Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Language, drinking, drugs in flat holiday comedy.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Oh. What. Fun.
What's the Story?
In OH. WHAT. FUN., Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer) loves Christmas, and she works nonstop to make sure the holidays are perfect for her husband, Nick (Denis Leary); their grown children, Channing (Felicity Jones), Taylor (Chloe Grace Moretz), and Sammy (Dominic Sessa); and Channing's children and husband, Doug (Jason Schwartzman). But nobody seems to notice Claire's hard work, and nobody ever says thank you. When the family goes to an event Claire organized and forgets her at home, she feels taken for granted and overlooked for the last time. Obsessed with getting on a TV show hosted by a woman named Zazzy Tims (Eva Longoria), Claire decides to leave her family and drive to Los Angeles.
Is It Any Good?
This unfunny comedy misses the mark on both its intended laughs and more serious messages. Oh. What. Fun. seems built around star Pfeiffer, but her character is directed in such a way as to make her unbelievable and frankly cringey. Her Claire also has an accent that comes and goes (and why don't her Houston-bred children have accents too?), and she contributes a voiceover that also comes and goes, sometimes confusingly speaking right over other characters.
The fact that Claire is either resentfully toiling for her ungrateful family, watching daytime talk TV, competing with her female neighbor, or weirdly bonding with new female friends over vaginal operations all feels like an outsider's view of what it means to be a woman. It's false, and the whole holiday disaster falls flat. Moms may deserve a holiday film, as Claire suggests, but it's not this one.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about whether Claire was justified in running away in Oh. What. Fun. What else could she have done?
Do you see any of the same dynamics in your own family of one person carrying a heavier workload than others, often without recognition?
Was this a holiday movie? How would it change if it were set at other times of the year?
What parts of this film felt realistic and what parts unrealistic to you?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : December 3, 2025
- Cast : Michelle Pfeiffer , Denis Leary , Felicity Jones
- Director : Michael Showalter
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Prime Video
- Genre : Comedy
- Topics : Family Stories , Holidays
- Run time : 105 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : some drug use, sexual material and strong language
- Last updated : December 3, 2025
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