The Oh in Ohio

The Oh in Ohio

Category: (DVD)

32 new, starting at $3.73

61 used, starting at $0.69

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Editorial Reviews

Priscilla Chase (Parker Posey) seems to have everything going for her - the perfect job, the perfect house, the perfect husband - except for in bed where sex has always left her a bit short of the finish line. When her husband leaves her to regain his manhood with a young student (Mischa Barton), Priscilla embarks on a wild journey that ultimately leads her to love in the most unlikely place.

DVD Features:
Deleted Scenes
Extended takes

On the surface, Priscilla Chase (Parker Posey, Superman Returns) has it all: good job, stable marriage, attractive Cleveland abode. In truth, the smartly dressed ad exec is sexually unsatisfied. In fact, she's never experienced the "oh" of the title. Husband Jack (a scruffy Paul Rudd, The 40-Year-Old Virgin), high school bio teacher, has problems of his own. He's so unhappy with their lackluster sex life he's taken to drinking on the job. Priscilla sets out to overcome her dysfunction. That means trips to a therapist, a self-help guru (a blonde Liza Minnelli), and an adult toy shop (staffed by an unbilled Heather Graham). Eventually she finds a possible solution. All the while, Jack solicits advice from a smooth-talking colleague (Keith David in hilarious form) and spends time with precocious student Kristen (Mischa Barton, more construct than character). Then there's local celeb Wayne the Pool Guy (a ponytailed Danny DeVito), who fills an unexpected role in this passion play. Billy Kent's debut is pitched somewhere between Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex and an episode of Sex and the City. (The dialogue may be unbridled, but there's only a hint of flesh.) The main reason to see the film is simply for the star. From start to, um, finish, Posey is thoroughly charming, never overplaying the kind of role that could've been painful to watch in the hands of a lesser actress. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews

One of those great, but little known about movies!

Reviewed by Tawnia King, 2009-02-08

This is one of my all time favorite movies. Made sweeter by the fact that it was one of those that I had never heard of and just took a chance on when I rented it. I have passed it on to many friends who all love it as well. And with a cast like this, how could it not be great!

Saved by the Cast

Reviewed by E. Drake, 2008-03-17

The Oh in Ohio is the kind of movie you see for the stars as it was indeed saved by the cast. Paul Rudd is his down-to-earth-seeming self. Parker Posey is adorable. Within moments you too will believe her innocence in realizing her own sexual dysfunction. And DeVito is just a fantastic actor. Like Bill Murray, (and I don't mean to sound weird about this, but perhaps someone out there will get my meaning)I wish he were my father...sorry dad. To put it less creepily, I just wish he could be my friend.

For what appears to be director Billy Kent's first movie, this flick is not bad. However, it just doesn't feel whole. Keith David, for instance plays Paul Rudd's friend/coworker at school. I felt his character just didn't have the impact the filmmaker was going for. To put it simply, his character just seemed underdeveloped. In fact that's a good way to describe the feel of the whole movie: underdeveloped or premature. Economically speaking, the movie is not worth the $19.99. I picked it up for 5 bucks as a pre-viewed Blockbuster movie. I am not unhappy with that choice, perhaps a used purchase may be the better choice for anyone interested.

Aside from this, the movie does have some nice insightful discussions on the nature of a sexual relations (particularly when Rudd and Posey are at the Psychaiatrist/Relationship Helper Man). There is a genuinely airy feel to the movie which is good to know for people who need a pick-me-up from a gloomy week. For geography lover's, it was also nice to see a different city in the background. Lastly DeVito's "Ok" at the end of the movie is priceless.

What is love and marriage without sex?

Reviewed by Reader, 2008-01-29

This goofy little comedy with wonderful, talented cast is set in Cleveland, Ohio. We learn of young married professional couple in their mid-thirties who are slowly but surely getting alienated. While husband is gloomy about his career as a biology teacher in the local public high school, his goofball wife with cute smile and pretty face is earning her way to becoming a marketing vice president in her company. Their life seems to be a comfortable except for the fact that their marriage is (ahem!) slightly disfunctional. For a moment there I could understand husband's escapade in having relationship with his high school student in attempt to assert himself. But I could not buy into a relationship between the wife (Parker Posey) and pool installer man played by Denny DeVito. Before long I started to ask myself what is this movie really about? Love story about the (modern) beauty and the beast? Or did I miss something here? As wife and husband realize that there is no reconciliation putting them togehter no matter how handsome they look together, we see a new liberated modern woman simply enjoying her life in her goofy, superficial kind of way. But we are OK with it - because after all - this is a comedy, folks.

No fun

Reviewed by Katia Oli, 2007-12-22

NO fun at all. She has not ever had an orgasm and when her husband leaves her she starts to look around...

another film ruined by shoddy DVD manufacturing

Reviewed by Thomas M. Sipos, 2007-03-22

This is a review of the OH IN OHIO DVD, rather than the film itself. It's also a warning.

I first rented OH IN OHIO from Netflix. The DVD kept skipping and stalling. I couldn't watch it all. I figured it was badly scratched. So I bought a new DVD from Amazon. It arrived looking pristine, still wrapped in celephone. I even played it on a different DVD player. Yet this DVD also SKIPPED AND STALLED!

My DVD player was even RUMBLING and GROANING when it tried to play this new DVD. And it's not the DVD player, because when I put in another DVD, it had no trouble.

Seems OH IN OHIO went through some pretty shoddy DVD manufacturing "quality control."

Why do SO MANY DVDs skip and stall? And if DVDs are so fragile, why don't CDs and CD-ROMs have this problem?

In the 1980s, VIDEO magazine published a theory that the studios were releasing poor quality VHS tapes because they didn't want consumers to build longterm libraries. That makes sense.

Remember, the studios never wanted to sell their movies, they only wanted to rent tapes to video stores. It was a series of court cases in the 1970s/80s concerning antitrust, restraint of trade, and fair use in copyright (such as the Sony Betamax case) that barred the studios from restricting the trade of independent video stores.

Yet the studios made a bundle when people built tape libraries. Another bundle now that people are replacing their fragile tapes with fragile DVDs.

I can see why the studios don't want to manufacture decent quality DVDs, lest consumers have permanent movies floating around for decades. Studios earn nothing on the sale of used DVDs. Better for them to manufacture fragile DVDs that won't last, so consumers will more easily replace their scratchy DVDs when the next format comes along.

I'm really tired of SO MANY DVDs skipping and stalling. I wish there was more consumer outrage against these crappy studio practices.

Based on what I could see of OH IN OHIO, Parkey Posey is pretty and delightful, although the film is fluffy and lightweight, unlike her darker 1990s comedies (i.e., HOUSE OF YES, CLOCKWATCHERS).

My one star is no slam on Posey, nor even on the film. It refers to the crappy DVD.

IMPORTANT: Google "DVD rot". You'll be surprised and disheartened by what you'll find.