by Henry Pham
Just letting know that the title is a reference to the lyrics of the song, “Jingle Bells.” Oh. What. Fun. is a Christmas comedy movie that focuses on Claire Clauster who wants to spend time with her chaotic, lovable family together, like every holiday season. However, this year, after planning a special outing for her family and slaving all day in the kitchen with no help nor getting credit for all the hard work she has done for the family, they make a crucial mistake and leave her home alone. Fed up and feeling underappreciated, she sets off on an impromptu, holiday adventure of her own. As her family scrambles to find her, Claire discovers the unexpected magic of a Christmas gone off-script.
Three-time Oscar nominee Michelle Pfeiffer (Dangerous Liaisons, Love Field, and The Fabulous Baker Boys) portrays her leading role as Claire Clauster, who wants to spend time with her family for Christmas. Pfeiffer is the heart and soul of the film, and she is the breadwinner of the entire cast, playing family members. She is doing whatever she can to bring the spirit of the holidays to her co-stars and crew. This movie makes me feel bad for Pfeiffer’s character, who has pulled a lot of weight. The rest of the ensemble cast – including Oscar nominee Felicity Jones (The Brutalist), Chloë Grace Moretz (Hugo), Denis Leary (Ice Age films), Dominic Sessa (The Holdovers), Oscar nominee Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple), Devery Jacobs (FX’s Reservation Dogs), Havana Rose Liu (Bottoms), Maude Apatow (HBO’s Euphoria), Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore), Eva Longoria (ABC’s Desperate Housewives) and Joan Chen (The Last Emperor) – are fun and hilarious to see, providing much humor and depth to the story.
Michael Showalter writes, produces, and directs this holiday comedy piece, marking the second holiday film he worked on, following Spoiler Alert. To those who don’t know him, he is known for directing The Big Sick (for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay) and The Eyes of Tammy Faye (the latter of which featured the leading actress and Oscar winner Jessica Chastain). The movie is based on the true story written by Chandler Baker and serves as a modern twist on National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, except with a female lead. There’s a lot of heart and humor in the story, though the latter is a huge standout for the film. However, the holiday humor falls flat on the storyline, while the second part of the film feels rushed and forced. Another issue is the usage of product placement, which is understandable but unnecessary.
But the most important Christmas ingredient of all is a powerful message about what real moms have been going through after all the hard work they have done for all of us, and we all took them for granted, which is the key theme of the story. Another theme is learning how to accept one’s own new holiday traditions for a change. These themes are something we need to learn and not to forget. The scenes between Michelle Pfeiffer and Eva Longoria are adorable, and they are my favorite scenes to watch, giving the feel like witnessing a woman meeting her favorite celebrity in person. The production and set design are festive, while the setting of Houston, Texas, is noticeable (as my main residence lies in Dallas, Texas).
I laughed and chuckled throughout the film, mainly in the first half. Despite the plot having some warm holiday heart, Oh. What. Fun. is a mixed bag of holiday humor and holiday mishaps. I actually got to see this in theaters before it came out on streaming for a fun cinema experience, which is a pretty fun holiday spectacle, if not better. The entire cast did a great job, but we need to give huge credit to actress Michelle Pfeiffer, who made everything possible, bringing up some laughs, tears, and humor. It may not be the perfect holiday for many people, but it may be a decent choice for those who want to see new and original Christmas movies instead of Christmas sequels or reboots. It is suitable for adults and teenagers. You can give this holiday comedy movie a try, maybe just one viewing (or two). It runs about 108 minutes long, and it’s up on Amazon Prime Video.
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