The Oh in Ohio

I would have assumed that "The Oh! in Ohio" was trying to be the Judd Apatow sex comedies for females, but this was released in 2006 just before the Apatow craze began. So now I'm not sure what they were trying to go for.

It's marketed as a comedy but it's more of a drama. The plot line is that Priscilla Chase (Parker Posey) and her husband (Paul Rudd) are in an unhappy marriage because she isn't able to climax. Along with "50 million other women who suffer from orgasmic dysfunction" as the film tells us.

The film moves forward with Posey trying to have an orgasm. I'm assuming these scenes were supposed to provide us laughs but they weren't very funny. The other half of the movie is Rudd living his depressed life as a biology teacher. Finally the film industry has figured out that occasionally there are teachers for subjects other than English, but unfortunately it's in this movie just so we can have him spout the names of some sex organ muscles. Paul Rudd is one of my favourite actors, but the story for his character is extremely poorly done. The humour is so low-key, that I view it more as a drama, so there is no pay-off for his poor character. I might even have to blame this film for Rudd being relegated to buddy comedies now.

There is a lot to not like in this film, but Posey does shine, and some of the "50 million women who suffer from orgasmic dysfunction" might enjoy "The Oh! in Ohio" but probably not many other people will.

A movie about orgasms. Well, why not? This flick is very, very funny. With the right marketing, I think it could quite a sleeper.

Cast is tops, particularly Posey, Bailey and DeVito. Paul Rudd is one hot guy.

Liza Minnelli's cameo is every bit as hysterical her antics on "Arrested Development." It's great to see her on a big screen again. (And you will never hear the word "vagina" the same way after Liza's delivery of it in this movie.)

There haven't been very many intelligent, truly witty Hollywood sex comedies of late. "The Oh in Ohio" is a welcome addition to the genre.

I wanted to like this movie more than I did, but I just didn't. Some of the people at the SXSW fest really enjoyed it, but there was a large majority- such as myself- that almost walked out.

Parker Posey is, well- Parker Posey again. Sometimes I find her funny, but a lot of the time I find her shtick a little tedious, and where I really like her as a supporting player, when she's the lead I start to get a headache. Perhaps that's just me, but if you ever thought she may be a little over the top, this is not the film for you.

Paul Rudd is okay, but he has scenes with Micha Barton, who is to acting what wood is to forests, so there was no hope for those scenes.

The standout for me, surprisingly, was Danny DeVito. He brings a warmth and reality to a supporting role (clearly based on Wallace Shawns character in Annie Hall) that took me by surprise and made me remember why I love him so.

The film itself tries very hard to get noticed, sometimes in that puerile Farrely Brothers HEY LOOK AT ME! kind of way, which I'm sure my 14 year old nephew would enjoy. ("Hey, they're talking about SEX!! Wheeee!") but after a while it made me long for a comedy like, say, Annie Hall or Manhattan (am I dating myself?) where the people are adult and smart and interesting and attractive and don't try so hard to be funny, but just ARE funny.

I'd be interested to see this director/writers next film, hopefully they'll have a little more faith in themselves and a little less need to keep the volume so loud.

The Oh in Ohio zigs where others zag. It knows the value of not giving the audience what they have come to expect. I saw it at the Provincetown film Festival in their largest venue filled to the brim and steaming like a Bombay sweatshop. But even with all the heat the audience did not twitch. They laughed heartily and some were brought to cackling applause. I was surprised to find myself and my date, my wife of 61 years laughing at a subject that we would dare talk about even in our own bedroom. Without giving anything away by the end we were holding hands a subconscious act brought on by the strong and meaningful romantic quality of the films finale. I am not someone accustomed to the internet, or public commenting on films, but I felt this film deserved to have the support of an old timer like myself. I hope people from all walks of life will find 90 minutes to leave their lives and laugh at the performances of these fine actors. -- My god Liza Minnelli's in it! I can remember when her mother was a child. Go see the Oh in Ohio you won't regret it. It's great.

There are few redeeming aspects in this showcase of irresponsible, unmotivated filmmaking. The characters, dialog, and situations were nearly as uncomfortable and awkward as the premise of a woman trying to have an orgasm. I don't understand how a film mainly about sex can be so boring, slow, uninteresting and UN-sexy. The pacing is far too slow for what is supposed to be a fun, quirky film, and the editing is loose with some confusing cuts. The entire film felt unnatural, uncomfortable, and bored. A few plot points and lines of dialog were entirely confusing and unclear, and by the end of the film I felt lost. The student and Sherri characters were poorly written and poorly executed – they felt like characters in a book I was reading. They weren't dynamic and didn't feel truly alive and present. Their comments were unnatural and strange, and didn't fit in with the rest of the film. Also, a very confusing aspect of the film was the relationship between Priscilla and Wayne – I won't give everything away, but throughout the whole film I was confused about their past, present, and until the end, future.

So now you might be wondering about those redeeming qualities I mentioned earlier. Paul Rudd is an excellent actor, which somehow manages to show through in this film. However, his skill is weighed down, limited, and ultimately trapped and killed by the poor writing, directing, and overall execution of this story. Danny DeVito is the only thing that manages to rise above this snooze-fest to make it somewhat enjoyable. His character is developed, complex, motivated and real in a world of fake, tired, hollow shells of people. Overall though, this film is slow, barely able to capture and hold attention, and left no impact on my view of the world. I believe that each film is worth watching once – to watch this film again would be a waste of time.