Michael Showalter has a unique brand of comedy. One that fans of Wet Hot American Summer know incredibly well. The now acclaimed director has made a name for himself by tackling a lot of different genres with his work and even getting an Emmy award nomination for his work on The Dropout. Now, he’s tackling the holidays with his film Oh What Fun.
Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer) is the kind of mother who does everything for her family. Her children never have to question what the holidays are going to look like because Claire thinks of everything. But when she asks her family for one gift and they are a little too wrapped up in their own problems to do it, she takes matters into her own hands.
As is the case with Showalter’s work, the joy of Oh What Fun comes from its characters. Claire’s husband, Nick (Denis Leary), is oblivious to everything. Her daughter, Channing (Felicity Jones) is trying to voice her own issues with her mother as Taylor (Chloë Grace Moretz) is trying to prove to her family that her latest girlfriend is the one. And not to mention Sammy (Dominic Sessa) being depressed about a break-up.
Claire’s family cares about themselves, and it all comes to a head when Claire doesn’t get the one thing she asked for. Oh What Fun works because it is sadly a story as old as time. A mother tries to make the holidays the best they can be for her family and she is not given the same courtesy by her kids. Luckily, Showalter allows the audience to see how Claire is also not a perfect person at the same time with her relationship to Channing.
Channing is a mother herself and her husband, Doug (Jason Schwartzman) tries to be as encouraging as he can be but Claire refuses to listen to Channing’s requests and only cares about her vision of Christmas. It is two sides of the same coin. A mother’s word on Christmas is the law but what happens when the children take over?
All of this leads to fun moments, emotional beats, and all the trappings of a perfect Christmas movie for comedy fans everywhere.
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