Fix: Historical Dram-Com, Found Family Dynamics, Really Chilly Weather, New Movies that Look Like Old Movies
Platform: Apple TV
Apple TV Summary:
From acclaimed director Alexander Payne, The Holdovers follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually he forms an unlikely bond with one of them – a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Da’Vine Joy Randolph).
FYA Summary:
Sometimes the last place you want to be is the place you need to be, and the last people you want to be with are the ones you need the most. Or so finds Mr. Hunham, the toughest and most hated teacher at Barton Academy, who’s stuck at the school over winter break watching “the holdovers”—a group of students who have nowhere else to go.
Familiar Faces:
Paul Giamatti as Paul Hunham
Giamatti’s Hunham, although he is an unlikeable, too-tough, loner of a teacher, doesn’t deserve to get stuck with the holdovers over winter break, especially since it wasn’t supposed to be his year. He makes the best of it, and is endearing from start to finish, even when he’s at his most curmudgeonly. His relationship with the “worst” of the students is genuine and sweet, and Giamatti plays him with grace. I like him in pretty much everything I’ve seen him in, and The Holdovers is no exception.
Couch-Sharing Capability: Holiday Movie Marathon
The Holdovers isn’t billed as a Christmas movie, but as it takes place around the holiday, I’m labeling it one. If you need something new to add to a list of holiday movies to watch this time of year, it’s a good one. The cast, albeit small, is wonderful, and the messages of found family and outcasts finding kindred spirits are perfect for the season.
Recommended Level of Inebriation: Seasonal
As this movie takes place over winter break in the Northeast, there’s a lot of snow in pretty much every outdoor scene. Treat yourself to some hot cocoa—spiked or not, it’s up to you—or some spiced cider to keep you warm while watching.
Use of Your Streaming Subscription: Keep it Cozy
The Holdovers is a heartwarming story featuring broken characters who find companionship in the people they’d least expect. It’s a great movie to watch at this time of year, when the days are short and Christmas the idea of family is all around. It’s not entirely feel-good, but the ending will leave you feeling a lovely and hopeful warmth to take with you into the new year.
Ooh, thanks for reminding me about this one! The trailer made it look interesting, so I’m glad it’s worth a watch!
Let me know what you think after you watch! ☺️