Los Hollar

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.'

"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!

Don't be fooled by the categorisation of the film on the In Flight Entertainment channel. It's not just a comedy as advertised but a honest, tear jerking yet funny and thought provoking film. The honesty of the movie has me examined my relationship with my own parents - have I spend enough time with them? care about them as much I should? The love and marriage the older Hollars have is something we should all want and work towards to.

The actors did a phenomenal job portraying their characters - bringing them to life, making my heart wrench with what is happening to them and having me invested all 90 minutes to find out how the story pans out in the end.

Highly recommend watching this if you're tired of watching all the big money Hollywood films and is looking for something refreshing to watch.

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!

I'm not saying this is the best film of the year, because there are plenty of better films than this, but in some way this film wins our heart. First of all I did not know John Krasinski directs films. In fact, this is his second feature film, the only one I have seen and I loved it. The main reason to I enjoy it was, it is sentimental. Not just some foolish melodrama, but an uplifting film filled with lots of fun.

The cast was at its best. I liked everyone and their unique display. At some point it feels like a realistic drama, but those comedies make us realise that it's only a film. Margo Martindale was really awesome. I have never seen her in such a wonderful role. Most importantly in an important role like this one. If I remember this film in the future, that's only for her. The only negative about the film was the twist. It was like they aimed for it to bring change in pace and atmosphere, when the situation in the story was not in its favour. Even though I did not care it, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is the story of the Hollar family who reunite when they needed for each other. When John comes to know his mother got ill, he immediately flies back home. His brother is already there and the father is financially struggling. With many struggles, they all prepare for the medical procedure. In the meantime, there are some outside adventures. Like meeting their old friends, places, ex-wife et cetera. The remaining of the film is to reveal how it all goes and where they will stand.

The target audience is mainly the families. If you like a tearjerker, you would enjoy watching it as well. So in my opinion, this film is under-rated and under-noticed. Mainly because of the cast is not so popular and so the lack of promotion. Even the film poster is not that impressive. Kind of looks like a B movie and of course it is, but an awesome B movie. Worth a watch for many reasons and you will know it when you give it a try. So, recommended.

8/10