The introductory prep school shenanigans—your mom jokes, bartering for weed—in Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” mostly serve to generate cheap laughs, establishing a “boys will be boys” attitude. But the low-stakes hijinks soon yield to the layers of melodrama and tormented personal back stories, which, taken together, work too hard to clasp our collective sympathies. Payne is unmatched among peers (Noah Baumbach and Wes Anderson aren’t bad either) at depicting agonizingly stubborn strivers (Tracy Flick in “Election”) and self-loathing, caustic creatures (Miles in “Sideways”) who suffer from addiction, depression and delusion. It’s hard to find such a love-to-hate-to-love anchor in “The Holdovers,” despite its abundant pathos and rock-solid performances. And so the film sinks under the weight of its heavy-handed nostalgia, representing—for my money—the first directorial misfire of Payne’s career.
Lacking the caustic wit and subversive twists of Payne’s previous films, “The Holdovers” resembles the early work of the writer Michael Chabon. The unapologetic alignment with youth, and the disregard for adults in positions of authority provides ample material for giggles and conflict, but the arc in Payne’s story—similar to Chabon’s debut Mysteries of Pittsburgh—bends too easily towards resolution and forgiveness. Young people do dumb things, and old people wish they could do it all over again; however, “The Holdovers” delivers these lessons with the delicacy of a soap opera. All of the three main characters carry genuine pain and agonizing guilt, but the film spreads the sympathy too thin across them. The meandering pace can’t quite match the superior campus romp “Wonder Boys” (2000), another Chabon novel, which inspired a serviceable adaptation headlined by Michael Douglas, stellar as a caddish, goofball professor.
Lacking the Wit of Payne’s Earlier Films
The central teacher here is ancient civilization (symbolism alert!) teacher Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) and his student Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa, in his screen debut), whose odd couple bickering (“Being with you is already one big detention!”) subsides with each revelation of shared emotional scars. Angus finds out on the last day before winter break that his mom (Gillian Vigman) and new stepdad Stanley (Tate Donovan) need a proper honeymoon, so Angus has to stay on campus for the two-week winter vacation. Hunham inherits the task of overseeing Angus and the other holdovers, although the other fellow students are fortunate enough to board a helicopter, heading to a ski resort. That leaves Paul, Angus and the cafeteria head Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) to tease, torment and support each other.
Paul is an unpopular, pedantic professor—and school alumnus—who refers to his students as “philistines,” and much attempted comic mileage comes from his interaction with the students. During the first dinner scene, however, Paul shows his humanity when a student insults Mary. “You have no idea what that woman has been going through!” Paul shouts, slamming the table for emphasis, referring to Mary having lost her son Curtis in the Vietnam War. The considerable range of Giamatti and Randolph give the film a fighting chance to overcome the script’s mawkish turns. Paul discovers Angus is taking the same antidepressants as him, and later drives him to visit his dad (who Paul thinks is dead) in Boston. These conceits work too hard to emphasize their relatability, or likability, forcing the audience to see with clear eyes how they’re not so different after all.
Too Afraid to Offend and Too Eager to Please
And so “The Holdovers” is afraid to offend and too eager to please, building towards a bittersweet ending which comes off as a win/win (borrowing the title of Giamatti’s 2011 indie). (*Spoilers*) Paul falls on his sword so Angus can stay in school; Mary stays on campus, claiming she had to start saving for her sister’s baby’s education. Here, I kept thinking of Matthew Broderick’s Jim McAllister, that impulsive, conniving school teacher who gets his revenge in “Election” only at the end, throwing a soda at Tracy Flick’s limo. Rather than face up to his shortcomings, he runs away from the scene. That’s how curtains drop on a Payne film. The maudlin sentiment throughout “The Holdovers” might be forgivable had it closed sourly, befitting the uncertainty surrounding Paul’s future employability, Angus’ disjointed family situation, and Mary’s unimaginable grief.
Instead, the film’s closing is strained optimism, consistent with the manufactured cheer of the holidays. The rose-colored lenses (David Hemingson’s the screenwriter) borrows heavily from semi-recent entries into the Holden Caulfield rip-off industry, ranging from Chabon’s “Mysteries” to prep-school canon (“Dead Poets Society,” “Scent of a Woman”). Any wink towards ambiguity and antagonism give way towards speedy problem solving, minimizing the suspense and discomfort that would have made it more satisfying. To reframe familiar stories isn’t unforgivable, just disappointing. I’d just rather see something new, like Bruce Dern walking cross country to claim a million-dollar prize (“Nebraska”). Or a tiny Matt Damon trading one suburban nightmare for another (“Downsizing”). At least “The Holdovers” has gotten me in the holiday spirit, which is to say: eager for it to end. That’s the Payne cynicism surfacing! Maybe it took after all.
Currently, “The Holdovers” is showing exclusively in theaters.
