The OH in Ohio (2006) from Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy; Greg Wroblewski)

This is basically like an episode of Sex and the City with a new character. Parker Posey plays a successful suburbanite who has conquered every field but one: her own orgasms. She hasn't ever had one. She doesn't even masturbate. Since she has been married to the same man (Paul Rudd) for ten years, she has just shut herself off from sexual feelings to concentrate on the rest of her life. Her husband, on the other hand, is crushed by his failure to please her, and is experiencing a profound depression. After much hand-wringing and a separation, she finally resolves to try to understand her problem. In the course of her newfound single life, she goes to a demented masturbation coach (Liza Minnelli), buys sex toys, sleeps with a lot of men, has her lesbian moment (with Heather Graham!), has many frank girl-talks with her friend, and finally finds her tantric center in the person of an ugly little old runt of a pool guy (Brad Pitt) who can make her laugh ... and come.

Just kidding about Pitt. I'm pretty sure you can guess who actually plays the old pool guy. (Hint: not Jason Alexander. Think uglier and runtier.)

Her husband, meanwhile, is a high school teacher and gets his mojo back by having an affair with one of his honor students (Mischa Barton). The film completely backs off any moral judgment about that relationship, treating the affair exactly the same as if she were a 21-year-old college student from a different school.

It seems like a cable project but somehow managed a tiny theatrical run (20 screens). I'm not sure why. Perhaps the distributors thought that audiences might show up to see the recognizable names in the cast. Despite a lot of frank talk, the sex and nudity are minimal, and the jokes are edgeless. The cast is fine, but the film just let them down. It has all the superficial character development, general pointlessness and glib attitude of a comedy without any of that pesky humor.

 

DVD INFO

  • Widescreen anamorphic
  • A few extended and deleted scenes.

 

NUDITY REPORT

Mischa Barton does a sex scene in which she is supposed to be topless. Her nipples appear to be covered with patches.

The Critics Vote ...

 

The People Vote ...

The meaning of the IMDb score: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence equivalent to about three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, comparable to approximately two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, equivalent to about a two star rating from the critics, or a C- from our system. Films rated below five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film - this score is roughly equivalent to one and a half stars from the critics or a D on our scale. (Possibly even less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

Our own guideline:

  • A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre.
  • B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. Any film rated B- or better is recommended for just about anyone. In order to rate at least a B-, a film should be both a critical and commercial success. Exceptions: (1) We will occasionally rate a film B- with good popular acceptance and bad reviews, if we believe the critics have severely underrated a film. (2) We may also assign a B- or better to a well-reviewed film which did not do well at the box office if we feel that the fault lay in the marketing of the film, and that the film might have been a hit if people had known about it. (Like, for example, The Waterdance.)
  • C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but will be considered excellent by people who enjoy this kind of movie. If this is your kind of movie, a C+ and an A are indistinguishable to you.
  • C means it is competent, but uninspired genre fare. People who like this kind of movie will think it satisfactory. Others probably will not.
  • C- indicates that it we found it to be a poor movie, but genre addicts find it watchable. Any film rated C- or better is recommended for fans of that type of film, but films with this rating should be approached with caution by mainstream audiences, who may find them incompetent or repulsive or both. If this is NOT your kind of movie, a C- and an E are indistinguishable to you.
  • D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. We don't score films below C- that often, because we like movies and we think that most of them have at least a solid niche audience. Now that you know that, you should have serious reservations about any movie below C-. Films rated below C- generally have both bad reviews and poor popular acceptance.
  • E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre.
  • F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

 

Based on this description, this film is a C-. The genre is "Sex and the City" clones. If you like that show, you'll probably find this to be about equivalent to an average episode. I found it kinda watchable, but the humor generally fails, and the 6.0 at IMDb is a mild surprise. I would have guessed at least a half-point lower.

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