The Hollars

There can never be enough films of the nature of THE HOLLARS to keep us all sane in the midst of world chaos and cinematic apocalyptic explosions and car chases and burning buildings. Jim Strouse has written a comedy drama about the importance of family and John Krasinski directs a stellar cast in this warm fuzzy hilarious and ultimate deeply moving film.

The setting is a small town in middle America – Ohio – where we meet the Hollars – a family consisting of a father, Don (Richard Jenkins) whose business is on the verge of bankruptcy, son Ron (Sharlto Copley) who is jobless and pines for his ex-wife Stacey (Ashley Dyke) and their children (Ron divorced them and regrets it and stalks them), Stacey's new husband Reverend Dan (Josh Groban), a school chum Jason (Charlie Day) who married the left behind sweetheart of John (John Krasinski) – a NYC artist of graphic novels who has left his live-in pregnant girlfriend Rebecca (Anna Kendrick) to visit his ill mother Sally (Margo Martindale). Old secrets arise, communications falter, and the family nearly implodes when it is discovered that Sally has a brain tumor. Rebecca comes to the Hollar home to be supportive and encounters a dysfunctional family that is both frustrating and entirely lovable and the manner in which each of these disparate characters comes together is the beauty of the film.

Simple story, very well written, acted by a first class ensemble of characters (Margo Martindale shines!) and directed with sensitivity – and it all works well. Try leaving the film with a dry eye – 'it's okay.'

Films with families coming together where one sibling his been absent for years that has in turn led to rivalry and jealously are not exactly new ground but in 'The Hollars' it never feels overly familiar thanks largely to the golden rule of film making, that a good script is King. The movie directing debut of John Krasinski, who also acts see's him play John Hollar, a struggling insecure graphic novelist, with a pregnant girlfriend (Anna Kendrick) living in New York. Upstate his father (Jenkins, brilliant as always) is running a failing family business, while his brother (Sharlto Copley) Ron, has just been fired by the Dad for warning him they're days away from bankruptcy. Ron has his own problems, going through a divorce from his wife and missing his two daughters, resulting in some what dysfunctional behaviour. It is in this setting that the patriarchal mother of the household (Margo Martindale, so natural & so brilliant she makes acting looks effortless) discovers she has a brain tumour, forcing the brothers together and the father to re- evaluate himself and the mistakes he may have made before its too late. A subplot involves John meeting his old flame who has now married high school friend turned hospital nurse (Charlie Day) who in turn is a bit of a dick. Will John resolve his own issues and see what is right in front of him, how will the father cope with his impending loss and can Ron find a peaceful solution to his messy divorce & cope with his wife's new love in the form of the affable local Priest (Nicely underplayed by Josh Groban) - Such are the dilemmas facing this familiar feeling family.

How dramas of this type work often depend on how engaging the characters are and connecting with them at an early stage. Krasinski cleverly never makes you like anyone in-particular too much or too little, tugging at the heart strings just right. Krasinski assembled a top notch group of actors here who clearly know their craft. This could have been a play on stage, but has enough drama to work well on screen. Copley plays a role very different from previous performances and handles the American accent with ease, while Kendrick proves she can handle a more demanding role outside of the Twilight Saga spectrum. Some characters feel a little underwritten, Ashley Dyke does well to make you notice her in a part with little characterisation, but essentially this is a film about The Hollars (Hence the title) and they are rightly the focus of the piece.

I have no doubt that Margo Martindale will be criminally under looked when it comes to award season for her role of the mother. One of those actresses who I have seen hundreds of times, has assured I will always know her name after this performance. The film may not break much new ground, but it is certainly among the best within its genre and fortunately, it wasn't set during Thanksgiving with a scene involving a turkey. Recommended.

I found this movie the other day on Showtime. John Krasinski, Anna Kendrick, Margo Martindale, Charlie Day, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and a bunch of other great actors make up the cast. I did not remember this movie being released at all. I wish I had known. Krasinski pulls double duty as he also directed. The writing is simple but well executed. Small-town family dealing with numerous issues. It's the kind of movie that really doesn't get made anymore, and that makes me sad. I found it very entertaining. It had plenty of comedy to go with the dramatic moments. What really makes the movie work is Kraskinski and Martindale. They are both extremely talented and this movie is a good showcase.

The Hollars is far from perfect, but it's definitely worth a watch based on the talent involved alone. Enjoy!

This film tells the story of a family who is troubled by many misfortunes, including the father's business going badly, the mother having cancer, the older son coping with divorce and the younger son doing a job he dislikes.

Despite the multiple misfortunes, "The Hollars" remain light hearted, optimistic and cheerful. They show human emotions appropriate to the situations, and is not over the top. Attributing the mother's symptoms to a weight issue is quite funny, but believable at the same time. The thing about these characters is that they face real problems and have realistic reactions. I have sympathy for the characters because they are relatable to the viewers. The ending is quite funny, sweet and sad all at the same time. It also reminds us to live life to the most.

"The Hollars" (2016 release; 90 min.) brings the story of the Hollar family. As the movie opens, Sally (the matriarch so to speak) is found laying on the bathroom floor, and we soon learn that she has a potentially life-threatening brain tumor ("the size of a softball"). Meanwhile, we also get to know her husband Don, whose heating and plumbing business is *this* short of bankruptcy, oldest son Ron, who is so down on his luck that he is living in the basement of his parents' house, and younger son John, a wanna-be graphic novelist bored out of his mind at his current customer service job, and his highly pregnant girlfriend Becca. At this point we're 10 min. into the movie but to tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the second film directed by actor John Krazinski (who also plays the role of the younger son John). In this movie, he examines a dysfunctional (and that is a kind reference) family, in which pretty much everyone is unhappy, or unlucky, or both, as to the state of affairs in their respective lives. The movie is billed as a 'comedy-drama' and I'd say that is pretty accurate, with the funniest bits coming up in the first half of the movie (with the best of those featured prominently in the movie's trailer, which I had seen beforehand). The second part of the movie is far more introspective, and for me the better part of the movie. When John asks his mom how she managed to get through 38 years of marriage, Sally responds "Don't waste time with the bad, live with the good. I've had a good marriage for 38 years." The movie is helped tremendously by some wonderful acting performances, starting first and foremost with Margo Martindale as Sally, bur Richard Jenkins as her husband Don is equally great. Anna Kendrick as John's highly pregnant girlfriend has a surprisingly large role 9and she is super-charming in it), whereas Mary Elizabeth Winstead as John's ex-girlfriend has maybe 5 min. of screen time in total. Check out also Josh Groban (yes, the singer) in a charming role as Reverend Dan. Last but not least, there is a terrific soundtrack from singer-songwriter Josh Ritter. Bottom line: the movie has received a mixed reaction from critics and the public at large. Perhaps because of that, my expectations were low, going into this. Instead, I found myself fully charmed by and invested in these characters, and I was sorry to let go of them when the movie was over.

"The Hollars" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and it finally made its way to my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati this past weekend. The Monday evening screening where I saw this at was attended okay (given it was a Monday). No, this film doesn't cover any new ground as such, but if you like small-scale indie movies with a big heart, you;ll want to give this one a chance, be it in the theater, on Amazon Instant Video or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray. "The Hollars" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!