Synopsis
When a company CEO tries to shut down her hard-partying
brother`s branch, the brother, who is the branch manager, and his Chief
Technical Officer rally their co-workers to host an epic Christmas party in the
office. They do so in hopes to impress a big client in order to save their jobs
but the gathering soon starts to get way out of hands.
In "Office Christmas Party," when the CEO tries to
close her hard-partying brother’s branch, he and his Chief Technical Officer
must rally their co-workers and host an epic office Christmas party in an
effort to impress a potential client and close a sale that will save their
jobs.
The movie is also more violent than many edgy comedies -- though, miraculously, no one gets seriously injured or killed. Guns are held to characters' heads, characters get in brawls, and there are scenes of mayhem, including a serious car accident.
When his uptight CEO Sister threatens to shut down his branch, the branch manager throws an epic Christmas party in order to land a big client and save the day, but the party gets way out of hand.
ReplyDeleteSo, now that the "story" is out the way, we can focus on the rest of it. According to consensus, this movie is a comedy - well you could've fooled me! Not only did I not laugh, I didn't even smirk. Not only did I not smirk, I didn't even smile internally. This is another one of those horrendous seasonal films that compiles a few well-known actors and dumps them into a loud, drugged up, semi-nude environment where everyone swears and talks about their genitals.
The script is appalling, there's nothing even slightly funny in there, and the comic timing is all over the place. The pathetic, sentimental ending was more infuriating than heartwarming and left more of a bitter taste than sweet.
The film — which reteams Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston, stars of the filmmakers’ second outing, The Switch — offers none of the goofy bliss of their directing debut, Blades of Glory. It does gather plenty of recognizable workplace types, though, and a few laugh-worthy one-offs, in the story of the poorly run Chicago branch of a tech company and its party to end all parties. Box-office revelers are sure to flock to this bash.
A workplace throwing an early-morning “non-denominational holiday mixer” with a one-drink maximum, as portrayed in the opening scene, is pretty much the on-the-job version of that overtly generic Starbucks yuletide coffee cup that was declared part of the supposed war on Christmas, is it not?
ReplyDeleteImagine if the iconic toga party in “Animal House” was the entire movie. It might be a kick for a while. But it was so much better coming after the Deltas were about to reach rock bottom and needed to have their rebellious spirits revived with excessive drinking, wild cavorting and acoustic-guitar smashing.
Basically, Aniston’s hard-of-nose and sleek-of-hair CEO Carol stomps into the Chicago branch of an internet company called Zenotek, starts tearing down the festive tinsel and threatens to close it because it isn’t contributing enough to the bottom line.
There are two performers in smaller roles that deserve to be put on Santa’s nice list. First up is Da’Vine Joy Randolph, as an aggressive security guard who probably has the best chemistry banter-wise with Bateman. Warily eyeing the rowdy overflow of off-the-street party crashers filling the office building’s lobby, she alerts him before he goes off to save Miller, “The security guard was the first one to go in “Die Hard.’”
I wish Sing were more than just its concept and a few solid musical numbers. But the marketing makes no illusions about the game being played. If you want what it’s selling, you’ll walk away happy. Sing has a song in its heart but lacks that skip in its step.
ReplyDeleteEach animal arrives under Buster’s marquee believing that this is their shot to change the course of their life.
The guys behind Despicable Me bring us another animated adventure about animals in the big city after The Secret Life of Pets - Sing follows Average Joes (a gorilla, some pigs, a porcupine etc) as they dream of fame and fortune and winning a talent show put on by a failing theatre supported by an increasingly nervous koala.
ReplyDeleteIn short, all the fun animals kids adore, and with a soundtrack that features songs we know and love (that we might not necessarily know the names of!) and a story of hope and self-belief.
Nobody cares what the folks at Zenotek do for a living, and even if their jobs wind up revolutionizing the way human beings use the internet, every second spent trying to justify the company’s existence is a second not invested in making this the funniest “Office Christmas Party” it can possibly be. (It’s like a “Hangover” movie in which the characters happen to discover the cure for cancer — you can’t help but think that maybe the screenwriters were focused on the wrong thing.) If the kids in “Project X” can throw a better house party than a bunch of Chicago grown-ups, then something’s wrong with this picture.
ReplyDeleteFrom the moment Walter gets some cocaine blasted into his face (by way of some misplaced fake snow), Office Christmas Party sets about its true goal: volleying as many gags, one-liners, and outsized comic setpieces at audiences as it can fit into one movie. Vending machines are thrown out of skyscraper windows. A man dressed as Jesus rides a horse through the office. Several employees have to voyage to a sinister nightclub in a rescue effort, eventually.
ReplyDeleteInstead, the overwrought climax gives the film its biggest (and most trailer-friendly) setpiece and culminates in Zenotek managing to accomplish something so fitfully impossible that it’s corny, and not in the fun, holiday-minded kind of way.