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The Holdovers

2023 2h 13m
Drama Comedy
MOVIEVIBE Rating
7.6/10
2,660 reviews
Your Rating
The Holdovers

A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam.

"Discomfort and joy."

Top Billed Cast

Paul Giamatti
Paul Giamatti
Paul Hunham
Dominic Sessa
Dominic Sessa
Angus Tully
Da'Vine Joy Randolph
Da'Vine Joy Randolph
Mary Lamb
Carrie Preston
Carrie Preston
Miss Lydia Crane
Brady Hepner
Brady Hepner
Teddy Kountze
Ian Dolley
Ian Dolley
Alex Ollerman
Jim Kaplan
Jim Kaplan
Ye-Joon Park
Michael Provost
Michael Provost
Jason Smith

Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews

M Manuel São Bento Verified TMDB Critic
2023-10-13

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://fandomwire.com/the-holdovers-bfi-london-film-festival-review/

"The Holdovers left me in complete disbelief at how complete, thought-provoking, hilarious, and emotionally powerful it becomes with each extraordinarily captivating minute that passes by.

A shockingly faultless screenplay from David Hemingson exponentially attacks the viewers' hearts through a truly profound yet bittersweet study of the vital need for human connection. Protagonists are brilliantly written as real people, and superbly portrayed by an award-worthy cast.

Add an immaculate to...

B Brent Marchant Verified TMDB Critic
2023-11-09

Heartwarming films for the holidays are something we’re all supposed to love, right? Well, if you’re talking about the works of directors like Frank Capra, George Seaton, Michael Curtiz and Chris Columbus, you’d be correct. But, since it’s been so long since we’ve had releases of that quality, in recent years, viewers hungry for such movies have been glomming on to anything that even remotely approaches such titles, whether or not the accolades are deserved. And that, in my view, sums up my feelings on the much-celebrated new feature from director Alexander Payne. This tale of a curm...

B badelf Verified TMDB Critic
2024-01-03

Awesome heartwarming Christmas cheer. Loved the pacing, loved the tempo of the reveal, and loved the character arches. Not sure it's as repeatable as Wonderful Life or (original) Miracle on 34th. Ask me in a few Xmases....

P pimpskitters Verified TMDB Critic
2024-01-04

We have all seen this nonsense before. A grumpy old man and a wisecracking youngster find ways to heal each-other over the course of one sensual holiday season. Maybe if this was the first one of these I have ever seen I would feel different, but there is just too much of this trash around to get excited about anything in here. Its not as cute as it thinks it is, and Giamatti is irritating. I get it, hes weird looking, and so they write him to smell bad and be generally repulsive. All we can do now is just move on, and heal....

R Ritesh Mohapatra Verified TMDB Critic
2024-01-22

The Holdovers is a thoughtful, sweet and pleasantly heartwarming film which feels like an old warm hug

My Score : 92/100

"The Holdovers" is heartwarming tale of unlikely friendships. It's the kind of movie that lingers with you, gently nudging your conscience and leaving your heart a little fuller than before. The storyline is relatively straightforward, yet it's beautifully executed in a way that breathes a palpable life into each character and every scene.The film's setting, the 1970s, is captured with a sense of brilliance and authenticity that transport you back in time. The arcs of ...