It’s a holly, jolly ‘Office’ smut fest
In terms of content, there isn’t a whole lot of difference between the crude sexual humor and vulgarity of “Bad Santa 2” and “Office Christmas Party.”
Both Christmas-themed comedies traffic in the groin-fixated humor, debauchery, slapstick violence, substance abuse and corrosive foul language that characterizes much of today’s R-rated comedy. There is, however, one big difference — presentation. While “Bad Santa 2” delivers its dyspeptic yuks in a package wrapped in newspaper once used to line a bird cage, “Office Christmas Party” comes dressed up in sparkly paper with a pretty little bow.
It’s no less lowbrow, but feels as if it was made by happy — albeit smutty — elves, rather than disgruntled sweatshop workers. The elves in this case are co-directors
Josh Gordon and Will Speck of“Blades of Glory,” working from a filthy/funny script by Justin Malen, Laura Solon and Dan Mazer.
Mostly though, the film’s success is due to the commitment of its large, talented cast — including Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, T.J. Miller, Courtney B. Vance, Kate McKinnon, Rob Corddry, Jillian Bell and Jennifer Aniston — the last of whom delivers a coarser version of the America’s sweetheart gone sour character she played in the “Horrible Bosses” movies.
Here, her Carol Vanstone is the Grinch-y matriarch of a national tech firm, who is threatening layoffs on the day of the annual holiday party. They will happen unless her chief technology officer (Bateman) and the branch’s manager (Miller) — who also happens to be Carol’s brother, dimwitted and kindhearted in equal measure — can sign up a po- tential new client (Vance).
Cue the party, which has taken on a new level of urgency, since it is the only enticement the firm can use to seduce the customer.
What kind of party? One that serves eggnog via an ice sculpture in the shape of a priapic gnome, and includes an artificial snow machine that accidentally blasts Vance’s character with a face full of cocaine, brought by the prostitute (Abbey Lee) hired by a lovelorn IT worker (Karan Soni) to pose as his girlfriend.
Yes, it’s a party filled with easy stereotypes and silly jokes, all of them rendered with a glee that makes them less offensive than they ought to be.
“Office Christmas Party” is an invitation to the kind of mind- and conscience-erasing escapism that doesn’t really exist outside of movie theaters. That level of heightened unreality only gives Bateman more opportunity to access his bottomless reservoir of sardonic put-out deadpan and for Miller to play the buffoon.
It also makes it easy to forget our own troubles, as long as we’re willing to leave good taste, common sense and decorum at the coat check.