by Charles Kirkland, Jr.
When a mother is forgotten at Christmas, she realizes she has had enough in the Prime Video holiday comedy Oh. What. Fun.
Claire has always been a fixer. She cannot help it. Every Christmas, she is the engine behind the sprawling family celebration, orchestrating every detail for her now-adult children while simultaneously waging suburban holiday warfare against her flawlessly put-together, cardigan-clad neighbor, Jeanne Wang-Wasserman. But this year, Claire’s one wish is simple: she wants her children to finally see her. All they have to do is submit her application for the “Mother of the Year” contest on the holiday special of Zazzy Tims’ daytime talk show. Despite her gentle nudges, painfully and predictably, her kids forget.
The last straw snaps when they also forget to take her to the highly anticipated Christmas dance show the family has been planning to attend. Left literally and figuratively alone, Claire reaches a turning point. If no one else is going to champion her, she will take ownership of the holiday herself and perhaps, for the first time, of her own personal joy.
Oh. What. Fun., written by Michael Showalter and Chandler Baker and directed by Showalter, boasts an impressive ensemble: Michelle Pfeiffer, Denis Leary, Felicity Jones, Chloë Grace Moretz, Dominic Sessa, Jason Schwartzman, Joan Chen, Maude Apatow, Danielle Brooks, and Eva Longoria. Pfeiffer especially grounds the film with a blend of comic precision and emotional vulnerability that elevates even its broadest beats.
The film is one of those Christmas stories that instantly feels familiar, not in the formulaic Hallmark or Lifetime sense, but in the broader, lived-in tradition of seasonal movies. It mirrors some of the core beats of Home Alone: the mother who is forgotten, left behind, and forced to fend for herself. Yet the third act lands in a surprisingly grounded place, even as the movie indulges in a few warm, Hallmark-esque moments toward its conclusion.
Unsurprisingly, Oh. What. Fun. leans heavily into the idea that mothers are often overlooked during the holidays, despite being the invisible scaffolding that holds everything together. And while that is a sentiment many families can relate to, the film broadens the theme: the thanklessness of motherhood is not seasonal; it is constant.
In a twist that feels both honest and a little self-aware, the movie then tries to undo the guilt it has spent so long cultivating. It suggests that mothers do not just endure being needed, they sometimes thrive on it. Like a good mother, the film offers comfort even as it delivers hard truths, leaving the audience with the sense that recognition, while overdue, is always worth giving.
Rated PG-13 for some drug use, sexual material, and strong language, Oh. What. Fun. may not reinvent the holiday-movie wheel, but it navigates familiar terrain with charm, warmth, and a pointed, at times uncomfortable, honesty. It is a film that recognizes the emotional labor behind the season and, fittingly, gives the overlooked matriarch her overdue moment at center stage.
Oh. What. Fun. can be seen on Prime Video starting December 4, 2025.
Grade: C+