The Oh in Ohio

The Oh in question is indeed the big Oh. Alas, no matter how much success Priscilla (Posey) has as an advertising exec trying to sell companies on relocating to Cleveland, she has failed to achieve an orgasm. Ever. She behaves as though it isn’t a problem, but it’s clearly been slowly destroying the ego of her husband, Jack (Rudd), who’s gone from being a popular high-school teacher to a cranky educator whom students find forgettable. As their marriage comes unglued, Priscilla sets out to finally get off by whatever means necessary while Jack chases after an all-too-willing student (Barton).

This is meant to be comedy for grown-ups, in which the jokes about vibrators are free of the teenage giggles. And all the actors involved are just so darn likable that it is puzzling why this never quite satisfies. Posey, in general charming, overplays the uptight bit early on. Once Priscilla has started fooling around with a local pool-installation king (DeVito), Posey settles down, and the scenes between them display terrific off-kilter chemistry. Rudd is believable as a teacher who’d end up sleeping with a student, for what that’s worth. But Kent never quite gets a grip on the tone. For a while, Oh plays broad, with Liza Minnelli doing a cameo as a sex guru and the aforementioned vibrator jokes. Then it becomes more wistful and charming. The last third of the movie left us wondering what might have been if this had started on the delicate note on which it ends.—Hank Sartin