Friday, June 15, 2007

Adam doesn't go for THE OH IN OHIO


Independent film has stagnated over the last 15 years, spiraling the bowl into the pit of mediocrity.
Indie films have become so formulaic and rote that the constant stream of Hollywood remakes seems positively riveting by comparison.
So goes the naval-gazing introspection of The Oh in Ohio, a handsomely-shot, earnestly performed mess from last summer. Where the filmmaking and acting are both top-notch, the movie suffers from its indie subject matter and sensibilities, substituting false character notes for story and content.
Both Priscilla (Parker Posey) and Jack Chase (Paul Rudd) are unhappy in their marriage. Why? Because Priscilla has never had an orgasm. Jack is convinced it's not him. After all, he has his youthful memories as a stud to remind him of his prowess in the sack.
After all of this suffering, both of them go their separate ways, Jack with a student (Mischa Barton) and Priscilla on a walkabout of sexual discovery. She tries everything to achieve happiness, starting with a sex guru played by Liza Minelli who embodies every stereotype feminism has to offer with maybe the exception of the crew-cut bull dyke. Priscilla gets her lesbian moment, though, with a sex shop clerk played by Heather Graham. Because, as you all know, all lesbians are hot. Mmmmm, hot lesbians...
Where was I? Oh, yes, Priscilla's sex life. Well, she turns into quite sexual adventurer, the entire time complaining that she's never there when she has sex (after she's already discovered her orgasm through mechanical means). Considering that she realizes that her frigidity is totally internal, and she's learned to let go and enjoy the act on her own, the entire middle of the movie feels artificial to the nth degree.
The ending is utterly unresolved, Priscilla's journey left on the wayside as she considers a new life. Her story and her marriage to Jack are discarded with little thought to emotional consequence or even the audience's curiousity.
Simply put, all the magic that Rudd, Keith David, Parker Posey and the great Danny DeVito bring to the movie seems an utter waste, since there's nothing really going on and no actual arc for their characters to develop.
The whole thing seems rather pointless, as there are no real lessons learned and nothing actually makes any progress in their lives. I'm almost positive that the writers just thought it would be witty to make a movie about orgasms called The Oh in Ohio and the entire production was based around just how utterly witty they were for that magnificent play on words.
The Oh in Ohio is worthwhile only if you're desperate to see a movie with any of the previously mentioned actors, of if you're really jonesing for a taste of Cleveland. Otherwise, it's merely time killer.

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