‘Office Party’ feels like forced fun

Aiming for a holiday-themed “Hangover,” “Office Christmas Party” promises tinsel-strewn ribald revelry by amassing a game cast of go-to comedic talent (Jason Bateman, T.J. Miller, Olivia Munn, Rob Corddry, Kate McKinnon, and Vanessa Bayer) to bring in a yule tidal-wave of chaotic fun amidst the standard drudgery of all employer-mandated holiday happenings.

It’s a scenario rife with potential, one in which a group of individuals (whom administration likes to pretend is “family,” but most of whom can’t wait to leave) is forced to mingle, with social wheels greased by the offering of free booze.

The only thing co-directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck forgot to pack in their sleigh was a script, which causes the entire affair to deliver all the fun of a daylong IT training workshop.

By allowing various plot threads to veer off into various tonally disparate directions, the film even abandons its titular theme and leaves us with very little holiday cheer.

Of the many story threads, the central one seems to focus on Miller and Bateman as tech branch managers who must throw the most righteous shindig ever to impress a possible client (played by Courtney B. Vance) and save the company from its icy corporate boss (played by Jennifer Aniston).

It’s weak, to be sure, but considering the countless directions which the film takes during its runtime, it seems to be the only one that drives the entire picture.

Elsewhere, they let scenes play out merely to allow for the improvisational skills of the cast, and while they may occasionally yield a chuckle or two, most of the time it’s not worth the wait.

Issues such as sibling rivalry, office romances, groundbreaking technology, prostitution and car chases seem to pop up and vanish like some narrative whack-a-mole game.

Despite the appeal of all the actors involved, none seem to create a role that allows us to care one iota about their circumstance by the film’s end, be it the (kind-of) romance between Bateman’s and Munn’s characters, the feud involving Miller’s and Aniston’s brother and sister roles, or the other countless individuals who seem to appear and vanish only when it is convenient for the film to move to the next scene.

Like the long-delayed “Masterminds,” which was released a few months ago (and starred equally capable comic talent like Owen Wilson, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon), the whole endeavor just feels lazy and unfinished.

Just like many office holiday happenings taking place at this very moment, “Office Christmas Party” feels like forced fun, where the organizers just stick in the elements to create an illusion of unity and cheer, and in reality everyone attending is merely waiting for it to end so they can move on to more amusing endeavors.