'The Oh in Ohio': Talented cast given little to work with

Unfortunately, "The Oh in Ohio" isn't the life and times of "Grey's Anatomy" star and "Sideways" scene-stealer Sandra Oh.

It's about the Big O, as in orgasm. Parker Posey's gotta get it and hubby Paul Rudd ain't supplying it. There is, as you might expect, a strain on the marriage.

Cyan Pictures 'The Oh in Ohio' C The verdict: Oh that Parker Posey, but the script's attempts at sex humor is on the level of second-graders saying dirty words. Director: Billy Kent Starring: Parker Posey, Danny DeVito, Mischa Barton, Paul Rudd, Miranda Bailey Run time: 91 minutes Release date: July 14, 2006 Rating: Not rated, but contains strong sexual content. On the web Official movie site Rate 'The Oh in Ohio'   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

Posey plays Priscilla Chase, a go-getting Cleveland marketing exec who, well, doesn't know what she's missing — despite having made love, by her own count, 1,482 times with her husband Jack, a high-school biology teacher. Declaring her frigidity has "un-manned" him, Jack moves into the garage and embarks on an affair with one of those male-fantasy students (Mischa Barton) — a super-gorgeous, brainy, sexually aggressive 18-year-old with a thing for schlumpy older professors.

Meanwhile, Priscilla sets off on her own search for, um, fulfillment, by any means necessary. First stop is a class led by Big O expert Liza Minelli (funny in flowy pink) whose vagina monologue includes such tips as, "Value your vulva" and "Name your vagina" (One participant writes down "Velvet Volcano").

Next is a visit to a sex shop where Priscilla, who couldn't have guessed vibrators came in bright orange-red, is helped by lesbian clerk Heather Graham. She sets her up with a starter kit and sends her on her way. And 189 orgasms later, Priscilla thinks she's got the hang of it and is ready to move on to the real thing.

But, does that mean getting back with Jack or joining Wayne the Pool Guy (Danny DeVito) — he's been installing and tending pools in the Greater Cleveland area for 30 years — on the 300-foot water slide at his place?

The cast does its best and, considering who they are, it helps considerably. DeVito demonstrates the same unexpected sweet sexuality in his role as he did when he paired up with a distraught Holly Hunter in "Living Out Loud." Rudd can do hangdog with his eyes closed and his hands tied behind him, but he manages to find something original in Jack's predicament, something humorous and sometimes touching, without being gooey. However, the movie is carried by the inimitable Posey who not only brings her sharp comic touch to an underwritten character, but also shows she can fake a funny orgasm that's every bit as good as Meg Ryan's in "When Harry Met Sally..."

But Ryan did her bit once and got on with the rest of the movie. Poor Posey is asked to repeat the act several times, including one drawn-out bit during a business meeting that makes you think of a late '60s improvisation class taught by an especially lecherous and sadistic drama professor.

The script, which was co-written by director Billy Kent, has the forced "raciness" of a mid-'70s dinner-theater sex comedy. Say, something along the lines of "Natalie's Naughty Nightie" (a stalwart of the circuit at that time). Aren't we all being naughty, the movie keeps insisting. And you want to insist back, no, not really.

And stop wasting Parker Posey's time.