Movie review
August 25, 2016 · 88 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The Hollars is a 2016 comedy-drama in which a struggling New York graphic novelist returns to his small Midwestern hometown with his pregnant girlfriend after learning his mother needs urgent brain surgery. The story follows the family as they navigate illness, financial strain, personal failures, and reconnection through humor and everyday conflicts. No identity politics, activist dialogue, gender or racial signaling, or social-justice framing appear in the plot, characters, or marketing. The film treats family dysfunction and personal growth as individual matters without modern ideological overlays.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Hollars.
Woke representation / casting
Cast fits the Midwestern small-town family story and setting naturally; no audience-visible forced diversity, gender/race swaps, or identity signaling.
Woke political dialogue
Dialogue stays personal—family arguments, insecurities, and daily life—with zero political, activist, or ideological content.
Identity-driven story themes
Narrative focuses on individual growth, family bonds, and facing illness or failure; no race, gender, sexuality, or identity-politics arcs.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Any economic or family struggles remain personal and situational; no activist framing of systemic issues, toxic masculinity, traditional roles, or cultural institutions.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant to this original story.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No backlash, debate, or accusations of woke content; reception stayed apolitical and performance-focused.
Creator track record context
Key figures (Krasinski, Strouse, and most producers) show careers in personal or commercial storytelling with no documented activist, identity-driven, or political patterns.
Production
