Thanks to the cast, Office Christmas Party is funnier than you have heard, but it also plays it surprisingly safe for a wild party movie.
This is one of those movies that you think has already been made but somehow hasn’t. A movie about a crazy office Christmas party? Surely that’s been done.
Apparently not.
The plot is incredibly simple, which works to its benefit. On the eve of their branch being shut down, an office full of misfits throw a massive Christmas bash in an insane attempt to save their jobs. And, shockingly, everything goes awry. Who could have possibly seen that coming?
The biggest thing with over the top comedies is the capability of the cast to deliver big laughs and this movie is no slouch. Rob Corddry. T.J. Miller. Vanessa Bayer. Jason Bateman. Olivia Munn. Jillian Bell. Courtney B. Vance. Randall Park. Kate McKinnon. Jennifer Aniston. This is a crew of some of the funniest people out there today. T.J. Miller is, as always, a standout performer and steals pretty much every scene. The same can be said of Jillian Bell and Rob Corddry. Courtney B. Vance kind of steps out in a big, surprising way, particularly after playing Johnnie Cochran in The People vs. O.J. Simpson.
It’s also genuinely a pleasure to see Olivia Munn in this movie. On Attack of the Show, she was always funny so making a move into comedy seemed like a natural fit. We’ve seen less of her in big screen comedies than expected. Office Christmas Party is the comedy role she has needed. Hopefully, there are more like it one the way.
Then there’s Jennifer Anniston. It’s not that she’s a stranger to comedy, both on the big screen and on TV screens, but the last couple of years have seen her take a few roles outside of her normal range. Since this is her third movie with Jason Bateman in recent years, maybe he inspires her. All that matters is that these roles suit her.
And, wow, is Kate McKinnon exceptional. She always is. More Kate McKinnon, please.
Beyond these individual performances, the story is exceedingly basic. Then again, you don’t go to movies like this for an engrossing story that’s well thought out and not full of plot holes. That would be a detriment to the comedy. I don’t mean that sarcastically. The plot is tertiary to insane gags and absurd performances, and that’s the way it should be.
Where this movie falls flat is in the trailers, a problem not unique to Office Christmas Party but definitely works to its detriment. Too many of the best gags are laid out before you even step foot in the theatre. You end up waiting for moments you saw in the trailers to pop up. Thankfully, some of those moments didn’t make the final cut of the movie. The depth of the involvement of Rob Corddry doesn’t come through in the trailers, either, which works to the film’s benefit. His insanity adds some more dimension to the shenanigans. And those trailers don’t really tell you much about Jillian Bell’s character, either. Again, this is a good thing has her ridiculousness is always welcome.
While Office Christmas Party does have a lot of big laughs in it and some moments that definitely qualify as over the top, it still feels kind of safe.
Audiences have been watching crazy party movies for a long time. While using an office Christmas party specifically as the base is a somewhat unique idea, partying hard on the big screen is a staple. The Hangover. Neighbors. Old School. Animal House. Keeping in mind three of those examples are focused on frats and the fourth might as well be, these are just a drop in the bucket compared to the volume of comedies about people who party. It takes a lot to make a movie about a raging throwdown to stand out. And there are times in Office Christmas Party where it absolutely does. That being said, there are also times when it feels like the movie makes the relatively safe choice for the genre. There were plenty of opportunities to take things even further and they steered clear of it.
Honestly, the plot of the party to save the business was kind of unnecessary. They literally could have just had one big party that got out of hand and that would have been enough.
As long as it gets far enough out of hand, at least.
All in all, Office Christmas Party is a funny movie that has some stellar individual performances and great gags but still needed take the anarchy a couple of steps further.