Maybe you guys don’t remember the Blake Edwards romantic comedies of the ’70s and ’80s like 10 or even Skin Deep, but I’d even go so far as to say that when it clicks, The Oh in Ohio is much in the same vein of those comedies. Anyone notice the disclaimer?
Anyway for those that missed it, Priscilla Chase (Parker Posey, Superman Returns) is a successful businesswoman in Cleveland who is married to Jack (Paul Rudd, Anchorman), a high school teacher in the area. They’ve been married for awhile, but the marriage is cold and distant, in large part because Priscilla has problems, well, “arriving”, when she sleeps with Jack. Jack thinks the problem is his, even though it isn’t.
From that point, Priscilla goes on a bit of a quest to try and find that ever elusive climax. She tries some other locations with Jack. She tries a night with another women and a counselor named Alyssa (Liza Minnelli, Arrested Development) to try and find it on her own. Then she goes to a toy shop and shops for one, using the help of the store attendant (Heather Graham, Boogie Nights). And after some frustration, Paul moves out into an apartment and starts seeing one of his students, a young girl named Kristen (Mischa Barton, The O.C.). How does a pool salesman (played by Danny DeVito) figure into it? Well, watch it and see.
Remember when I mentioned that when it works, that The Oh in Ohio was a nice film? The problem is that things tend to muddy themselves a bit during the course of the film. The characters want to do dark things (Rudd’s character arc is similar to Matthew Broderick’s in Election), but they still remain likable in some manner or fashion, because they’re all pretty good natured. To put it another way, the film goes as Barton goes in this film. There’s a lot of bra flashing but no nudity, but the bras look nice.
Audio
Dolby Stereo for all the world to hear, and even with this dialogue driven track things still sound weak on the disc. There’s the occasional song that sounds nice on a home theater setup, but otherwise you can pass on this.
Video
1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen for the film, but this thing is a little all over the place. There may be a style choice going on here, but sometimes the backgrounds are so blurry that I focused (no pun intended) on them more than the dialogue in the scene. Still though, the picture looks good in other parts, so it wasn’t a complete trainwreck.
Special Features
There are some deleted and extended scenes that don’t really add much to the film, that’s about it as far as extras go.
Closing Thoughts
The Oh in Ohio may not achieve as much as similar romantic comedies have, but it’s still a cute little romp into relationships and finding the right guy, even if he looks like a troll. I wouldn’t recommend buying it because it’s not too memorable, but it’s worth checking out on cable if it shows up anytime soon.
