Disclaimer: I’m a blind film critic. I hope I get that Red Ryder BB Gun this Christmas.

Amazon has had a bit of a mixed year in terms of their straight to streaming content. I’m not sure they had a singular film that really rallied fans, except perhaps the John Candy documentary. This isn’t doing anything to change that. it will continue to be divisive. However, I’ve sat through the crop of this years streaming Christmas titles, and it seems to be a barren wasteland. Some years, we get an 8-Bit Christmas, or a Spirited. This year, I’m throwing a bone to Oh What Fun because I didn’t hate myself while watching it, or when it was over.

A lot of my scoring has to do with would I recommend it, and with a slim margin, I would. If someone was specifically looking for a new Christmas comedy this year, I would recommend this. A lot of that has to do with the cast, led by Michelle Pfieffer. But you’ve got Denis Lear, Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Dominic Sessa, Jason Schwartzman, Joan Chen, and Eva Longoria. that could be it. Sometimes, if you just bring enough talented people to the table, and try to not mess with the formula too much, it works.

Pfieffer plays the matriarch of a family, and laments how mothers are underappreciated in Christmas movies. She cites a few examples, and admittedly Home Alone is a stretch, since Catherine O’Hara is the only cast member racing home. I digress. But, she has this big Christmas planned, in one of those impossibly large homes, where the whole family comes to roost. Being wealthy and flaunting it in 2025 isn’t that relatable, but I digress once more.

Her husband (Leary) is aware she wanted her kids to submit her for this Oprah-esque talk show guru’s big Christmas gift. Her kids (Jones, Moretz, Sessa) all seem to not pay any attention, and as she continues to bend over backward for everyone, it looks like she’s headed for a big empty stocking.

She reaches her breaking point when the family leaves her to go to a dance show she bought the tickets to, leaving her in a Home Alone type fashion. When they realize it, it is too late. She has flown the coop, and the family now has to exist without her. The fact the family falls apart as quickly as they do is concerning, considering Jones’s character is a mom herself. But, I shall digress once more.

Pfieffer hits the road, has some mishaps, but her goal is to get to that thing her kids totally forgot about if it kills her. Meanwhile, her family has literally no idea what to do.Will they be reunited in time for Christmas?

Again, the cast makes this work. Pfeiffer is entertaining, as always. She might have some of those check your brain at the door moments here, but she moves the plot along. Leary as the husband with no discernible skills is fun, and I assume he did something to earn this giant house. Jones has the most to do of the three kids, though her whole thing is just wanting to host this nightmare herself next year. She’s a mom now, after all. She can’t keep everyone in line, but she can run Christmas. her husband (Schwartzman) is a hapless dumbass, who seems to be accepted as a member of the family. The middle child (Moretz), is the queer representation, and she brings home a different girlfriend every year. How will this one turn out? And the youngest (Sessa), only works at a summer camp, and got dumped by his girlfriend right before coming home. They also have a neighbor (Chen), who has some weird rivalry with Pfieffer that is never really fleshed out or explained. They seem to just want to show each other up. Considering Chen apparently raised the heir apparent to Pentatonix, I’d say she did a bang up job.

Danielle Brooks is totally wasted. She is in one scene, and it isn’t even worth mentioning. But yet, I enjoyed it. it was different enough, had a few fun jokes, and stood tall above some of these Christmas films that cast marginally talented actors to begin with, and expect them to make Christmas At The Alpaca Farm seem like it was crafted by Santa himself. I’m sorry, but some of these actors only wre on one show twenty years ago for a reason. So, yeah, I vote for the film with three Oscar nominees.

It isn’t a Christmas classic, though that is really up to you. I see Christmas With The Kranks everywhere now, along with Four christmases, Jingle All The Way, and other films critics didn’t like. Different movies stand the test of time for different reasons. When you are thirsty, and you see a mirage, it is better than not seeing any hope at all.

Oh What Fun, seems like it might be asking the question of what fun is, but the casting here makes up for a lot, making this one of the better streaming Holiday options of the year.

Fresh: 6.3/10