta commentary, and if only the movie lives up to the expectations. Don’t get me wrong, Oh. What. Fun. has its fair share of worthwhile moments, while the movie benefits from Pfeiffer’s solid lead performance as the long-suffering mother who finally had enough and does the unthinkable. And that is, packing her bag and driving off on Christmas Eve. Why? Her family somehow forgets about her when they are rushing to catch the live performance of a holiday dancing show.
But it takes director Michael Showalter, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Chandler Baker, around 50 minutes or so to get to the major part where Claire, well, can’t take it anymore. I understand that it’s equally important to establish a narrative about how it all leads to Claire’s drastic action, but efficiency doesn’t seem to be a priority within Showalter’s storytelling. If it’s not for Pfeiffer and the colourful cast holding everything together during the somehow protracted first half, it would have completely missed the mark.
It begins during the Christmas season, when Claire is getting ready for everything — cooking, planning, and all the usual must-dos — since her children are coming back home. Her husband, Nick (Denis Leary), may have been supportive, but it looks like Claire is doing all the hard work. We also learn Claire has been sending text messages to her children, hinting at them about a TV holiday special hosted by Zazzy Tims (Eva Longoria) in an effort to win a contest.
But none of them seem to care after her children — all grown-up adults including Channing (Felicity Jones), who married to nerdy husband Doug (Jason Schwartzman); Taylor (Chloë Grace Moretz) who brings home her latest girlfriend Donna (Devery Jacobs); and Sammy (Dominic Sessa), the youngest sibling who recently experienced a painful break-up — arrives home.
The movie also introduces a quintessential obnoxious character typically seen in this type of movie, and here, we have Joan Chen playing Claire’s neighbour, Jeanne Wang-Wasserman. At first, the movie depicts the never-ending feud between Claire and Jeanne, and it’s getting somewhere, only to be subsequently abandoned midway as if Showalter suddenly remembers he needs to prioritise the important plot point. Yes, that part revolves around Claire being left behind when the rest of the family rushes for the aforementioned show.
So, the second half zeroes in primarily on Claire hitting the road, while the family is left wondering about her whereabouts and must make do with whatever they can to spend their Christmas. Despite the initial promise, Oh. What. Fun. mostly sticks to the same old conventional holiday-movie formula, complete with the obligatory hit-and-miss comedy stretch. It could have been better, especially with the pitch-perfect casting of Michelle Pfeiffer leading the movie. Instead, what we have here is a decent, star-studded Christmas comedy with enough moving parts here and there to keep you occupied throughout its 108-minute runtime.
Oh. What. Fun. is streaming on Prime Video.
