Cast: Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Stephen Root, Peter Gallagher, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Don Stark, Tyne Daly, Natasha Lyonne, Rich Sommer, Caroline Aaron
Director: Michael Showalter
Screenwriters: Laura Terruso, Michael Showalter
Rated: Not Yet Rated
Runtime: 95 min
Doris (Sally Field) is a 60-year-old woman who is learning to connect with others again after her mother passes away. She is eccentric, to the point of being a hipster to the younger crowd. She becomes obsessed with a man thirty years her junior, and desperately pursues him, with the help of her best friend’s granddaughter and a self-help seminar run by Peter Gallagher.
The movie lends itself to a completely different and unique role especially for Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Stephen Root, and Don Stark. I was taken aback by Doris’s level of eccentric quirkiness, so much so that I spent a few scenes with my hands over my eyes, squealing and squirming in my seat. It was odd to see Sally Field in a frilly and peculiar way, not as strong or demonstrative as I remember her in films like Forrest Gump, Steel Magnolias, Murphy’s Romance, and Mrs. Doubtfire. It was slightly unnerving, but still I had to watch. As much as I wasn’t in favor of Sally Field and Max Greenfield hooking up (probably because I can’t cope with the idea of M’Lynn and Schmidt being intimate), I rooted for Doris. Mostly, I rooted for Doris to have human companionship and interactions, to quit hoarding, to tell her brother and sister-in-law to shove it, and to be happy.
“Hello, My Name Is Doris” SXSW Clip | “The Ball” from Red Crown Productions on Vimeo.
The casting is incredible and greatly underrated. There are people in this film that I would have never dreamed of having cast:
Max Greenfield (New Girl, Veronica Mars, They Came Together)
Stephen Root (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Dodgeball, Office Space)
Peter Gallagher (Covert Affairs, The O.C., While You Were Sleeping)
Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs, Bridesmaids, Blended)
Don Stark (That ‘70s Show, John Carter, General Hospital)
Tyne Daly (Judging Amy, Cagney & Lacey)
Natasha Lyonne (Fresno, Orange Is the New Black, American Pie)
Rich Sommer (Mad Men, The Giant Mechanical Man, The Devil Wears Prada)
Caroline Aaron (21 Jump Street, House Arrest, Edward Scissorhands)
Even though there are quite a few purposefully awkward moments in the film, the movie really does give hope to people starting over again. It is never too late to start finding and rediscovering yourself.
Hello, My Name is Doris is not set for release at this time.