This film could make your holiday family dinner seem tame, no matter how crazy your relatives are. Since the 2016 election, family gatherings have become a treacherous political minefield. Ike Barinholtz is known as a comedic actor (Neighbors, Sisters). Here he flexes his writing and directorial muscle in his first feature, and stars in a film he told us was inspired by Thanksgiving dinner last year with his own family. Even though they are politically like-minded, his relatives were barely speaking to each other the next day. The Oath is an impressive effort at satire that mostly hits the mark before venturing into weird darkness that almost knocks it off the rails.
The Oath refers to a presidential request that all Americans sign a pledge of loyalty not only to the country, but to the President himself. Barinholtz plays Chris, a comfortably middle class suburbanite. He and his African-American wife, Kai (Tiffany Haddish) are MSNBC liberals outraged at the notion of The Oath which is to be signed by the day after Thanksgiving, of course, Black Friday.
As the family gathers at his house for Thanksgiving dinner the stage is set for the inevitable battle with conservative brother Pat (actual brother Jon Barinholtz) and his girlfriend Abbie (Meredith Hagner) who looks and sounds like a Fox News Anchor. Family battle lines are joined by sister Alice (Carrie Brownstein) and her little seen husband (Jay Duplass) in Chris’ corner and their parents (Nora Dunn and Chris Ellis) who just want family peace.
The scene is set for conflict on the streets as well as at holiday tables. Even though signing The Oath is touted as optional, the Administration has created a special task force, the CPU (Citizens Protection Unit) who show up at rallies where vocal opponents to the President are mysteriously disappearing. Of course, if you support the President, The Oath is not a big deal. It is your pleasure and duty to sign.
The calmest voice is surprisingly supplied by Tiffany Haddish as Kai. She’s constantly trying to calm her husband, Chris, down. But watch her deliver a spectacularly reasonable, yet funny, monologue while brushing her teeth…and then really going at it, brushing her tongue! Haddish makes it look perfectly normal, but it’s hilarious. Was it in the script? Barinholtz says it was just great Haddish improv which caught everybody on the set by surprise. He also admits that she cracked him up a little more than he made her laugh, but just a little bit more.
Reminiscent of last year’s Get Out, the light satire turns into a threatening palate of tension and violence when two CPU agents, Peter and Mason (Jon Cho and Billy Magnussen) show up wanting to question Chris. Even though they are technically not the police and have no warrant, the CPU agents are vaguely threatening indicating someone “ratted out” Chris concerning his political leanings. Matters escalate and get out of hand. Guns, tasers, rope and duct tape come into play in bloody, violent., screaming battles as the family finally comes around.
This is where Barinholtz seems to lose his way. Especially in the portrayal of the CPU agents, Mason in particular. He’s an “off-the-reservation” psychotic-with-a-badge who is so over-the-top nuts that he loses any credibility. Jon Cho’s Peter is the voice of reason, but spends most of his time unconscious on the couch, miraculously waking up at certain crucial moments.
Barinholtz had Director of Photography, Cary Lalonde, start the film shooting the dinner like a beautifully bright, warm and fuzzy Norman Rockwell painting. But as family tension escalates, the framing gets tighter, progressively darker and more claustrophobic. Barinholtz makes the players look trapped in what has become a horror of a family holiday.
Barinholtz is a news junkie who says he’s deeply concerned about where this country is headed. Despite his Blue leaning, he doesn’t let either political faction off the hook. The degeneration of conversation into mindless screaming and intolerance has moved off the TV screen into our dining rooms as Barinholtz portrays all too well. But, the prolonged, profane diatribes in this film still feel a bit too labored.
Barinholtz writes himself into a corner and is forced to used a rather unlikely twist to get out of the situation that comes up a little too quickly. Barinholtz told us that he still has hope and optimism for the future of this country, but the fantasy ending he uses came out of nowhere. There are plenty of reports about the current White House occupant demanding loyalty from his subordinates, so this premise of rolling it out to every citizen is not that far fetched.
We give Barinholtz credit for taking on this contentious subject and becoming part of the discussion. Despite some of the missed opportunities we still think you ought to sign up for The Oath to see what or who you might be chewing on at your own Thanksgiving Feast.
Roadside Attractions 93 Minutes R
