Priscilla Chase (Parker Posey) is the kind of tightly wound young professional you see resolutely bounding down the street in her power suit, gleaming white pumps moving at lightning speed, chin to the sky.
Priscilla, in other words, could use a day off ' or an orgasm, something she has never had. This, not surprisingly, is no boost to the ego of her husband of several years, Jack (Paul Rudd).
The Oh in Ohio, a comedy that takes place in Cleveland (but, in true Hollywood style, only was partially filmed there), takes its setup ' a kind of female 40-Year-Old Virgin ' and enters some territory that is refreshing in a movie of its kind. It's a shame Ohio doesn't have the stamina to make it past the halfway point, because it contains some of the funniest scenes in the movies this year.
In the beginning, Priscilla and Jack quickly reach a breaking point in their relationship and she sets off on a quest for satisfaction at the same time that he finds a new squeeze in the form of one of his high school students (The O.C.'s Mischa Barton). Posey's neuroticism, curiosity and wonderful comedic timing pay off when she encounters a battery-operated solution to her problem and, perhaps best of all, an outgoing sexpert played by Liza Minnelli.
Rudd, given one of the most conventional frustrated male parts in the movies, makes the best of it with the sarcasm he has elevated to an art.
Little by little though, the cracks start showing and comedy takes a backseat to the life lesson the movie has trouble conveying. The Oh in Ohio obviously is more than an 88-minute-long gimmicky concept, but as it transforms into an unconventional love story it gets knee-deep in poignancy ' not one of its strong points.
Maybe the reason the last half of Ohio falls apart is that lack, or maybe it's the virtual absence of the ever-entertaining Rudd. Then again, it could be Danny DeVito's official debut as a romantic lead, the details of which I will spare here. I wouldn't wish Priscilla's problem on anyone.
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Matt Burns
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Parker Posey plays uptight Priscilla Chase in [I]The Oh in Ohio[/I].
