Directed by: Michael Showalter
Written by: Chandler Baker & Michael Showalter
Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Felicity Jones, Chloë Grace Moretz, Denis Leary, Dominic Sessa
Rating: [3/5]
As one continues to mature, the more they realize that the true magic of Christmas does not come from lights, or an overweight man in the North Pole, but rather the mothers that put all the time and effort to make the season special for their kids. Often in the background and not given the credit their deserve, Oh. What. Fun. seeks to honor the mothers of our lives and while the narrative tends to go off the rails, the characters we get here makes it a more than worthy viewing experience.
Every year, Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer) pulls out all the stops for her family for Christmas to very little acclaim. As her adult kids set to return for another season, she asks them to nominate her for recognition as a great mother at her favorite daytime television host. When all of her kids arrive, and she learns none of them nominated her and after forgetting about her for an event, she decides she’s had enough.
Starting out with a montage in respect to mothers during this holiday season, this film serves as a reminder of how much these individuals contribute if not completely hold responsibility for the fun we have during the holidays. I’m sure any mother who watches Oh. What. Fun. would agree with that sentiment, and this film does a great job in demonstrating this frustration that blows up and providing some wish fulfillment. This simmering rage finally explodes in this film and we can see exactly why.
As all of her kids return for the holidays, we witness an intriguing mix of kids each coming into the story with their own problems and completely neglecting their mother in the process. Channing (Felicity Jones), the oldest, has her own husband and kids and seeks to start her own Christmas traditions with her nuclear family. Then we have Taylor (Chloë Grace Moretz), who brings a new partner to Christmas every year and then the baby of the group, Sammy (Dominic Sessa), who just likes to mope around, especially following his recent break-up. All of these kids come home and present nothing but problems to their mother without an ounce of gratitude, and let’s not even get started on the husband (Denis Leary), who cannot even properly put together a dollhouse. All of this culminates in exactly the reason why she decides to blow off the holidays and focus on herself for the first time.
What works so well in this film is the reality of the justified anger Claire feels about this lack of acknowledgement from her family for all that she does, in addition to the recognition that she’s also not perfect herself. Yes, I was right there with here in the anger of this family of hers that enjoys the benefits of her labor and takes it for granted but the relationship dynamic she has with Channing hits one of the major chords of this film. It does not completely absolve the actions of these kids, but also presents a perspective that also exists for children of what they perceive as the perfect mother. It allows for this albeit silly film to have some richness to appreciate as well.
The casting works well in some cases and not so much in others. Michelle Pfeiffer is tremendous in the lead role, and the overt sweetness of this character somewhat took me aback because of how much I associate her with roles that have a bit more bite. One of the major pluses is Dominic Sessa, who recently broke out in The Holdovers and does a great job playing this pathetically sheepish son. It appears he’s building himself a nice canon of Christmas films under his belt at his young age. The one miss I would point out is Felicity Jones as Channing, whose American accent is hit-or-miss and in this role it felt glaringly out of place with the other characters. She’s displayed instances of utilizing the accent well in films this very year, but something was off here, and it distracted from her performance. In addition, we have plenty of great supporting characters portrayed by some household favorites like Danielle Brooks, Jason Schwartzman, Eva Longoria, Joan Chen, and Havana Rose Liu. A rather stacked cast for a Christmas movie, and they all have their moments to shine.
Quite enjoyable within its genre, Oh. What. Fun. provides plenty to appreciate as it seeks to provide appreciation to mothers and all they do for us during the holidays. The film does go off the rails the more it goes along, but it ultimately lands the plane well in the way it provides introspection not just for Claire’s family, but also our lead protagonist herself. An appropriate title for a film that hits all the right notes for the holiday season.
Films with Josh 
