Chances are, your company’s holiday shindig will not be quite as uproarious as the one that takes hilarious center stage in “Office Christmas Party.”
Or, at the very least, not as much as an HR nightmare waiting to happen.
“Just as ’The Hangover’ was the fantasy version of a bachelor party, I think this is the fantasy version of an office Christmas party,” co-director Will Speck told The Washington Times of the comedy romp, which opens Friday.
The film stars a who’s who of the current comedy crop. Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, Rob Corddry and Kate McKinnon appear in the film about a branch manager (T.J. Miller) and his CTO (Mr. Bateman) who throw an epic holiday do in order to lure in a big client. This they try to do under the nose of their hard-nosed CEO (Jennifer Aniston).
Mr. Speck and “Office Christmas Party” co-director Josh Gordon first met at NYU, where they started making films together. Since “graduating” to the big time, the duo has directed such other farces as “Blades of Glory” and “The Switch,” the latter of which featured both Mr. Bateman and Miss Aniston.
“For us it was familiarity with what they can do and how we work well with them, but wanting to also explore different sides of them that we didn’t get to in” the earlier movie, Mr. Speck said of their returning players. “Jason is very much our muse because he’s grounded and funny, but in a way that we think is behaviorally based.”
“Also, he’s a great reactor,” Mr. Gordon, seated next to Mr. Speck, added of Mr. Bateman, whose put-upon schtick also elicited laughs in “Horrible Bosses” and “Identity Thief.”
Miss Aniston, she of “Friends” fame, has also found a secondary wave of popularity with darker-humored turns in “Horrible Bosses” and “We’re the Millers,” the latter of which featured her in a risque dance routine.
“She’s really brave as an actress; she’s willing to subvert people’s expectations of her,” Mr. Gordon said of her turn as the grumpy boss in “Office Christmas Party.”
“For a long time she was in a bit of the romantic comedy box,” added Mr. Speck. “It was nice to do something completely different with Aniston where she could be a villain and do something stealthy and impactful.”
While “Office Christmas Party” certainly takes situations to absurd levels, Messrs. Speck and Gordon cite the grounded comedies of James L. Brooks, Harold Ramis and Martin Brest as being among their influences — filmmakers who are “set in the real world and sometimes use dramatic actors to make turns that are comedic,” as Mr. Speck puts it.
“Those are the movies that we love,” he said. “Movies that have tone and sort of accessibility. ’Risky Business’ is a great example, because it’s so funny but it also is very dramatic and relatable.”
“And ultimately is about something,” said Mr. Gordon, “which is what we wanted here — sort of the one night a year that you’re ’allowed’ to live honestly [at work], and it’s dangerous and disastrous, but necessary.”
The directors say their meetings with their filmmaking heroes often included “That was great!” moments and then some awkward small talk. When asked what they tell young filmmakers now who seek their counsel, Mr. Speck advises: “Don’t be afraid to fail.”
“I think that held us back early on,” he said. “Why didn’t we just make that movie we wanted rather than spend so much time polishing the script?
“I think, if you have a chance to find some momentum, go with it.”
Mr. Gordon said that while he has never been to an office bacchanal as outlandish as the fictional one in their film, he and Mr. Speck, living in Hollywood, have certainly witnessed the excess that can go along with the rich and famous cutting loose. However, whether in Tinseltown or Middle America, there is a universality to the proceedings the filmmakers sought to tap into.
“We’ve been to some parties where there’s definitely an excessive approach to it,” Mr. Speck said. “However, what is always a common theme at these parties is socializing with people you work with, and what happens when their desks are moved and their ties are off.”
“You still have to keep it in check,” said Mr. Gordon.
“That can be really dangerous but also really amazing and awkward and romantic and funny,” Mr. Speck said.
“We’ve been to a few fun ones, but for the most part they can be awful and tense,” Mr. Gordon said.
In an age when comedies tend to try for shock instead of laughter, the job of filmmakers to find the funny in a situation first and then [ITAL] take it to extremes has become harder than ever.
“You have to set out to make a real movie first. It has to kind of be a story that you care about with characters that you invest in and care about,” Mr. Gordon said. “And then I think you find the best jokes based in truths that people recognize.
“Even if it’s a ridiculous pratfall or it ’goes to 11,’ people have to be able to relate to it in some way to be really able to laugh the way we want them to.”
The Apatow school is famous for encouraging improvisation. While the talent of the cast of “Office Christmas Party” certainly added some unscripted moments to the proceedings, the directors more or less asked the actors to hew to the script first before jumping off.
“We sometimes throw away jokes that we feel are beneath the movie,” Mr. Gordon said.
“And then wish desperately that we had those,” added Mr. Speck.
The directors say the reaction they have gotten from advance audiences are that they wish they had a boss like Mr. Miller’s character, and they can recognize the HR drone portrayed by Miss McKinnon, who is there to keep law and order.
“There’s something about the title [that engenders an] expectation that it’s just going to be a bunch of gags and not really tie you in to who these people are and care about them,” Mr. Speck said. “We’ve been happy to see that people seem to come out and be invested in what happens.”
“We also really wanted to make a really great Christmas movie,” Mr. Gordon said.
“Which is about people finding their way back to each other and being together,” his co-director added. “Which is what most of those Christmas movies do.”
While proud of the finished product, the duo says they will never again make another holiday movie. Perhaps the fictional office party also had its way with them.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.