The Oh in Ohio (2006)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The Oh in Ohio is hilarious and heartfelt. Parker Posey nails it as Pricilla Chase, the "frigid" housewife who is sexually awakened by her revelation that she has a sexual dysfunction disorder. Her valiant attempt to break her disorder is not only terribly funny but one feels for her. As viewers we triumph with her when she finally breaks the cycle of her repetitive life and finds love. It is racy but not in a gross out humor way. We get to know Pricilla through her journey and find that letting go can be more help than harm. Paul Rudd is charming and vulnerable as Pricilla's husband who cannot seem to give her the big O. He too goes through a metamorphosis and finding his true self. Although he falls in love with one of his students played by Mischa Barton, he comes out of the film a more fulfilled man. The Oh in Ohio is raw, real, and a feel good film. After viewing this film one is left with a glow and a smile on their face.

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.

PROBABLY MAJOR SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!! Although a bit on the strange side writing wise (Why would a group of Chinese Beer businessmen want to visit a boring high school anyway) it's not beyond forgivable. THE OH! IN OHIO is a cute little romp of a sex comedy that adults can enjoy and get a good snicker or 2 out of.Parker Posey plays Pricilla Chase, a PR career woman who married her handsome high school sweetheart Jack (Paul Rudd) and should have the perfect rounded life any woman would aspire to.The one thing she has not had yet wouldn't bug her so much if Jack wasn't constantly harping about wanting to give this to her. No, not kids. Nobody's talking about kids. The one things that her husband wants her to have that he hasn't been able to give her is an orgasm.A sort of reverse THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN, this film THE OH! IN OHIO is about a successful woman who just happens to have never had that pleasure in her life, not even by her own hand shall we say? Why? Was she brought up by a pair of ice sculptures instead of parents? Was she taught that self pleasure is dirty sinful shameful? Has it ever been a big deal to her? If not for hubby's obsessiveness, would it ever have become a big deal? Well it's certainly a big deal to Jack. And this, for anyone who keeps asking, "What did Jack do wrong?" "What was his mistake?" "Why all the Jack-bashing?" Well, this is what and why: Jack's obsession over not giving his wife pleasure was all about him, not her. Instead of caring enough to ask, "Pricilla, what could be wrong? Were you molested? Did you parents teach you it was dirty? Is there a physiological dysfunction? Nerve damage? Is intercourse painful for you?" and so on. There are a million ways Jack could have handled this dilemma, and typically, he turns the entire focus onto himself. He feels like less of a man because his wife doesn't come. Then he goes on to actually blame her and slowly begins to resent her and even hate her to the point where he leaves the marriage. He reveals himself to be shallow, self-centered and completely unconcerned about Pricilla. To his credit, he does attend at least one therapy session with his wife, but it seems he's made up his mind: he wants out of the marriage.He goes on to find himself a young nubile girlfriend (Mischa Barton plays an underaged college student who is supposed to be really smart his biology class) and it's not long before they are writhing in bed and she is raving about his sexual prowess. Whether or not Kristin is doing this to stroke Jack's ego or not is kind of hard to say.Meanwhile, Pricilla, feeling bad about herself (naturally) confides in her friend Sherri (Miranda Bailey) about her sexual problems and then finds herself in an adult toy store. Heather Graham has an unbilled role as the clerk who works therein. Pricilla brings home one of those standard white twist-top vibrators and begins to discover parts of her body she never knew existed, let alone how they function. I thought these scenes were hilarious very time she reached for that thing and I heard that loud HUMMMMMMMMMMM!! After becoming somewhat addicted to orgasm, Pricilla decides to get out there and explore and live a little. After a succession of would be lovers, even a tryst with Justine, the adult store clerk. Pricilla still cannot have an orgasm with a living person. Needless to say, most or all of these lovers either blame her or focus the whole thing onto themselves.Then Pricilla bumps into a famous acquaintance in her neighborhood, Wayne the Pool Guy (Danny DeVito) and after spending some time with him, they abruptly fall into a sexual relationship, and then everything seems to come together (pardon the pun) for her. Love, a good relationship without selfishness, and pleasure to round it out.The one huge thing I thought was lacking was an explanation why Pricilla was anorgasmic (I HATE the term "frigid"), but maybe it was because until Wayne came along, she hadn't found a lover to make her feel truly special, wanted, loved, etc? There are some uneven spots in the story and some scenes don't really go anywhere. The end didn't bother me as much as it did others. It's a pretty cute sex comedy.

Almost any survey regarding female frigidity shows that in any given part of the world anywhere from 30 to 50% of all women never or very rarely reach orgasm. So what do women like that do? Well, they basically have only three options: they become rabid feminists, Catholic nuns, or they marry Tom Cruise.TOIO is a decent sex-romp, perhaps a bit too crude, but considering how bad comedies have been in the last decade, I am willing to overlook its faults. Certainly there is the utter predictability regarding Posey hooking up with and finally getting her first non-masturbatory orgasm with De Vito. (Posey should get a bravery medal for kissing with him.) The other problem is the casting of Minnelli and Mischa Barton; Minnelli, who fortunately appears only briefly, should only be playing monsters in low-budget horror films, what with the numerous face-lifts that have left her looking like an alien being. (The shrill voice doesn't help either: more like a siren.) As for Barton, I have no clue who finds this gangly, flat-chested, square-jawed woman "beautiful". She has the sex-appeal of Minnelli's buttocks. Someone like Elisha Cuthbert would have played the young femme fatale far more convincingly. The rest of the cast are okay. The standout is Posey who plays the initially uptight and slightly eccentric career women perfectly.(This comment is dedicated to Mischa Barton's last meal, which was in March of 2003. May it digest forever in her shrinking stomach...)