I've been following the progress of this movie on "The Chair," read Dan Schoffer's original screenplay ("How Soon Is Now") before it was revised by the director, and was anxious to see the final product when it was shown on Starz. Of the two films shadowed in "The Chair," this one seemed the most promising, although Anna Martimucci's self-doubt was getting a little too much to bear. The prior IMDb reviews ranged from a "waste" to "awesome" -- but you never know where these reviews are coming from, pro or con. Nonetheless, my expectations were low when I sat down to watch.
I was pleasantly surprised. The acting was uniformly excellent. The directing was smooth and, at times, subtle. I missed some of the story lines and characters from the original screenplay -- but found the Philip Quinaz character and his pumpkin pies (particularly the wonderful, unfolding pie panorama), and Brian Shoaf's Mitch, excellent additions. I can't say the same for Martimucci's own character. Anna should have stayed behind the camera. I know why her Courtney character was added (more on that later), but we didn't need her.
But more than anything, I found "Hollidaysburg" real. The characters seemed real. The dialogue seemed real. The emotions seemed real. This is a millennials movie, trying to show Generation Y'ers as they are, not how Hollywood has depicted them. Whether it's accurate or not, I don't know -- but it sold me that it is. And I think that's why the Angela-Courtney relationship was added, to show the world that millennials don't bat an eye at same-sex relationships or same-sex marriage.
What the movie lacks, in my view, is more story. These characters come home from college for the long Thanksgiving weekend and return Sunday basically unchanged. Is Tori really any different on Sunday than she was on Wednesday? Even the final voice-over, quoting John Updike, suggests that each day is a rebirth, and what's past (including the just-completed holiday) is dead. Then why should we care what we saw these people experience? In an effort to eschew a "Hollywood ending," we're left fairly unsatisfied.
I felt like I witnessed a slice of these characters' lives. If, according to Hitchcock, "Drama is life with the dull bits cut out," then "Hollidaysburg" is life, dull bits and all.
I was pleasantly surprised. The acting was uniformly excellent. The directing was smooth and, at times, subtle. I missed some of the story lines and characters from the original screenplay -- but found the Philip Quinaz character and his pumpkin pies (particularly the wonderful, unfolding pie panorama), and Brian Shoaf's Mitch, excellent additions. I can't say the same for Martimucci's own character. Anna should have stayed behind the camera. I know why her Courtney character was added (more on that later), but we didn't need her.
But more than anything, I found "Hollidaysburg" real. The characters seemed real. The dialogue seemed real. The emotions seemed real. This is a millennials movie, trying to show Generation Y'ers as they are, not how Hollywood has depicted them. Whether it's accurate or not, I don't know -- but it sold me that it is. And I think that's why the Angela-Courtney relationship was added, to show the world that millennials don't bat an eye at same-sex relationships or same-sex marriage.
What the movie lacks, in my view, is more story. These characters come home from college for the long Thanksgiving weekend and return Sunday basically unchanged. Is Tori really any different on Sunday than she was on Wednesday? Even the final voice-over, quoting John Updike, suggests that each day is a rebirth, and what's past (including the just-completed holiday) is dead. Then why should we care what we saw these people experience? In an effort to eschew a "Hollywood ending," we're left fairly unsatisfied.
I felt like I witnessed a slice of these characters' lives. If, according to Hitchcock, "Drama is life with the dull bits cut out," then "Hollidaysburg" is life, dull bits and all.