A young man left his posh Kingwood enclave recently and hopped on board a pontoon boot crossing a Georgia lake for The New Redneck Island, joining 23 other rowdy contestants for the reality TV show now airing at 9 p.m. Thursdays on CMT.
Hunter Larsen, a 2009 graduate of Kingwood High School, is one of the 12 guys and 12 gals fighting it out in various competitions — including mud-pit fights — for the grand cash prize of $100,000 to be awarded at the end of the season. In the premiere earlier this month, these muscle-bound, bikini-wearing Southerners dove right into the raucous action with beer bong chugging and language frequently bleeped.
Larsen, who told Your Houston News he doesn't consider himself a "redneck" but does enjoy being an outdoor-loving guy, landed the gig after interviewing via Skype. That led to a trip to Georgia for a personal introduction and then it was on with the show.
These muscle-bound, bikini-wearing Southerners dove right into the raucous action.
In its fourth season, The New Redneck Island is hosted by wrestling icon "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Jessie James Decker, a country pop singer/songwriter. The contestants pair up as teammates — and as bunkmates — in a Georgia lake house.
By the way, Larsen also describes himself as very competitive, so using the words of Austin, "If you want Larsen to open a can of whoop ass, gimme a Hell Yeah!"
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.
