When I saw the preview for The Hollars, I actually wanted to see it enough to theoretically go to the theater and pay money, but there was too much competition (Southside With You, Don’t Breathe, Complete Unknown) so I let it slip away. I did see it as soon as it was released on DVD. I should have let it slip away again.
The Hollars stars John Krasinski from The Office fame. Krasinski also directs The Hollars, which is hopefully his last time in the film director’s chair. The Hollars depicts him at a turning point with his girlfriend, played by Anna Kendrick, and he is internally freaking out. He leaves NYC and returns to his hometown after finding out that his mom, played by Margo Martindale, has a brain tumor. Richard Jenkins plays the father, and Sharlto Copley, best known for his role in District 9, plays his older brother.
The Hollars’ opening scenes, which dominate the previews, are great. The chemistry of the cast plays like a real family, particularly the dynamic between Jenkins and Copley, who does a mediocre job hiding his accent. The Hollars’ average cast member is perfect. My favorite Martindale role is her scene stealing turns in The Americans (I have not seen beyond the first season YET), and Jenkins generally has perfect range: from his darker roles in Let Me In and Cabin in the Woods to his more affable characters such as his starring role in The Visitor. Krasinski acts with his hair. If it is flat, he is sad.
So why is The Hollars so disappointing? I am tired of the trope that men become paralyzed by life and cannot function while women are generally prepared for anything and have to make sure the men are alright even if they are dying. No days off for you! I feel like there should be a genre for when a man panics because he is expecting his first baby. In The Hollars, life happens to men whereas women are mostly mystical creatures who make sure that they are OK. The Hollars’ women are like the Highlander—there can only be one Mrs. Holler. If you say not all the women in The Hollars is perfect, you are right, but that is because all those women could not be THE Mrs. Hollar. They also freak out about life so they are pushed to the edges of the screen, trotted out as accessories when a Mr. Hollar needs a plot twist.
I also hate movies that lack the courage to truly portray everything going to crap. The Hollars is a financial crisis tease. The father’s business is going under, and he has to work at a local store where he can take breaks and talk to his son. Sure. The father offers his older son a job at his business, which was failing, and he could not pay his other workers. So how are they eating? How come they have not sold the house yet to downsize? Do they have Obamacare in this movieverse? Thank God the next Mrs. Hollar is inexplicably wealthy and ready to make all your dreams come true. I’m fine with someone having a sugar mama, but you tried to make me feel bad for this family because of their financial dire straits, but they recovered quicker than the woman with the brain tumor.
The Hollars is some trite sunrise, sunset BS, circle of life that thinks it is profound, deep and meaningful, and I hated it. Other movies wore it better. Don’t let the cast trick you into watching The Hollars.