The Holdovers (2023, Alexander Payne) (Patreon)

61/100

Kicks off with multiple Hollywood-movie-made-in-the-'70s signifiers (including, to my small audience's palpable discomfort, an invented "vintage" Miramax logo*), but very few notable films from that era skewed this openly sentimental, and key inspiration Hal Ashby kept his films of that period well under The Holdovers' slightly punishing 133 minutes. You particularly feel that length because David Hemingson's screenplay—originally intended as a TV pilot—unexpectedly devolves into a very modest three-hander (that then also jettisons one of the trio for a while, guess which); I confess to feeling rather disappointed when every kid except Angus disappeared via deus ex helicopter, as the multi-grade ensemble had been lively and engaging. Especially missed the laid-back dude who was stuck there for refusing to get a haircut (though his dad ultimately "caving" does get a casually funny reversal at the end). Fortunately, the three actors who remain share an enjoyably prickly chemistry, with non-glossy newcomer Dominic Sessa embodying the sort of politely anti-authoritarian vibe that New Hollywood pictures pioneered. Giamatti's very much doing his standard Giamatti thing, weighed down by a truly ludicrous accumulation of personal afflictions (Hunham has strabismus and hyperhidrosis and trimethylaminuria—feel free to google 'em; I just had to), but he's such a consummate pro that the character's gradual unpuckering offers its share of lightly amusing moments. Snooty classics prof discovers The Newlywed Game alongside school chef, etc. I found Nebraska a good deal thornier, thanks to Bruce Dern's sustained disconnection from everyone else onscreen, and still miss Payne's initial scathing cynicism, even when I felt that he pushed that a bit too far. As bloated feel-good indies go, however, The Holdovers acquits itself pretty well, and at least pays lip service to its sleeker, spikier forebears. 

* Miramax technically did exist in the '70s, for exactly 13 days. But I'm confident that its original logo wasn't what we see here.