Amazon Studios has a fun new Christmas movie on its hands with Oh. What. Fun., which promises to break out from standard holiday fare, thanks to a new perspective. The new family film stars Michelle Pfeiffer as Claire, the matriarch of the Clauster family, whose holiday cheer is dampened after her children continually overlook her efforts. Fed up with her family's drama, Claire decides to do something for herself on Christmas.
Stars Felicity Jones (Channing) and Jason Schwartzman (Doug) spoke to The Direct's Lauren Rouse about their upcoming holiday film, revealing how it's not the typical Christmas movie. Schwartzman revealed he'd never seen a movie where the mom character is the one who "unravels the whole movie," adding that Pfeiffer's character "hit[s] breaking point and lose[s] it." He added that Oh. What. Fun has an intriguing twist, hinting it "gets derailed from where we think it's going to go so quickly."
Channing is the eldest daughter of Pfeiffer's Claire, which leads to some tension in Oh. What. Fun, as each woman has their own ideas of what they think Christmas should be. Jones (whose Star Wars character Jyn Erso came back into public conversation thanks to Disney+'s Andor) said Channing and Claire are "at an impasse" when the film begins, but their journey takes them to "something more truthful, which is actually, they really respect one another."
Oh. What. Fun. also stars Chloe Grace Moretz, Dominic Sessa, Danielle Brooks, Denis Leary, Havana Rose Liu, and Maude Apatow. The movie, directed by Michael Showalter, streams on Prime Video beginning December 3, 2025.
Why Oh What Fun Is a Unique Christmas Adventure
“It’s Really Fun To See the Parent, Especially the Mother, Hit a Breaking Point and Lose It.”
- The Direct: "Christmas films tend to be a bit of an oversaturated market. Could you talk about what is different about this film compared to others that you've worked on, or what you feel is different about it in this landscape?"
Jason Schwartzman: I think that this movie is just unique because we're seeing a character, the mom, who, I feel like I can't think of a movie where that role is the character that spins out and breaks away and unravels the whole movie. Usually, I feel like a lot of Christmas movies, it's a kid or something. So I think it's really fun to see the parent, and especially the mother, Michelle, hit a breaking point and lose it.
[She] forces everyone to their new orbit for a second. Because it's like a bunch of planets, you know, one leaves, like, 'whoa', and you don't realize how much you need each other until you're without one. So to me, I just love that, and I love the chaos of it. I also love how it just unexpectedly, gets derailed from where we think it's going to go so quickly. I think that's what's unique about it.
Felicity Jones on Building the Mother-Daughter Dynamic With Michelle Pfeiffer
"They’re Very Similar, Which Is Why There Tends To Be Quite a Lot of Friction..."
- The Direct: "The relationship between Channing and her mother, Claire, is the heart of this film. Can you speak about building the mother-daughter dynamic between you and Michelle Pfeiffer?
Felicity Jones: I mean that relationship is, I feel there's so much love between them, and they're probably very similar, which is why there tends to be quite a lot of friction. They probably both like things done their own way, and when you have two people like that, it's often that they tend to clash more.
At the beginning of the film, I think they've reached a little bit of an impasse, you know? I think they feel like the other one doesn't really listen properly. They don't appreciate each other. So obviously, through the course of the film, it's actually getting through all of that perceived sense of each of each other, to something more truthful, which is actually: they really respect one another.
It's only through going through the sort of 'trauma' that they go through that they're then able to reunite at the end, and really take the relationship from being a parent-child relationship to being friends.
The full interview with Felicity Jones and Jason Schwartzman can be viewed below:
