By Colt Taylor
Courtesy of Sycamore Pictures
The Hollars, a new dramatic comedy directed by John Krasinski, follows a family dealing with a brain tumor.
The film tries to balance drama and comedy to keep audiences laughing and crying from beginning to end. However, this is not the case throughout the whole film.
While the drama is compelling, many of the jokes suffer from poor taste, insensitivity and immaturity. While the jokes that work are incredibly funny and do a wonderful job of contrasting the drama, the first half of the movie is bogged down by exposition, archetypical characters and cliches.
The movie shines in the second half. The humor shows up more often, and the drama intensifies as the characters go about dealing with their individual problems. Margo Martindale brings a standout performance as Sally Hollar, striking a near-perfect balance between comedy and drama. The other main cast members bring a unique flair to their characters making all memorable in their own way.
As a comedy, the movie is a mixed bag filled with loose M&M’s, Sour Skittles and live feeder crickets with a lovely bed of truffles buried at the bottom. As a drama, the awkward humor meant to lead in and out of the dramatic moments gives the tone a feeling of schizophrenia.
Despite these flaws, the moments where the movie gets everything right are enough to leave viewers with moist eyes and big smiles.
