Hey, everyone. Capone in Chicago here to review a film that offers the rare treat of seeing Parker Posey in a leading role, in a sex comedy no less! Here's a quick look at THE OH IN OHIO. Enjoy...
Parker Posey spends a lot of time in the new orgasm comedy THE OH IN OHIO with a smile on her face. But often it's a false smile, one that hides frustration and a lifetime of sexual dissatisfaction, much of which is self-induced.
This is the story of one woman's journey to a sexual awakening. Posey plays Priscilla Chase, who has the unenviable job of pitching big companies on moving or opening offices is Cleveland (is it any wonder she's sexually frigid?). She has a great college professor husband (Paul Rudd), who is growing more and more frustrated about his inability to give his wife an orgasm, apparently a life-long problem for her made all the more troublesome by the fact that she's never masturbated. If this kind of frank talk is making you squirm, you better bail on this movie because it's full of this sort of brutally open discussion. To the outside world, Priscilla has a perfect and accomplished life, but she knows better.
Eventually her husband leaves her, at least temporarily, and takes up with one of his students (Mischa Barton), which shakes up Priscilla's world just enough for her to desperately want to snap out of her cold spell and try to discover what deep-seeded issues are keeping her from having a great sex life. She tries dating, sleeping with countless men, and even experimenting with lesbianism (with a sex shop owner played by an uncredited Heather Graham).
Priscilla's first orgasm comes via a vibrator, and this experience kicks her desire for more into high gear. Finding that men still can't quite get the job done, she becomes almost addicted to her toy, while still maintaining a healthy dating schedule. Oh, did I mention that Liza Minnelli plays a sex therapist in the film? I wish I'd been able to avert my eyes in time.
Posey has always been one of my all-time favorite comedy goddesses. She doesn't have to do a damn thing to make me smile. Her performances in Christopher Guest's improv masterpieces are the stuff of legend, and seeing her in a lead role in this high-profile indie film is cause for celebration. THE OH IN OHIO is not a great film, but there are great aspects to it, including Posey and Paul Rudd, who is on as much of a role right now as an actor can be. He makes acting look easy, and he makes being funny seem effortless. The film takes its story seriously, and Rudd and Posey get many opportunities to shine.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the nice final act turn by Danny Devito as a pool salesman and friend to Posey, who offers her a comfortable friendship and possibility her only chance at good sex with a man. I warn you, if the thought of watching Devito and Posey make out and simulate sex turns your stomach, this film ain't for you. And much like with Minnelli's cameo, advanced warning would have been nice. But Devito is really strong here as a man who knows all of Posey's secrets and likes her anyway. Although he arrives late in the film, their relationship serves as the heart of this movie.
THE OH IN OHIO lacks the insight and deep analysis to qualify as a revealing look at modern-day sexual relationship and why they do or don't work. But it does offer some terrific acting, some great laughs, and, above all, Parker Posey in nearly every scene. For a film all about sex, it still feels a little safe and restrained, but it gets its points across painlessly and I had a lot of fun watching it. The film also invents moments of significance that simply aren't that interesting.
There's a sequence late in the film in which Posey goes down a water slide in Devito's pool. Clearly the moment is supposed to be meaningful, but it doesn't quite get there. I suppose I, too, failed to reach my cinematic orgasm with The Oh in Ohio, which doesn't mean it didn't feel good trying. And that's fine because I took care of myself later.
Can somebody hand me a tissue?
Capone
