Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
When Carol Vanstone, CEO of the technology company Zenotek, expresses her intention to close the Chicago branch, run by her brother Clay, he and his co-workers organize a Christmas party in an effort to impress a potential client and save their jobs. But the party gets out of control…
Office Christmas Party is a broadly competent but entirely formulaic R-rated workplace comedy. The plot follows a well-worn template — underdog office throws wild party to save themselves from corporate shutdown — with few genuine surprises. The ensemble cast (Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, T.J. Miller, Jennifer Aniston) delivers serviceable performances but nobody is given material that stretches them; Aniston's ice-queen villain is the most memorable element but still one-note. Visually, the film is workmanlike multiplex fare with no distinctive cinematographic choices. Novelty is low: the 'wild party spirals out of control' premise is well-trodden territory and the film adds little fresh to it beyond its holiday setting. The ending is predictable and tidily resolved in the manner expected of the genre. A perfectly average entry in the mid-2010s R-rated comedy cycle — watchable but forgettable across the board.