Even as someone whose job is to complain about the state of contemporary filmmaking, I’ve never really bought into the idea that “They don’t make ’em like they used to” — something moviegoers have been saying since the silent era.
Still, I understand why some critics have been waxing so nostalgic in their praise of The Holdovers. From the moment its scratched-up retro-style studio logo appears, Alexander Payne‘s new film offers itself up as a throwback to a time when thoughtful, character-driven comedies for adults were more of a staple than they are now. The movie isn’t just set in 1970; it wants to look as though it were made in 1970.
It’s also a reunion for Payne and actor Paul Giamatti, nearly 20 years after their superior wine-country comedy Sideways. In The Holdovers, Giamatti again plays a hard-drinking, sharp-tongued curmudgeon with tragicomic verve. This time he’s Paul Hunham, a teacher of ancient history at a prestigious New England boarding school called Barton Academy.
Paul believes in showing tough love to his students, whom he openly refers to as “degenerates” and “reprobates.” On the last day of school before winter break, he hands the boys back their exams, which nearly all of them failed.
The only student to get a decent grade is Angus Tully, played by Dominic Sessa. He’s a sharp, smart kid with a rebellious streak, fueled in part by family problems back home. When he learns that his mom and new stepdad have decided to spend the holidays honeymooning in the Caribbean, Angus is forced to stay at Barton for two weeks under Paul’s supervision.