Ash
You’d think a line up of comic stars including Jennifer Anniston, Jason Bateman, TJ Miller, Olivia Munn and Kate McKinnon could bring some laughs to just about anything. You’d be wrong. The laughs during “Office Christmas Party” are few and far between.
Bateman, Miller and Munn star in the film as the heads of an IT branch who decide to throw the ultimate office Christmas party in a bid to land a big client and save their jobs, even though the CEO of the company (Aniston) banned Christmas parties. That’s really about all there is to the plot, so inevitably there’s a whole lot of padding. Cue accidental drug use, Jesus on a horse and a pimp with a gun.
That pimp is played by Jillian Bell, who was “particularly funny” in a similarly-sized role in last year’s Christmas release “The Night Before”. However even she can’t rescue this year’s holiday bender.
It pains me to say this because I’m genuinely a fan of most this cast, but “Office Christmas Party” manages to deliver only a handful of laughs throughout its entire 105 minute run time. Possibly the most predictable film I’ve seen all year and literally cringe-worthy, “Office Christmas Party” proves that you can’t just put a bunch of stars together and hope for the best. Don’t bother putting it on your list this Christmas.
