It's the end of another year, and the skipful of movies for the meh comedy landfill is piled way high once again. But if you were suckered by Bad Santa 2, are still bulling over Bad Neighbours 2 or all by yourself after a trip to Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, then there is a bit of festive F-bomb cheer to be had in the company of Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman and the gang here.
With the axe set to fall and political correctness out of control it looks like being the worst get-together ever for the staff of the Chicago branch of Zenotek. That is until some of the crew (Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, TJ Miller) come up with what looks like a P45-proof plan: splash the cash, invite an old school business guy to the fun and convince this possible corporate saviour (Courtney B Vance) to invest in the company after showing him that the Zenotekers are a team who play as hard as they work.
Having secured her place in the workplace comedy pantheon by starring in Office Space, Jennifer Aniston is in great form here as the heads-will-roll CEO - not as unhinged as her Horrible Bosses character but twice as cut-throat - and Jason Bateman portrays the good guy to trademark standard. There's a bit of romance with colleague Olivia Munn and some stuff about loneliness and family, but, for the most part, this is all about grown-ups behaving very badly - and just a few gags short of being a gem.
While subtlety goes out the window long before the servers, there are some great digs at the nanny notions of the modern workplace ('Disclaimer: coffee hot!' signs, multi-denominational festive sweaters) as Kate McKinnon's hyperventilating HR honcho tries desperately to enforce the rule of law. She's a hoot, but in the ensuing chaos the film needed more standout one-liners and less wideshots of wanton destruction. It's a bit like sitting in on a discussion where some 'this is my stage' type keeps going over the same point every couple of minutes: you got the idea the first time.
It's no Trading Places or Home Alone in terms of quality, but there is stuff for the grinch and gooey-eyed alike under this tree.
Harry Guerin
