OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY | Movie Review

Party hard in order to find your inner cool. (Again!)

After bitter CEO (Jennifer Aniston) tries closing down her hard-partying brother’s branch, he (T.J. Miller) and his Chief Technical Officer (Jason Bateman) must round up and rally their herd and host an epic office Christmas party in an effort to impress a potential client to close a sale that will save their jobs.

Nothing new. Another formulaic, edgy comedy we’ve seen before. First Act, the overly confident, careless, cocky bunch (with one humble soul) that have it all figured out. Second Act, a massive pile of shit hitting the fan, throwing them off their game. Third and final Act, chaotic comeback in order to prove themselves worthy. And there you have it, ladies and gentleman. The silver-lining to this is OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY holds up decently. Even though the flick loses its funny-bone during its final act, its tightened narrative flows quickly. Witty one-liners, over-the-top antics, and a pretty cool cast allows chaos to be fun and funny as it ensues. 

Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston live up to their usual selves (which isn’t bad), Olivia Munn has her moments, T.J. Miller, Rob Corddry and Kate McKinnon shine in unique ways… And tip-of-the-hat to two standouts: a pimp and an Uber driver. * Wink * Once you watch, you’ll see what mean. Overall, did it make me laugh? Sure. More than once? Sure. So… It isn’t bad. It does generate a jingle for all those upcoming holiday parties. 

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Grade: B- / Genre: Comedy / Rated: R / Run Time: 1:45

Starring: Jennifer Aniston, T.J. Miller, Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, Kate McKinnon, Rob Corddry, Jillian Bell, Randall Park, Vanessa Bayer, Courtney B. Vance, Karan Soni

Directed by: Will Speck , Josh Gordon

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