“You don’t want to get left behind!”
One of the things I’ve noticed about Michael Showalter is the reverence he has for older actresses. The writer/director gave Sally Field her best latter day role in Hello, My Name is Doris (which should’ve netted her an Oscar nomination), allowed Holly Hunter to showcase both her comedic chops and her empathy in The Big Sick, directed Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in two of Grace and Frankie’s most hilarious episodes, and even reunited with Field; giving her a plum supporting role in the underrated dramedy Spoiler Alert. Far from being older (although not by Hollywood standards), Showalter also managed to give both Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway worthwhile roles as well. There’s a feeling that the filmmaker not only recognizes the fact that women over 40 have worthwhile stories to tell, but that their ethereal qualities only strengthen as years pass. At least, that’s what his latest effort, the Amazon holiday comedy Oh. What. Fun., starring a luminous Michelle Pfeiffer, proves. It’s a movie that, despite having a lot going on, remains so clearly enamored by and interested in its legendary leading lady.
In Oh. What. Fun., loving suburban mom Claire (Pfeiffer) does everything to ensure that her family’s Christmas is always perfect. This year, all she wants in return is for her adult children, Channing (Felicity Jones), Taylor (Chloe Grace Moretz), and Sammy (Dominic Sessa) to nominate her for the “holiday mom contest,” sponsored by her favorite talk show. However, not only do they forget to nominate Clarie, but the whole family, including husband Nick (Denis Leary) and son-in-law Doug (Jason Schwartzman), accidentally leave her behind as everyone heads out to a Christmas dance concert she herself planned. Fed up with trying to make everything perfect for her family and getting nothing in return, Claire sets out on the road adventure she feels she deserves.
Comedy-wise, Oh. What. Fun. is Showalter’s most ambitious venture to date. Almost all of his efforts have been laugh-filled, but not since Wet Hot American Summer has the filmmaker adopted such an “everything but the kitchen sink” mentality, with the film being (largely) one comedic sequence after another, usually featuring a great supporting player. Among them is a rival neighbor played by Joan Chen, whom Claire continuously tries to outdo in the holiday cheer department, and Eva Longoria as the exasperated host/underappreciated mom of the show Claire wants so desperately to be on. In between, there’s Danielle Brooks as a delivery driver who shares a motel room with Claire and comes equipped with her own whale machine to fall asleep to, and Barnaby, the elf on the shelf, who keeps mentally torturing Doug by randomly appearing everywhere he is for no reason. With this many characters and cameos, it would be safe to assume that some comedy-driven scenes work more than others, and that’s just what happens. But Oh. What. Fun. is a true distillation of Showalter’s funny bone and his knack for the absurd. One sequence early on sees Claire stealing a five-wick candle from a department store to give to Chen’s character (who gave her a three-wick one) because she can’t bear the long line. This results in a stand-off in the parking lot between Claire in her car and a large group of mall cops. Apparently, Showalter wanted more mall cops to make the sequence even punchier, but the studio said no.
There are obviously a number of themes beyond the laughter in Oh. What. Fun. that more than justifies its many jokes. The film is first and foremost an earnest ode to the mothers who do everything for their family out of sheer love at the risk of not being acknowledged. It’s not that lack of acknowledgement that stings for Claire, but rather the lack of overall appreciation for being the everlasting glue holding her family together. Claire’s primary mission in her life is to ensure she’s done everything for her family, with no task being too big or small. When the realization hits that no one has even thought about her own needs, it’s an incredibly sobering moment for her. Pfeiffer and Showalter present this sad epiphany beautifully, with Claire walking around the perfectly decorated empty house as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” plays. When she eventually plops herself down on the couch, feeling incredibly despondent, a look falls on her face indicating that Claire is now questioning her identity after learning that her family supposedly doesn’t need her anymore. It’s quite honestly Oh. What. Fun.‘s best moment and a great starting point to the rest of the film, which sees its heroine adopt a new persona, one who isn’t dependent on anyone’s happiness except her own. The Claire that we see in the of the rest of the film is a liberated one who is still faced with finding out what she wants and who she is now, but who also cannot wait to find out.
Showalter hasn’t ever had trouble attracting great talent thanks to the winning nature of his projects, and Oh. What. Fun. is no exception. Leary (back after a long absence) is great as the slightly clueless dad, while Moretz continues to prove how sharp her comedic skills are. Sessa and Schwartzman both dig into the goofy nature of their characters with the perfect level of abandon, while Chen, Brooks, and Longoria all nail their laughs, even if we wouldn’t mind more of them. It’s Jones who scores the most out of the supporting ensemble with her character. Stuck between loving her mother and feeling frustrated that she doesn’t understand her, gives her enough great moments to make you want to imagine an alternate version focused solely on Channing and Claire.
But it’s Pfeiffer’s show all the way. The assortment of supporting players, the various set pieces, locations, comedic setups, and punchlines, none of it would work without someone of Pfeiffer’s caliber. The actress has often commented on how she’s never been particularly strong at comedy. Yet winning comedic turns in everything from Married to the Mob to One Fine Day to Hairspray say differently. Claire is a great character for the actress, as it lets her go beyond the traditional straight man role most of her past comedies have cast her as to score laughs in her own right, which she does a number of times. Seeing her do the running man on live TV is a real giggle. In true Pfeiffer fashion, however, she manages to ground the silliness with a number of pensive looks and somewhat introspective moments, which have Claire wondering where she fits in now.
Oh. What. Fun. represents something of a sad milestone in the 21st-century phase of Michelle Pfeiffer’s career. It’s the most widely-released movie where she’s the main attraction since 2000s What Lies Beneath. The actress has given plenty of lead performances in the 25 years since, but nothing with as much visibility as this project. I Am Sam, The Family, The Wizard of Lies, and The First Lady saw her serve as secondary/co-lead, while I Could Never Be Your Woman, Personal Effects, and Where Is Kyra? each suffered from distribution issues. The actress did score great acclaim for Cheri and French Exit, but those films were only catered to arthouse audiences. In another (much better) world, Oh. What. Fun. would have been released in theaters where it actually belongs. The pedigree of the cast, its Rockwell-esque look, and the director’s track record all signify that this is an actual movie, not just another title on streaming. But it’s Pfeiffer in all her glory, lighting up every scene she’s in, lifting the film way above its platform trappings, who delivers on the movie’s title, while also reminding us why she remains a true movie star.
