John Hollar sets the phone down. The New York graphic comic book artist has just received the news that his mother, Sally, has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. He heads for his mid-western home town with his pregnant girlfriend who takes a temporary leave from her profession of designing togs for dogs.
If that’s not enough to blow the mind, John (John Krasinski) knows that the family is TOTALLY dysfunctional. His brother Ron (Sharlton Copley) lives in the homestead basement where he helps his dad, Dan, in his dwindling plumbing repair business. Dad coached Mom to join Jenny Craig when the symptoms of cancer became telling.
John finds that Sally’s male nurse has married his former squeeze. When she momentarily reconnects with John, she gives him a full mouth kiss bemoaning “It hasn’t been working out.”
You know it is not going to turn out well for Sally. The mourners circle the hospital bed like Snoopy and the Red Baron.
Director and lead actor are the same. Only Clint Eastwood or Tom Hanks could pull that off. As an indie film, “The Hollars” would be OK, but at there are much better choices at The Rialto in The Villages.
Jack Petro reviews movies for Villages-News.com
