It’s been some time since I reviewed a real comedy (I suppose The Edge of Seventeen was a comedy but I’d put that into a comedy/drama category), and it’s been a much longer time since I’ve reviewed a comedy that I was really excited for. Office Christmas Party looks to fill an itch for a really over-the-top raunchy comedy; i.e. Hangover style.

Story: Story is simple enough. Office is very strict. Mean lady wants to shut office down. Office throws big party to get a business deal to save everyone’s jobs. Party gets out of control and hilarity ensues. The story is straight forward (for the most part) and has all the typical tropes you’d expect to see in a movie like this. My biggest problem is the ending is too “perfect.” Everything little problem gets settled and most make sense but others are just confusing; the example here is brother and sister absolutely hate each other for their entire lives and then at the end of the movie they basically just kiss and make up (so to speak). It’s just kind of dumb and that is saying something coming from a movie like this.

Acting: This is the part of the review where I talk about the actors and actresses and whether they were go or not but I think I can condense everything this time. The acting is bland but it works. No one really stands out and each actor plays the same character they play in every other movie in their careers, which is a good thing for some people and a bad thing for others.

Presentation: Aside from some weird shots, the presentation is very safe (though I guess that’s not surprising coming from a comedy). The stand out here is the soundtrack, which covers party songs from the past and present and some occasional hip-hop versions of Christmas songs and those are perfect.

Effect: I went into this thinking it’d be like the Hangover and as funny as the Hangover and in this regard I was very wrong. It is unfortunately not that funny, yet it is still funny. Some of the jokes fall flat but many others are damn hilarious. I’m also giving extra points to the jokes and jabs at the PC culture going on today. Really hits the nail on the head with how dumb it can be some times.

Other: Again, I’ll add points here for science since this is probably a movie best enjoyed with a group of friends and I saw it alone. As for the question of seeing it in theaters or not, well it’s up to you. It’s funny but not that funny, so I guess it depends on if you like the premise. If you do, then see it while it’s in your local theater. If not. Well. Wait for Netflix (or the streaming site of your choosing).

Bringing this to a close, what you have here is a solid comedy  that is moderately funny with a cast that is about what you’d expect and all behind a soundtrack that is absolutely perfect.

Story: 6
Acting: 7
Presentation: 7
Effect: 7
Other: 6

Score: 6.6

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