Welcome back to The Long Weekend. I hope everyone enjoyed their Spring Break. Ignore the past-due assignments, the negative balance in your checking account and the unbearable sunburn on your back. Here are some entertainment suggestions to help you get through the last grueling weeks of the semester.
The Movie: “The Holdovers”
Looming assignment deadlines, getting closer to the end of the semester and scrambling to land a job for the summer, all while trying to keep up with my sanity with two days until a much-needed spring break, I threw on the movie “The Holdovers” starring Paul Giamatti. Despite eventually being one of the Best Picture nominees for this year’s Oscars, I was skeptical when I first saw the trailer for this film in theaters a few months prior. It was a surprise to see Paul Giamatti appear in a feature and to see his character have a glass eyeball, which I did not know was part of the film and not a real-life appearance change.
The story in “The Holdovers” may resonate with college students or anybody who has gone away to school for an extended period. The film is about a New England prep school during Christmas break. The cranky instructor, Paul Hunham (played by Paul Giamatti), has to look after the students who are not going home for break and must stay at school.
Every student should be able to go home for the holidays, as the silence is deafening when you are left behind on a campus after everyone is gone. “The Holdovers” captures those feelings of homesickness, family issues and the formation of relationships with someone you didn’t think you could relate to. These interpersonal relationships are formed and demonstrated through the characters of Angus Telly (Dominic Sessa), Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) and, of course, Paul Hunham. Each character deals with a loss, and we, the audience, watch them battle their demons by relating to each other in a beautiful way that would never have been possible without them being stuck with each other for the two-week holiday break.
Set in the winter of 1970-71, “The Holdovers” brings warmth and comfort to the screen, pulling on the heartstrings of audiences, especially those who may feel they are alone and like no one can relate to them. The film fills viewers with hope and relatability.
“The Holdovers” is available to stream on Prime Video.
The Show: “Beef”
With the plethora of content on streaming services now, half the time you want to spend watching something is spent looking for something to watch, and you end up watching something you have seen before. However, if you have been keeping up with this year’s award season, the Netflix show “Beef” recently cleaned up at the Golden Globe and Emmy Awards. This miniseries stars Ali Wong as Amy Lau and Steven Yeun as Danny Cho. The show’s plot follows the lives of two people who cross paths during a road rage incident, which affects their decisions and drastically changes their lives. “Beef” demonstrates the divide between the upper and lower classes: No matter what great things happen in one’s life, they might never be fulfilled.
“Beef” is available to stream on Netflix.
The Album: “Let There Be Rock”
As a rock and roll fan, I always want to discover new artists or find albums from bands I have not heard of yet or may not be considered mainstream. This was the case when I turned on the fourth AC/DC album, “Let There Be Rock,” in the gym over spring break, and I was blown away. The Australian band is perfect for fueling any workout with hits like “Thunderstruck,” “TNT” and “Back in Black,” but its 1977 album “Let There Be Rock,” to me, spoke of the band’s significance in the rock and roll genre. The album has only eight tracks, but the band does not miss a beat with jams like “Bad Boy Boogie” and “Whole Lotta Rosie.” This album has more of a blues tone than other AC/DC albums, and the band reaches its peak sound throughout the entire record.
We are in March, and the windy weather can help you get to class quickly but not get you out of bed. Stay warm.