Movie Review – The Holdovers

The Holdovers could be this generation’s Dead Poets Society. I don’t think The Holdovers is as inspirational as DPS, but they serve the same general purpose: an eccentric teacher (the wizard) guiding a young man/hero, who is missing a father figure, through the transition from adolescence into adulthood.

There are numerous movies that illustrate this mythic tale: Star Wars, DPS, Finding Forrester (a remarkable movie for those who haven’t heard of it), and now The Holdovers.

Paul Giamatti continues to display what a fantastic actor he is. Granted, many of his roles are from the same mold, but he owns that mold and makes it his. Big kudos to Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who played Mary Lamb. There wasn’t a single scene where I thought she was acting. It felt like she just was that character. Lastly, Dominic Sessa was fantastic as Angus Tully. I never would have guessed that he was in his thirties. I hope to see him in more roles soon.

One last thing that my wife and I both noticed was that the movie felt like it was filmed in the 1970s. They definitely tried to achieve that because the title cards were in a 1970s graphic format, even the R-rating card was in the old style. It had a 70s quality to it, in a good way.

Grade: A

About The Peetimes: This was a difficult movie to find good Peetimes. The third/last Peetime is easily the best. If you can’t wait that long either of the first two are fine, but both end as dramatic scenes begin.

There are no extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of The Holdovers.

Rated:	(R) Some Drug Use | Language | Brief Sexual Material
Genres:	Comedy, Drama
Starring:	Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa
Director:	Alexander Payne
Writer(s):	David Hemingson
Language:	English
Country:	United States

Plot
A cranky history teacher at a remote prep school is forced to remain on campus over the holidays with a troubled student who has no place to go.

[category ][status draft] [tags movie review,Comedy, Drama]