Image: Paramount Pictures
Chris Luckett
For as long as there have been ensemble comedies, there have been wasted opportunities and over-talented casts. The litany of movies with fantastic groups of actors wasted on unoriginal scripts is littered with titles like It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, 200 Cigarettes, and Valentine’s Day.
When the script or direction fails on an ensemble comedy, more than a fair share of the workload falls onto the cast. Some movies, like This is the End or Hail, Caesar!, manage to stay just above water because of the actors alone, but a brilliant cast can only do so much — which is exactly Office Christmas Party‘s problem.
Jason Bateman, T.J. Miller, Olivia Munn, Courtney B. Vance, Kate McKinnon, Jennifer Aniston, Vanessa Bayer, Randall Park, Karan Soni, Rob Corddry, Sam Richardson, and Jillian Bell form the holiday comedy’s cast and deserve credit not just for doing more than their share to keep the party going but for sharing the spotlight like a true comedy team. It really makes you wish the writing were better.
The Apple Box 