My Review of "The Holdovers"

The Holdovers is a drama with a lot of comedy elements to it. The movie came out in 2023 but was based in 1970. As such, a lot of the film aesthetics are reminiscent of those times. They use that eras method of making films with this movie and it does take a little getting used to. When you do get used to it you have yourself a fantastic ride that you will get totally absorbed into.

The movie starts off at an affluent boys only private high school. A lot of the kids there are very spoiled and it's approaching the Christmas holidays. This is when all of the kids get ready for the big break and go home to spend time with their families. Unfortunately for some of the boys, they have to stay at the school during the holidays. These boys of course are the holdovers.

As there are some holdovers at the school, there also has to be a teacher for supervision. Paul takes his teaching very seriously. Some would say that he takes it a little too seriously and he doesn't have a lot of friends because of it. His students don't like him and his colleagues don't like him either. This makes him the prime choice to take care of the holdovers during the Christmas holidays.

Along with Paul we have Mary. She's been working in the cafeteria for years but this year is especially hard on her as her only son has recently passed away. Her son was a student at the school and she's struggling hard to figure out how to grieve for her son.

Of the holdovers, Angus is the one member that seems to be having all the bad luck. He's the main character that will be stuck with Paul and Mary throughout the holidays. They all don't want to be there but they'll all soon learn to appreciate each other's company. It's an unchosen family of sorts.

This movie has a lot interesting themes throughout the story. We talk about how everyone is more than what they appear to be. Each one of them has an assumption of each other that will soon be shattered. Every time a new snippet about each of their past gets revealed we as an audience learn why they are the way they are in the beginning of the movie. Ultimately, they all grow as individuals in this movie and it's such a thrill to be part of their ride.

Not all of this is drama. There are a ton of hilarious scenes that mostly involve Paul. He's the curmudgeon old man that I can totally relate to. The scene with him trying to stretch before going to bed had my in stitches. His conversations with Angus later on in the film are really funny as well. I love how they are able to weave comedy and drama so well. It's like a symphony of emotions while watching this movie. I felt like they had every button for each of my emotions and they could just press a button and get me to feel it.

Though there are some adult themes in this movie, it is for the most part a family film. There is no nudity, violence or extreme profanity. Everyone can enjoy this movie. My only qualm about this movie is the retro stylings of the way it was made. It's a style choice and I appreciate it. I just found that I needed to take a little longer to get used to the pacing of the film. That's not film's fault. It's my own shortened attention span. Though, I can see how some people can fall into this trap as well. Trust me it's worth following through with the movie.

Overall, I had a really good time with this one as you can tell. This is probably one of the best movies I've seen all year so far. They had me laying on my couch just absorbing the fun that these three characters could bring. I could watch this trio for more adventures and that's why I have to give this movie a 8.5 out of 10. It is so fun and I will definitely recommend this to all of my friends.