Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston Lead a Hilarious Cast in ‘Office Christmas Party’

Amanda Nolan

Holiday workplace parties: fun is the objective, but too much fun can get awkward fast. And in “Office Christmas Party,” the characters take too much fun much too far. To hilarious effect.

The newly divorced Josh (Jason Bateman) works at Zenotek, a tech company struggling to meet goal. Clay (T.J. Miller), the eternal adolescent, is in charge of the Chicago location, while the CEO is his sister, Carol (Jennifer Aniston). The opposite of her brother, Carol plays the role of Scrooge. Visiting the office, she tells the department heads that there will be no Christmas party, no bonuses and that if they don’t get their sales up, there will be 40 percent employee cut. The one hope is a successful meeting with potential client Walter (Courtney B. Vance), which would finish out the quarter strong.

Josh and Clay set up their pitch, along with lead engineer Tracey (Olivia Munn), who has an innovative idea that could save them. The meeting falls flat; Walter is old school and misses the carefree office cultures from the past. In a last ditch effort the three invite him to their holiday party. Ah, but now they have to throw a party for the ages – and without Carol finding out. The staff pulls out all the stops to transform the office: strung lights, DJ, snow machine, live Baby Jesus, and gallons of alcohol. Walter is initially impressed, but guess what? Things spin out of control. What was supposed to be a party with a good-old-days touch of freewheeling fun escalates into drugs, prostitution, Tasers, and nudity.

Will it endure on cable amid the gift-wrapping season of future holidays? The answer for “Office Christmas Party” is yes. The dance-offs are wild, the copy machine gets put to its highest and best use, a zany Uber driver (Fortune Feimster) takes the wheel, and then there’s the eggnog luge. “Office Christmas Party” will likely stand the test of time. It also makes sharp observations about the strictness of today’s office culture. Any event with booze becomes a threat of litigation instead of a time to relax: In the movie’s opening, another Christmas party has been turned into a “non-alcoholic mimosa” breakfast to lessen liability.

Even though Bateman is playing the slightly square nice guy that audiences have seen before, he is delightfully charming and anchors the film as the straight man. Olivia Munn may be the weakest link in the cast as the acerbic techie, but she and Bateman are good together in their office flirtation scenes. Directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck (“Blades of Glory,” “The Switch”), the movie wisely allows each ensemble player to shine. Kate McKinnon with her all-inclusive holiday sweater steals the show as HR Manager Mary. Miller is endearing as the sweetly dumb Clay. Aniston is hilarious against type as a deliciously mean character – she even threatens a child by saying Santa will not be visiting. “Veep” alums Randall Park, Sam Richardson and Matt Walsh have smaller but memorable bits, and Rob Corddry is the hostile customer service manager. Side plots involve office manager and single mom Allison (Vanessa Bayer) trying to find love, and geeky Nate (Karan Soni) getting in over his head with an escort service (Jillian Bell is a laugh riot as a deranged pimp).

“Office Christmas Party” is structured in a similar manner to “The Hangover” – each event is more outrageous than the next. However, the movie has two endings, and one feels out of place as if it were tacked on to add excitement. Nevertheless, the movie maintains an energetic pace the characters adapt to the outlandish things happening all around them. For sentiment, audiences can turn to the perennial rerun of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” But sometimes it’s fun to spike the eggnog with a crazy comedy, and “Office Christmas Party” fits the bill.

“Office Christmas Party” hits theaters nationwide Dec. 9.