Who doesn’t love a cozy and harmless Christmas comedy movie? The holiday season is here, and often, movies like Home Alone, Bridget Jones’s Diary, or Planes, Trains and Automobiles make a good idea for re-watching. Prime Video’s latest offering, duh. What. fun. Provides a spin on that genre, highlighting how these films sideline the mothers and female characters who work so hard to make the holidays special and, instead, relegate them to supporting roles of extremely little importance.
Base
“Scrooge is famous for being grumpy over the holidays, and I’m not entitled to a little anger?” Michelle Pfeiffer’s Claire asks at the beginning. Fair point. Claire is a mother and now a grandmother who is busy making sure everything is in order with the whole family before Christmas Eve. However, the film, directed by Michael Showalter, makes the mistake of referencing those classic films early on, adding an invisible weight to the film that serves as a glaring reminder that it isn’t living up to those expectations.
Claire is crazy about the television show hosted by Jazzy Timms (Eva Longoria) and wants her children to nominate her for the annual Holiday Moms contest. But she can’t force it, can she? Her husband Nick (Denis Leary) isn’t as interested. His children? He is not sure. Eldest daughter Channing (Felicity Jones), who is married to Doug (Jason Schwartzman), arrives with her two children. Taylor (Chloë Grace Moretz) is here once again with her new girlfriend, while youngest child Sammy (Dominic Cessa) has just been abandoned by Mae-Bell (Maude Apatow). So he manages to make a face all the time, and then sing a song that makes the rest of the family groan.
movie review
Oh. What. fun
Claire is planning a special Christmas, however, her family has forgotten her. When they finally realize he is missing, their vacation is put in jeopardy.
director
Michael Showalter
mold
Michelle Pfeiffer, Felicity Jones, Chloë Grace Moretz, Dominic Cessa, Danielle Brooks
Does it work?
Chaos erupts in minor ways until the rest of the gang forgets to include Claire as they leave the house for the live dance performance she arranged in the first place. See the Home Alone reference? Yes, so far, the film feels judiciously aware of its aspirations. The characters are sometimes deliberately sarcastic, and amidst all the introductions and dialogue there isn’t a single moment of focused emotional engagement. Yet, after this major central crisis, the film doesn’t seem any closer to understanding Claire, so neither should we. This is not leading to anything extremely original, nor do we want that.
After all, predictability is what gives the genre such a comforting illusion. So, when the middle twist gives way to not much else to do – even for Claire, the issue remains like a bad joke. Oh. What. The fun is so predictable, oh so sneaky, and oh so incomplete at times that it takes a lot to keep it going past the last few minutes. Pfeiffer turns out to be innocent, as does the rest of the cast, especially Cessa. It doesn’t come anywhere close to what the Hallmark movies were said to improve upon in the first place. Good intentions are never enough, and this release is great at declaring that example.