The Hollars
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: August 26, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
14
Negative:
4
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Boston GlobeTom RussoSep 1, 2016
Krasinski infuses The Hollars with familiar wry humor, but he also delivers a film that’s unexpectedly rich with sweetly moving moments. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyDevan CogganAug 31, 2016
Is The Hollars an original, breathtaking dramedy that says anything new about middle-class suburbia and family? No. But with a brisk runtime and a terrific cast, it’s a pleasant and bittersweet look at one family struggling to keep it together. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversAug 25, 2016
John Krasinski, as actor and director, tackles the most clichéd genre in the movie business — the dysfunctional family dramedy. The big difference is he pulls it off with uncommon humor and compassion. Read full review
75
The Film StageDan MeccaJan 29, 2016
Krasinski appears to know exactly the kind of movie he’s making, elevating familiar material to a level that feels real and bittersweet. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinAug 25, 2016
Strouse’s deft script and Krasinki’s game direction upend a host of familiar moments in ways that are fresh and unexpected — if sometimes overly broad. The terrific cast doesn’t hurt. Read full review
63
The Seattle TimesJohn HartlSep 15, 2016
Crowded, cornball and too busy for its short running time, The Hollars nevertheless generates a few moments of grace and reflection. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreSep 13, 2016
It doesn’t really skip by, but Krasinski keeps the squishiness to a minimum and lets his co-stars land the laughs even if The Hollars are nothing to shout about. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzAug 26, 2016
Just good enough to make you wish that it were better. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineElise NakhnikianAug 25, 2016
The film's ruefully honest tone is periodically drowned out by the blare of stagey coincidences. Read full review
60
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerAug 25, 2016
Too much happens too quickly in The Hollars for the story to be credible, but the film has some likable qualities, among them the fun of seeing actors in unexpected roles. Read full review
60
Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganJan 29, 2016
It’s not that [Krasinski] fails, or that his film isn’t desperately charming as it goes about its business, but this is very familiar American indie territory, and The Hollars stops well short of innovation. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyJan 29, 2016
This one is straight out of the old-school Sundance manual. Still, there's enough warmth, humor and heart in the very slick package, not to mention a gaggle of accomplished and well-cast actors. Read full review
60
VarietyGuy LodgeJan 29, 2016
Krasinki’s film remains resolutely resistant to surprise in style or story terms. Read full review
50
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallSep 27, 2016
The Hollars plays like a Zach Braff cast-off, with its strenuous quirks and strummy musical interludes. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenSep 14, 2016
A standard-issue family reunion dramedy, The Hollars has several genuine moments of human interaction that are near-magical to observe because they feel so plucked from real life. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniSep 8, 2016
An uneven, perpetually redundant comedy-drama. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaSep 1, 2016
Krasinski is likable and Martindale can make the lamest dialogue sound believable. But even they can't make us invest in characters that are nothing more than a collection of stock quirks and tics stuck in wildly contrived situations. Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn HornadaySep 1, 2016
The Hollars drives inexorably to a conclusion that feels as manipulatively mawkish as it is impossibly tidy, typical of a genre that too often tries to have it both ways. It turns out that happy families are all alike, even when they’re a little bit sad. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshSep 1, 2016
The always wonderful Martindale nails the tone in her warm and nuanced performance, combining sly humor and a soulful presence, while the men orbiting around her range from complete goofs (Copley and Jenkins) to self-involved and dour (Krasinski). Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerAug 24, 2016
John Krasinski’s second feature has such a milquetoast, melancholy-indie sound that its most arresting and dynamic musical moment comes when three characters unexpectedly break into “Closer To Fine” by the Indigo Girls. Read full review
42
ConsequenceDominick Suzanne-MayerAug 25, 2016
The Hollars deals in weighty personal tragedies, and yet neither the treacly, offbeat humor nor the moments of more straightforward pathos tend to work for any real length of time. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe DziemianowiczAug 26, 2016
The cast, led by John Krasinski, who doubles as director, has its own fight against the lame and contrived script by Jim Strouse. Read full review
40
The GuardianNigel M SmithJul 15, 2016
A mawkish family comedy, intent to please, The Hollars plays like an extended sitcom. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperSep 1, 2016
The Hollars is an uneven, ineffective and self-conscious dysfunctional family comedy/drama with a Sundance-y vibe, and scene after scene in which the greatly talented and usually quite likable cast members keep stepping in big piles of wrong choices. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle SmithAug 25, 2016
A gooey morass of indie-movie clichés, the wacky-family dramedy The Hollars marks yet another egregiously cutesy attempt to rekindle that “Garden State” magic. Read full review
35
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeAug 25, 2016
The Hollars feels so painfully familiar and so dramatically undernourished that even the great Margo Martindale can only do so much with this cliché-riddled script. Read full review
33
IndieWireDavid EhrlichAug 25, 2016
Woefully inauthentic, milquetoast as a mild breeze and far too tidy for any of its sweeping resolutions to have even the faintest hint of staying power, The Hollars takes 88 minutes to inspire the same warm and fuzzy feeling that a Hallmark card can deliver in a heartbeat. Read full review
More From This Movie

53 Critic Reviews

6.9 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL