Office Christmas Party

     Office Christmas Party is directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck (Blades of Glory) and stars Jason Bateman (Horrible Bosses), Olivia Munn (X-Men: Apocalypse), and T.J. Miller (Silicon Valley). Perhaps the simplest summary of the year, the movie takes place during an office Christmas party, as the company’s boss has to save his company from being shut down by landing a big client.

     The best part about Office Christmas Party is the party itself. Hilarity and hijinks lie around every corner as the party gets progressively larger and crazier as the night itself goes on. As certain plot points come out, the bigger the party gets as caution is thrown to the wind. And Christmas comedies of this nature tend to have an undeniable charm. 

     But when the movie leaves the party, the scenes fall flat, which unfortunately happens far too often. When you have a premise as simple as an office Christmas party, I find it hard to believe that they decide to leave the party for the climax and resolution of the story. Staying within the party would have provided for more laughs and a more enjoyable experience.

     T.J. Miller is a highlight, doing his best to carry an awkward storyline with the wit and charm found in many of his other works, such as Deadpool and Silicon Valley. His career is one to watch as it is just starting to hit the mainstream. But the bigger names, such as Bateman, Anniston, and Munn, tended to play it safe. Where it could have been a chance for them to let loose and have fun, much of the movie instead felt boring when their characters were on the screen. But the biggest disappointment was Jillian Bell as a pimp. I wasn’t sure what to expect but based on her previous work, including Workaholics and 22 Jump Street, I thought she would turn in another believable and funny performance. But her character was over the top in the worst way possible and when her character came on screen, I was waiting for the scene to end.

     Although going into a comedy of this nature, I shouldn’t expect much from a story telling standpoint, the believability of the major plot points was laughably bad. The resolution of the movie felt ham-fisted, completely unbelievable, and tied everything together a bit to conveniently.

     Office Christmas Party has the charm of being a Christmas movie and the kinetic energy courtesy of T.J. Miller but the rest of the cast and multiple storytelling problems lead to this being one you can save to see for quite some time.

When should you see it?

Redbox