In an attempt to save the company’s branch from shutting down, its manager decides to close a deal by throwing a party that is blown out of proportion.
Watched it for the third time and found it as hilarious! Act I: Every sequence is an introduction to the most surrealistic employee and manager you’ve ever met in your life! The plot point? Have a forbidden party that will seal the deal with the man who will save their company! This steadily paced first act lights up the fuse of a satirical bomb about to explode.
Act II: The ostensibly boring party gets started, and this is where the calm begins before the storm begins. Admittedly, the fuse seems to be burning and burning for a while, with funny lines, shenanigans and other minor unexpected circumstances, but that is only the delay of the inevitable. The first part’s editing is considerably slower than the second as the party’s premise needs to be fully introduced. The snow machine, the Game of Thrones Iron Throne, the decorations, the booze, the trolleys, the staff, Jesus, the reindeer and horses… So, everything is blown out of proportion when the fuse is burnt! Eating, drinking, making out, printing off genitalia, throwing offices out of the window, reindeer drinking water from the toilets, orgies all over, burning the place down… That is THE Christmas office party we all wish we could have been in (and, arguably, keep working there after). Of course, act III is the expected and unsurprising resolution, but Office Christmas Party promises a lot of laughter and no twists. The finale is befitting and settles the intended scores.
Directors/producers Josh Gordon and Will Speck bring to life the script of Justin Malen, Laura Solon, and Dan Mazer in the most Christmas-y, dirty way possible. Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, T.J. Miller, Jennifer Aniston, Kate McKinnon, Courtney B. Vance, Jillian Bell, Rob Corddry, Vanessa Bayer, Randall Park, Karan Soni, Jamie Chung, and all the rest of the cast and crew shine on camera and show no remorse for, arguably, their funniest appearances. Bateman is one of a kind; it is unbelievable that the same guy is in front and behind the camera in Ozark (2017 – 2022). I take my hat off to him. That was, by the way, his fifth collaboration with Jennifer Aniston.
But I will leave my hat off for the editors Jeff Groth and Evan Henke. Always remember that what you see is the final cut of a film with numerous takes, numerous angles, and numerous parameters to consider when choosing the ‘right’ one. Christmas Office Party is inundated with funny lines and performances. Finding the ‘right’ cut at the ‘right’ moment during or after the line, but also thinking of the actor’s/actress’ performance is… hell! When the speaker speaks the line, the editor cuts to the listener’s reaction and for how long after the line is art! A small part of my research is on that, but I’m only giving some food for thought.
I very much hope you enjoy it, as well as this festive period.
P.S. upon wrapping up, all furniture and props (that remained intact) were donated to the Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta, which donated them to homeless people and people who had suffered from domestic violence and moved into stable housing (source: IMDb).
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