Moms are often the unsung heroes of the household, especially when it comes to the Holiday season. The message behind Oh What Fun is really thoughtful, but its incredibly misguided execution makes for a frustrating experience devoid of Christmas cheer.
The major thing that drew me into this movie was its impressive cast (and my wife forcing me at gunpoint to watch it with her). Michelle Pfeiffer, Jason Shwartzman, Chloe Moretz, Felicity Jones and breakout Star Dominic Sessa - this is a solid roster of talent who are almost all wasted in this underbaked holiday “treat”. There are some good performances here, but those aren’t enough to make up for lazy writing and uninteresting characters. It’s not that anything here is offensively bad. No, it’s worse than that - it’s all so bland and uninspired. Coming from Michael Showalter, I really expected a little more ingenuity. There’s a romantic subplot with Dominic Sessa and Havana Rose Liu that did spark a little bit of magic, but I think I’d credit that more to the actors’ chemistry and enjoyable performances than the writing.
The most glaring issue is how much the film’s message misses its mark. A movie about an under-appreciated mom doesn’t work if she’s constantly reminding everyone how much she should be appreciated. Claire (Pfeiffer) is a bit of a narcissist, who constantly nags her family about entering her into a “mom of the year” contest because she deserves a vacation. She also pettily competes with her neighbour, shoplifts because she doesn’t want to wait in line, and abandons her family on Christmas Eve because of a mixup over who was supposed to be driving her to an event. I wanted to empathize with her, but her behaviour made it difficult to relate.
Like an inflatable lawn Santa with a leak, Oh What Fun is flat. Michelle Pfeiffer is reliably entertaining, and there are a few moments of Holiday magic amongst the supporting cast, but otherwise this is closer to a lump of coal than a gift.
Rating: ★★
Review by: Benjamin Garrett