Movie Review – Office Christmas Party

‘Tis the season for celebration. The end of December is one of those times that many people look forward to. Snow’s first fall. Colorful lights. Festive decorations. Magical music. Gifts galore. Then there’s the parties. Sooooo many parties. The problem is that we live in a litigious time where most companies are too afraid to put themselves out there. One man throws caution to the wind as he looks to throw the most epic Office Christmas Party in the ironic hope that it’ll save the company.

Family squabbles during the holidays are nothing new, but for Clay Vanstone (T.J. Miller) the stakes are higher than expected. Clay runs a successful branch of operations in NYC. The problem is that his overbearing sister, Carol (Jennifer Aniston), who is also the company’s CEO wants even more success. She rides into town threatening to shut the entire operations down, just as she did to another branch, UNLESS Clay and his team can find a way to double the profitability that his branch is currently posting. Oh, and this will need to be done in less than one day’s time. Talk about being a real Grinch! Undeterred by his sister’s spiteful ways, Clay springs into action and the end results are epic.

T.J. Miller (HBO’s Silicon Valley, Deadpool (2016)) leads a hilarious cast of actors in Office Christmas Party. Jason Bateman (Horrible Bosses (2011), Bad Words (2013)) plays Clay’s closest friend, Josh, and right hand man at work. Olivia Munn (Ride Along 2 (2016)) is the tech wizard. The hits just keep on coming with people like Kate McKinnon (Ghostbusters (2016)), Rob Corddry (Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015), Randall Park (Trainwreck (2015)) and Karan Soni (Deadpool (2016)). But it’s Jennifer Aniston (We’re the Millers (2013)) that continues to break away from her television persona. She takes full advantage of the liberties that come with being a part of a rated R comedy. An honorable mention should also go to Fortune Feimster (Fox’s The Mindy Project) who just steals every scene that she’s in….which is unfortunately only a couple.

It’s easy to think that Office Christmas Party would be one of those lazy, cheap gags-o-plenty comedies. Well you’d be surprised. Yes, there are many silly moments throughout but the overall quality of comedy isn’t THAT immature. I have a sneaking suspicion that T.J. Miller will take as many creative liberties as he can. This type of acting tends to be infectious in that it brings out the immature child in everyone. As for the plot itself, there’s nothing groundbreaking here and everything can be seen coming from miles away. Even so, the overall enjoyment factor doesn’t suffer much.

Every year a couple of seasonal comedies usually hit the big screen. Office Christmas Party comes in first place this year as far as Christmas comedies go. Last year The Night Before (2015) was the movie that caught audiences by surprise and that trend should repeat this year. T.J. Miller is definitely Seth Rogen-esque and sticking with the adult themed nature is a smart play. For those that need to blow off steam and want escape to a fun safe place, this is your ticket. If you happen to work in an office environment then you’ll enjoy your experience even more. If you’re lucky enough to be having an actual office party this year then this is definitely for you. Bring a pen and pad of paper to take some good notes for great ideas.