Well this turned out to be a pleasant surprise.  If someone tells me... a hardened, virile, masculine, brutally handsome man if ever there was one, that the movie for today is about a woman who has never had an orgasm, I would reply in my gruffly masculine voice that I generally don’t watch the Lifetime Network.  I’ll go find someone with a vagina to watch and review this one for you.  I’m a manly man, or to quote Jack Chase, so brilliantly played by the near consistently brilliant Paul Rudd, how can you tell when a woman has orgasm?  Who cares!  HAR HAR HAR!!!!

Anyway, ‘The Oh in Ohio’ tells the tragic tale of Priscilla Barnes played by the completely adorable Parker Posey.  Now, I don’t if a woman damn near forty would appreciate being called ‘adorable’, but that fact remains.  Plus she has this cute little round booty.  A mini badonk I would say.  Admittedly, the shape of Parker Posey’s ass has nothing to do with the quality of this movie, but I just wanted to let know where I stand on that.  Priscilla, an upwardly mobile marketing exec, hasn’t had an orgasm since, well like ever.  This had had quite the negative effect on her high school teacher husband Jack (Rudd) who has essentially spiraled down the self esteem ladder knowing he’s never been able to give his wife of 10+ years the big O.  Priscilla tries everything, even going to masturbation class (Priscilla has never touched herself down there you see) conducted by a simply hilarious Liza Minelli.  Eventually she goes to a sex shop and buys a vibrator from the lesbian shop manager (Heather Graham) who lets her know all she really needs is a few minutes with her and her orgasm creating skills and her problems will be soon solved.  A line I used just yesterday by the way.  We both came up empty handed.  So to speak.

Meanwhile Jack is being seduced by one his superhot high school students, Kristen (Micha Barton).  Generally speaking, screwing around with your high school students isn’t a good thing, no matter how hot they are, even though they may be past the age of consent.  But when Priscilla’s new plastic friend does the job that Jack couldn’t do, my man is pretty much destroyed and proceeds to have an affair with Kristen which revitalizes him.  Priscilla is also revitalized as well, albeit with the help of a couple double A batteries.  Soon both of them discover that their new found happiness is fleeting and empty and both struggle to find true fulfillment.

First off, I found ‘The Oh in Ohio’ funny, entertaining, clever with a great great cast and witty dialog.  But nonetheless, I didn’t quite get what the filmmaker was trying to say, if anything.  Due to the way the movie ended, I’m not quite sure what the moral of the story was supposed to be.

SPOILER’S AHEAD

Jack has an affair with Kristen, which is morally questionable even if she’s not a senior in high school.  Kristen has an affair with her vibrator.  Jack leaves Kristen and they both seem happier for it.  Jack is falling for his little ingénue, but she is leaving for Harvard next year.  The relationship is ending.  Priscilla destroys her vibrator and has sex with numerous people, including the lesbian store clerk, but none of them can give her the O.  Danny DeVito playing Wayne the Pool Guy eventually does give her the O for the first time through non battery operated means.  Jack decides he’d like to get back together with her, but not for any particular reason because nothing has changed in their relationship.  Priscilla decides she’ll stick with Wayne for now.  I’m guessing because he can bring her to orgasm?  I don’t know.  And why doesn’t Jack just get himself another young chick?  I don’t know.  Are you telling me that a man can’t make you come after 10 years of diligent effort is ultimately worthless?  Obviously I can’t relate to that.  HAR HAR HAR!!!

SPOILER”S OVER

I don’t know what this film was trying to say basically.  Rudd’s Jack was a fairly sympathetic character and it seemed like he came out being the bad guy in this whole thing, and Posey’s Priscilla came out being the heroine, but what for, I couldn’t tell you.

Ambiguous moral conclusions aside, ‘The Oh in Ohio’ was one really clever and witty film.  Add in Keith David who plays the high school football coach / school counselor in a seriously funny turn to an already stellar cast and you have a movie that made me laugh more than most of the so-called comedies I’ve seen this year.

If you know what this movie’s hidden message was then I would love to hear from you for some enlightenment, but on the level of a being a comedy it worked quite well for me.