Even actors separate from the typecasting spell will occasionally find themselves stuck in a rather specific sort of film. Paul Giamatti is not one of those actors. Who else’s acting filmography can jump from light-hearted family comedies like Big Fat Liar and Turbo to heavy historical melodramas like Saving Private Ryan and 12 Years a Slave?
As Giamatti appears in a new holiday feature film, we’ve decided to gather some of the most poignant reactions to The Holdovers. In this new Christmas comedy directed by Alexander Payne (Downsizing, The Descendants), Giamatti plays a stern yet witty history professor at a New England prep school. During the school’s winter break, he must take care of a small group of students who have nowhere to go. This isn’t Giamatti’s first rodeo with holiday flicks (hello, Fred Claus), but it is arguably his best yet. As of December 5th 2023, the film was met with rave reviews from critics with 8.1/10 stars on IMDb and a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score. What did viewers think? See for yourself below.