The biggest joy in the tradition known as the office holiday party is the opportunity to watch your coworkers — or better yet, your boss — possibly make fools of themselves, or act inappropriately, or provide some water-cooler gossip for weeks to come.
The lackluster comedy Office Christmas Party attempts to replicate that experience, failing to realize that such seasonal shenanigans aren’t as fun when you don’t know anybody, or when you can’t snap your own selfies with the guy who had one too many eggnogs.
Nevertheless, this low-brow and obnoxious effort presses ahead, overdosing on quirks and manufactured mayhem to the point it feels completely detached from reality.
The office in question is at a fledgling Chicago branch of a multinational tech firm, where Clay (T.J. Miller) inherited the managerial role after his father’s death. His chief technical officer (Jason Bateman) just finalized his divorce and is accused by his lead developer (Olivia Munn) of not taking risks when it comes to growing the company.
Company CEO Carol (Jennifer Aniston), who also happens to by Clay’s sister, pays a visit and cites bottom-line struggles in threatening job cuts. But when they need to impress a potential client (Courtney B. Vance) whose business could save employees and Christmas bonuses, Clay and his team decide to throw the biggest bash ever, as an act of desperation.
The film generates some scattered big laughs, and the screenplay’s low hit-to-miss ratio among its gags isn’t for lack of frenetic effort. The directing tandem of Josh Gordon and Will Speck (Blades of Glory) keeps the pace lively as the festivities spiral out of control in generally predictable fashion, with some occasional highlights.
Along the way, there’s a healthy dose of cynicism and a half-hearted satire of office politics and corporate greed that spawns a couple of third-act twists that are quite the party pooper. An edgier approach could have better enhanced the one-joke premise.
Aniston might not make a convincing Scrooge, but the ensemble cast features some talented comic actors who attempt to elevate the thin material. At least it’s a diverse group that seems to be having a blast, even if moviegoers won’t share much of that yuletide cheer.
