Christmas may be in our rearview mirror, but we’ve still got Christmas movies to talk about, friends. And I don’t think we can reflect on the 2023 Christmas season without discussing The Holdovers, one of the bigger Christmas movies to come out this winter. And it’s also getting a lot of awards season buzz. But is it so good that it deserves to become a part of the Christmas canon? Let’s run it through the patented Christmas Movie Scale to find out!
The Holdovers is directed by Alexander Payne and stars Paul Giamatti as Paul Hunham, a strict classics teacher at a boarding school in New England called Barton Academy. After a conflict with the school’s headmaster, Paul is forced to stay on campus over the holidays to supervise the “holdovers,” students who are staying at school rather than going home to see their families. Newcomer Dominic Sessa plays Angus Tully, who finds out last minute that he’s stuck at school over the break so that his mom can go on a honeymoon with her new husband. Also staying at the school over the holiday is Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), a cafeteria administrator whose son recently died in the Vietnam War. Oh yeah, the movie is set in 1970. That’s also important.
But on with the rating.
Romance: 6/10. Not a ton here in the way of romance. That’s not really the point of this movie, and that’s okay. We do see Paul try to flirt with Barton staff member Lydia Crane (Carrie Preston), and she seems to flirt back. But then after inviting Paul to a Christmas party, she reveals that she has a boyfriend. Which… Idk. I thought she was very flirty for a girl with a boyfriend. Maybe she’s a Libra. IDK. IDK.
At this same party, Angus also flirts with Lydia’s niece, and the two even share a kiss, but that’s as far as the romance goes. Like I said, this isn’t really a movie about romance. This is kind of a movie about being unbearably alone. So maybe the LACK of romance is the point.
What a super chill Christmas party that was
Morality: 9/10. This movie focuses on the simple but classic Christmas movie moral code: Don’t be a dick. Both Paul and Angus are outsiders because, well, they’re not very cool, but even more egregiously, they’re not very nice. Students hate them. Teachers hate them. And they really don’t seem to care because they’re really only out for themselves. Both of them have their reasons. Both of them have tragedy in their lives that have hardened them and made them distrusting of others. But by the end of the movie, they both soften up a little and they learn to do nice things for other people every now and then. I was a little disappointed Paul and Angus didn’t hug it out at the end of the movie, but they did share a very warm handshake. Baby steps.
As for Mary, she is a mother overcome with grief and anger over the senseless death of her son. The message here, as far as I can tell, is that war is bad and that our country exploits and disposes of the poor. This is kind of what happened to Paul as well, but… I will let you see the movie for yourself to see how all of that unfolded.
Why 9 out of 10? I’m knocking off a point because the racist rich kid still gets to go on a ski trip. And no one ever said to him, “Hey, you’re racist.” It was 1970, but still. Not okay.
Music: 10/10. Finally, we get a Christmas movie with some legit Christmas music. The movie even starts off with a choir singing “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” The soundtrack here sticks to strictly classic Christmas tunes. Think “Silent Night” and “Jingle Bells.” But again, it’s 1970.
Christmas Spirit: 10/10. Like I said, the movie starts off with a choir singing Christmas songs. From there, we go to a long montage of different people walking around campus in the snow. There’s a lot of snow everywhere all over this movie. There’s, as.I said, a Christmas party. There’s a festive Christmas trip to Boston, which involves a very important snow globe. There’s iceskating. You get the idea. This is clearly a Christmas movie, not just a movie set during Christmas time.
Warmth: 9/10. This is such a tender-hearted little movie about unlikely friendships, grief, family, love, and so much more. I especially found it sweet when Paul tries to make Christmas special for Angus for getting a little Christmas tree and buying presents. Sure, he gets everyone the same book, but it’s the thought that counts, right? By the end of the movie, you can tell Paul has really learned to care for Angus, despite their differences, and it’s sweet. The two may never see each other again after the events of the movie, but you can tell they’ve made a lasting impression on each other. It’s really special. Knocking off one point because there was no hug.
So how did this movie do?
44/50. 88 = B+. Just one hug could have toppled this movie over the edge into an A, but this still felt like a really special Christmas movie that deserves the attention that it’s getting. If you missed it this Christmas season, definitely put it on your list for next year. The Holdovers is currently streaming for free for Peacock subscribers.