The Holdovers

 Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph
Dominic Sessa, Carrie Preston

"Discomfort and Joy"

2024 Oscar Awards

Da'Vine Joy Randolph: Best Supporting Actress Winner
Paul Giamatti: Best Actor Nominee
Best Picture Nominee
Best Original Screenplay Nominee

Last March 18, I caught the first part of this movie on our flight to Singapore yet fell asleep mid way as it was an early morning flight. So I decided to re-watch it from the beginning during our return flight back home on March 24. Even though I was exhausted from the Singapore vacation, I managed to stay awake to finish the entire movie, after eating a really delicious dinner on Singapore Airlines.

Set in the 1970s in an all boys New England prep school called Barton, you can't help but compare "The Holdovers" with "Dead Poets Society. It is also a tale of a teacher who makes a huge impact on the lives of his students. 

While Robin Williams was an inspirational presence to an entire class, here Paul Giamatti as Paul Hunham is not a well loved teacher. He is a grumpy, no fuss teacher with no bedside manners yet he is also a brilliant intellect. When he is assigned to 'babysit' a bunch of 'holdovers' or students with nowhere to go during Christmas break, he forms an improbable bond with Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), a troubled student with dysfunctional family issues. To 'defrost' the icy, sardonic Mr Hunham, there is the kind hearted cook of the school, Mary (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) who is mourning the lost of her son in the Vietnam War. 

The film picks up when Mr Hunham, together with Angus and Mary go on a road trip to visit Angus's father who happens to be in a mental institution. Guards are down as three distinctly different characters bond over a simple meal. Their interaction is where the film shines. Relying purely on the credible acting skills of its stars, bouyed by a dialogue driven script unfolding in rural America in the early 1970s, "The Holdovers" succeeds on its own merit. 

It manages to warm our hearts with a good inspirational story of compassion and friendship with the right blend of light comedy and heavy drama  dealing with sensitive issues like grief and mental illness. Without any fancy special effects to distract us from the true essence of a feel good movie.

A Simple Favor

Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively,

Henry Golding

"We all have Secrets to Hide"

The film starts with Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) recording her parenting vlog where she also mentions that her best friend Emily (Blake Lively) has been missing for several days. Then it pans to how Stephanie and Emily became the best of friends.

Emily and Stephanie are contrasting figures yet they somehow click with their young sons as their common factor. Single parent Stephanie is a typical Suburban blogger mom, a know it all who lives off the life insurance of her dead husband, while Emily is a glamorous PR person for a designer and married to Sean Townsend (Henry Golding) a British who travels a lot.

The 'disappearance' of Emily is an integral part of the film. In trying to solve it, Stephanie unearthed betrayals, secrets, revelations, revenge and murder - all enough to spiral terribly out of control with the use of her vlog as a vital tool.

All these twists and turns come at a controllable pace, some easy to grasp while others need some figuring out, even as the complex characters need to come up for oxygen every now and then to maintain balance. The setting are suburban chic and modern bungalows, a quaint lake side town which all contribute to a stylish film noir atmosphere. 

The cast do well especially Anna Kendrick as the self effacing Stephanie who does have a secret or two buried in her own murky past. Blake Lively is fashionable as always and can hold her own against the very talented Anna Kendrick. As to Henry Golding, well he is still va va voom!

Overall, it was just an okay mix match of drama, thriller with light comedy. Nothing extraordinary yet not just ordinary either, if that makes sense.