Renée Zellweger, who lately has appeared in a string of career-stalling clunkers — anyone remember Leatherheads, Miss Potter, Appaloosa or New in Town? — is eyeing a comeback vehicle. The Katy native is reportedly in talks to co-star with main squeeze Bradley Cooper in a sequel to the wildly popular movie, The Hangover.
Zellweger currently starts with Cooper in a new thriller, Case 39. But, it too, has been panned by the critics. Tribune media critic Roger Moore writes that the movie is further proof that the actress has fallen off the A-list.
"This girl is in trouble," Renée Zellweger's character declares in Case 39, her first horror movie in 16 years. "I can FEEL it." As can we all. Zellweger, at 41 not really someone we'd call "girl" anymore, appears in full career regression with this generic supernatural thriller. A fine actress with an Academy Award, you'd think she would be far removed from playing a social worker trying to figure out if this creepy kid she's saved from abusive parents was the one who needed saving.
But the movie has one redeeming value. Zellweger and Cooper met on the set of Case 39 and he appears smitten. “Can’t say enough about her,” Cooper told Entertainment Tonight of Zellweger. “I never met her before this movie, but I just love her. I love coming to work. I love acting with her. I can learn so much from her.”
But in Hangover 2, the script calls for Zelwegger to have a one-night stand with someone other than Cooper.
Of all the formulaic movie genres, Christmas/holiday movies are among the most predictable. No matter what the problem is that arises between family members, friends, or potential romantic partners, the stories in holiday movies are designed to give viewers a feel-good ending even if the majority of the movie makes you feel pretty bad.
That’s certainly the case in Oh. What. Fun., in which Michelle Pfeiffer plays Claire, an underappreciated mom living in Houston with her inattentive husband, Nick (Denis Leary). As the film begins, her three children are arriving back home for Christmas: The high-strung Channing (Felicity Jones) is married to the milquetoast Doug (Jason Schwartzman); the aloof Taylor (Chloë Grace Moretz) brings home yet another new girlfriend; and the perpetual child Sammy (Dominic Sessa) has just broken up with his girlfriend.
Each of the family members seems to be oblivious to everything Claire does for them, especially when it comes to what she really wants: For them to nominate her to win a trip to see a talk show in L.A. hosted by Zazzy Tims (Eva Longoria). When she accidentally gets left behind on a planned outing to see a show, Claire reaches her breaking point and — in a kind of Home Alone in reverse — she decides to drive across the country to get to the show herself.
Written and directed by Michael Showalter (The Idea of You), and co-written by Chandler Baker (who wrote the short story on which the film is based), the movie never establishes any kind of enjoyable rhythm. Each of the characters, including competitive neighbor Jeanne (Joan Chen), is assigned a character trait that becomes their entire personality, with none of them allowed to evolve into something deeper.
The filmmakers lean hard into the idea that Claire is a person who always puts her family first and receives very little in return, but the evidence presented in the story is sketchy at best. Every situation shown in the film is so superficial that tension barely exists, and the (over)reactions by Claire give her family members few opportunities to make up for their failings.
The most interesting part of the movie comes when Claire actually makes it to the Zazzy Sims show. Even though what happens there is just as unbelievable as anything else presented in the story, Showalter and Baker concoct a scene that allows Claire and others to fully express the central theme of the film, and for a few minutes the movie actually lives up to its title.
Pfeiffer, given her first leading role since 2020’s French Exit, is a somewhat manic presence, and her thick Texas accent and unnecessary voiceover don’t do her any favors. It seems weird to have such a strong supporting cast with almost nothing of substance to do, but almost all of them are wasted, including Danielle Brooks in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo. The lone exception is Longoria, who is a blast in the few scenes she gets.
Oh. What. Fun. is far from the first movie to try and fail at becoming a new holiday classic, but the pedigree of Showalter and the cast make this dismal viewing experience extra disappointing. Ironically, overworked and underappreciated moms deserve a much better story than the one this movie delivers.
