Film

The Holdovers

Name: The Holdovers
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: 2023
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Carrie Preston, Brady Hepner

Drama
Slow-burning

A prep-school cynic stuck supervising lonely students over Christmas break discovers unexpected grace through connection. Alexander Payne's film moves from biting comedy to something warmer, never saccharine. It's for anyone who loves character-driven stories that trust silence and find humor in awkwardness. An achingly human portrait of people who've learned to live small.

TMDb rating

3.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love slow-burning character studies where prickly people soften by degrees, and you find wit in grief and awkward silences, the kind of sad-funny mix that rewards patience.

Skip it if you need brisk plotting or a clear sense of where things are heading, since it lingers in long conversations and cold, dim rooms and rarely hurries to its point.

What it asks of you: Settle in for over two hours at a deliberate pace, with the comedy arriving dry and sadness arriving slowly, and give attention to quiet looks as much as lines.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

About Schmidt2002

Jack Nicholson's retired man faces the smallness of his own life with the same gruff bewilderment as Giamatti's teacher. Payne again mines comedy and sadness from masculine disappointment, but with unexpected tenderness underneath.

But It's quite long and deliberately slow. The humor can feel mean-spirited at first, which puts some people off.

Sideways2004

Two damaged men on a wine-country road trip; Payne's gift for making flawed characters both ridiculous and touching. The mix of cringe comedy and genuine ache feels like *The Holdovers*' closest relative.

But It's a buddy comedy about middle-aged disappointment that some find depressing rather than funny, or just dull.

Dead Poets Society1989

A prep-school setting, a mentor figure who changes students' lives, the collision of tradition and feeling. Robin Williams's teacher offers the inverse of Giamatti's curmudgeon, but both films believe school can matter.

But It's sentimental in ways *The Holdovers* carefully avoids. The emotional beats feel prescribed, and it doesn't trust its audience to find meaning quietly.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Holdovers

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Tokyo Story1953

Both are films that refuse easy emotion, trusting instead in the accumulation of small moments—a meal, a conversation, time spent together—to build something profound. Both understand that connection isn't about grand gestures but about showing up.

Ozu's masterpiece about an elderly couple visiting their son in post-war Tokyo—nothing happens, everything happens. Like *The Holdovers*, it's about people learning to accept loss and find quiet joy in ordinary presence. Film about time itself.

But It requires patience that modern audiences sometimes don't have. The camera barely moves, scenes go on, and if you're waiting for plot, you'll be frustrated.

Moonlight2016

Three chapters of a boy's life, told with the same visual precision and emotional restraint. Both films understand that connection happens in glances and silences, not speeches. Devastating beauty.

But It's slow and elliptical—you have to meet it halfway. Some find it distant rather than intimate, too much breathing room between moments.

The Farewell2019

Family gathered under one roof, culture clash and genuine love coexisting, humor that comes from character rather than jokes. Lulu Wang balances comedy and heartbreak with the same delicate touch Payne brings here.

But It's a quieter film. If you need big emotional statements rather than observed moments, it might feel understated.

Licorice Pizza2021

Paul Thomas Anderson's film about two young people in '70s California has the same mixture of comedy, specificity, and character warmth. A celebration of people trying to connect across difference.

But It's scattered and digressive, with tonal whiplash between comedy and something stranger. Not everyone's comfortable with its treatment of a significant age gap.

American Beauty1999

A man at the edge of collapse finds unexpected salvation through connection. Like *The Holdovers*, it's about seeing people clearly—really clearly—and finding beauty in their damage.

But It's become something of a punchline, and the vision of suburban redemption hasn't aged perfectly. Watching it now means wrestling with how much you buy what it's selling.

Manchester by the Sea2016

Two men learning to live with grief and each other. Kenneth Lonergan writes dialogue that sounds like breathing, and Casey Affleck's quiet desperation mirrors what Dominic Sessa does with his student's loneliness.

But It's relentlessly sad and often very still. People who need narrative momentum or clear emotional arcs find it punishing rather than moving.

Whiplash2014

A mentor-student relationship that's corrosive and complicated, driven by excellence and harm. The mirror image of *The Holdovers*'s gentler pedagogy, but asking the same questions about what we owe each other.

But It's brutal and exhausting to watch. If you want comfort or resolution, this film denies you both. The climax divides people sharply.

Moonrise Kingdom2012

Both films argue that misfits and outsiders can create real family. Both feature an older man learning to care for young people who need him. Both suggest that acceptance looks like noticing someone fully.

Wes Anderson's film about young people finding refuge in each other has *The Holdovers*'s warmth and specificity, but in a completely different register—whimsical, carefully composed, almost musical. Bill Murray as a melancholy scoutmaster presiding over tenderness.

But Anderson's style is extremely deliberate and artificial. If you find that precious or too mannered, his vision of childhood and belonging won't reach you.

Kaiju No. 82024

Both are about outsiders finding purpose and identity through care for another person. Both balance comedy and genuine stakes. Both let damaged people be competent and kind at once—no redemption arc required, just presence.

A Japanese anime about a man and boy on the margins—one too old, one too young—bonding through shared purpose. The relationship between protagonist and young sidekick has the same earned intimacy and humor as *The Holdovers*. Genre completely different; the feeling identical.

But It's anime with stylized violence and a very different visual language. If you don't have patience for the form, or if subtitles fatigue you, this won't work.