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.
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I honestly hate spoilers, and feel like I’ve given up enough information as it is, but I have to say that this series is at the top of my watch-list. You may think that having a limited cast would get boring, but I haven’t been bored in these first four episodes.
Showrunner duo Christopher Miller and Phil Lord (The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) shared during SXSW that it won’t get boring anytime soon. “Just when you think the show is headed one way, it goes another. So keep watching.” – Christopher Miller
At the center of this show is Will Forte, a man who has no fear (probably due to his decade-long success on SNL) and stashes an array of characters at his fingertips. Here’s a video I took during the “Creating the Shows We Like” panel at SXSW. I apologize for all the laughter, but he is hilarious, explaining the ending to his stage comedy routines, which was also his SNL audition. (Warning: NSFW)
In The Last Man on Earth, Will Forte plays Phil Miller. As the title suggests, he is the last man on earth, living in Tucson, Arizona, a year after some mysterious virus wiped out the earth’s population.
What makes this series so appealing is Phil Miller’s freedom to say and do virtually anything. He decorates his house with famous artwork and relics from museums around the country, shops for groceries in his underwear, breaks random objects in parking lots, fills a kiddie pool with margarita mix and drinks from it while laying in it – I can go on and on about Phil Miller’s shenanigans, but part of the fun is not knowing what he will do next. Just know that the sky is the limit, and by the end of each episode you will be at least a tad bit jealous of his many freedoms.
Phil Miller is a complex character to figure out. He has conversations with God: apologizing and repenting for his behavior, asking for a woman to come into his life, and engaging in small talk. At the same time, he appears to be apathetic and cynical, not that I can’t blame him. I probably would be too, if I was by myself for years or months on end with no sign of life in sight. He hits a breaking point where he tells God that he doesn’t need other people to survive.
“Hey, okay. I get it. Nobody’s coming! You’re not giving me anybody. Well guess what? I don’t even care! I don’t even need people! I can make it work on my own. Watch me! Watch me!
(Turns to his left) ‘Hey Phil, what’s up?’
(Turns to his right) ‘Oh I’m great Phil, how are you?’
(Turns back to his left) ‘Oh I’m doing great, thank you very much for asking.’
See, I’m already doing it!”
From that point on, Phil creates friends out of inanimate objects and he begins to spiral out of control. And just when he’s ready to end it all, he sees smoke off in the distance. Cue gasp.
The Last Man on Earth airs on Sundays at 9/8c on FOX.
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