Joblo
Even still, The Hollars winds up being very worthwhile on the merits of the acting. While it’s predictable and incredibly familiar, the actors are often magnetic, and Krasinski directs them very well indeed. Sony Classics picked this one up and while it’s probably not destined for major crossover success, it should find an appreciative audience and has the makings of a solid VOD hit.
AVClub: During the opening five or 10 minutes of The Hollars, three different tasteful acoustic-guitar songs play on the soundtrack. Or maybe it’s the same song, played three times; it’s hard to tell, and the Josh Ritter score only confuses matters further. 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.
Collider
You ever see one of those movies that you know is conventional, understand is nothing you haven’t seen before, but like it anyway? That’s The Hollars, which marks John Krasinski’s second directorial effort after 2009’s Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and is a prime example of a film that overcomes a fairly rote script thanks to an incredibly charming cast.
Joblo
In John Krasinski's second directorial effort, The Hollars, Krasinski plays John Hollar, a struggling city-dweller who has to return to his small hometown when he learns his mother has a bran tumor; Margo Martindale plays said mother, a spirited woman who's worried about everyone in the family but herself. (In other words, the best kind of mom.) The two have effortless chemistry in the film, which is equal parts jovial comedy and tear-jerking drama; an enjoyable and poignant end-of-summer treat.
I absolutely love John Krasinski.