Oh. What. Fun. Parents Guide

Oh. What. Fun. Is Rated PG-13 by Motion Picture Rating (MPA) for some drug use, sexual material and strong language.

“Oh. What. Fun” stumbles right out of the gate by doing something no movie especially a holiday movie should ever do: it reminds you of better films. The opening montage of classic Christmas staples plays less like a homage and more like an accidental self-own, a kind of cinematic shrug that whispers, You could be watching something else. And you can feel it.

Our guide through all this is Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer), a frazzled mother-grandmother hybrid whose running commentary frames the story. She introduces her cherished library of holiday films still on VHS, which tells you everything about her devotion to tradition and laments how these seasonal favorites so often circle around the dads while the moms labor unseen. She holds up “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” as Exhibit A, which she dutifully notes is actually a Thanksgiving film, and points out that Steve Martin’s wife clocks in at just under a minute and a half of screen time. It’s one of those observations that’s true enough, though the film’s brilliance doesn’t exactly make you want to revisit Claire’s argument.

Highly Recommended: Marty Supreme (2025) Parents Guide

A quick early scene underscores her emotional exhaustion: Claire, freezing at a gas pump, watches a mother wrangle three bickering kids and crosses the lot to inform them deadpan that one day their mother will be gone, so they’d better be nicer while they still can. It’s prickly, a little mean, and clearly meant to position her as a Scrooge figure, which she even references. But while Scrooge’s cantankerousness is merely the starting place of his story, it becomes Claire’s defining mode for most of the film.

From there, the movie loops back to the previous day December 23 where we see Claire in her holiday-prep habitat, half-watching her favorite Oprah-ish talk show hosted by the flamboyant Zazzy Tims (Eva Longoria). Claire has been engineering this Christmas since last January. She tells herself it’s about making magic for the family, but what she’s really yearning for is validation—a coveted nomination in Zazzy’s annual Holiday Moms competition. She insists it’s no big deal and then immediately debates whether to text her kids about it again. If you’ve ever watched Denis Leary in “The Ref,” you can’t help but recall that superior dysfunctional-holiday energy.

The family caravan arrives soon enough. Eldest daughter Channing (Felicity Jones), a novelist, rolls in with her husband Doug (Jason Schwartzman) and their two kids. Middle child Taylor (Chloë Grace Moretz), a hairdresser who treats girlfriends like seasonal accessories, appears this year with DJ Sweatpants (Rafaella Karnaby). And then there’s the baby of the bunch, Sammy (Dominic Sessa), who’s job-adjacent at best and freshly dumped by his girlfriend, Mae-bell (Maude Apatow).

Across the street sits Claire’s arch-nemesis, Jeanne Wang-Wasserman (Joan Chen), who radiates the kind of icy composure that makes even her “Blessings!” feel like a frostbite warning. Jeanne drops passive-aggressive remarks about Claire’s decor choices “I see you took my advice and went sans inflatables this year” and the moment she leaves, Claire orders her clan to haul out the inflatables and crank up the air pump. Their rivalry is a long-running, no-prisoners suburban cold war.

Highly Recommended: 10 Best New Movies & Shows Coming To Netflix (December 2025)

The film then settles into that familiar rhythm where everyone annoys everyone just enough to manufacture mild tension. It’s the sort of holiday-movie scaffolding you’ve seen a thousand times. Naturally, Grandpa Nick struggles to assemble the kids’ dollhouse because of course he does. Just as predictably, the central crisis arrives when Claire buys tickets for a Christmas Eve dance performance and the family, running late and frazzled, pile into cars and drive off without her. Forgetting Mom is the kind of sitcom-level oversight that’s meant to sting, yet it doesn’t quite land. Claire responds by grabbing the keys and embarking on an impulsive, directionless road trip that somehow takes her all the way from Houston to Zazzy’s studio in California.

At this point, you might find yourself thinking about what makes a Hallmark movie—those assembly-line confections people mock but secretly rely on. They don’t chase originality, but they do understand emotional architecture. We root for the characters; the stakes feel coherent; and the inevitable epiphanies about forgiveness, self-worth, second chances, or the essence of Christmas arrive honestly, even if predictably. “Oh. What. Fun,” despite a confident director (Michael Showalter, who also co-wrote the script), solid musical choices, and a genuinely appealing cast including Danielle Brooks as a delivery driver Claire meets on the road and Havana Rose Liu bringing luminosity to the role of Jeanne’s daughter keeps sabotaging its own emotional center. The stakes wobble. The humor sits heavy. The movie wants us to feel for Claire even as it continually undercuts her.

A late-film detour in which a group of women loudly vent about feeling unappreciated complete with crassness and a wink of approval from Andy Cohen pushes things too far. It grants Claire the martyrdom she longs for without acknowledging that her family’s indifference might stem from her failure to hear them, to understand what actually matters to them rather than what she wishes mattered.

All People love: The Chronology of Water (2025) Parents Guide

The film’s grab bag of gags fancy candles, casual shoplifting, getting stoned, competitive decorating never finds the comic rhythm it’s aiming for. And the resolutions of Taylor and DJ Sweatpants’ storyline, as well as Sammy and Mae-bell’s, feel more perfunctory than satisfying. The final shot of Claire lingers for a beat, and you can’t help thinking she might benefit from curling up with a couple of those Hallmark movies she dismisses. They might remind her and the film of the simplest truth the genre understands: family time isn’t about perfection or pageantry; it’s about being present, sharing stories, and building something that feels like home.

Content Breakdown for Parents

Violence & Intensity: There’s virtually no violence, aside from the emotional kind. Most of the tension comes from frayed relationships, holiday burnout, and a few chaotic moments miscommunications, arguments, and the general messiness of family gatherings. Nothing is frightening or physical, but sensitive kids might pick up on Claire’s frustration and sadness.

Language: There are a few mild expletives and moments of blunt or crude language, especially when characters vent about holiday stress. Nothing shocking, but it does push the tone into PG-13 territory. The film doesn’t drown in profanity, yet it’s not squeaky clean either.

Sexual Content / Nudity: Sexual content is limited to references and relationship conversations among the adult children. There’s no nudity, no intimate scenes just grown-up romantic drama, played mostly for mild humor or character development.

Drugs, Alcohol & Smoking: A couple of characters joke about getting high, and there may be a quick moment that leans into that gag. Some social drinking is present, though not heavily emphasized. Again, none of this is central to the plot, but it’s enough that parents of younger viewers may want to be aware of it.

Parental Concerns

Parents should know that the movie sometimes swings between heartfelt drama and silly chaos without always finding the right balance. A few jokes involving shoplifting, getting high, or out-pettying the neighbors may feel out of place for a holiday comedy aimed at families. The relationship subplots particularly involving the adult children can feel awkward or thinly sketched. And Claire’s emotional meltdown, while understandable, might be uncomfortable for especially sensitive younger viewers.

Basic Info

Title: Oh. What. Fun.
Release Date: December 3, 2025
Genre: Holiday comedy / family drama
Director: Michael Showalter
Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer, Felicity Jones, Chloë Grace Moretz, Denis Leary, Dominic Sessa, Jason Schwartzman, Joan Chen, Eva Longoria
Where to Watch: Streaming on Amazon Prime Video