2020 / 116m - USA
Drama
0.5*/5.0*
Hillbilly Elegy poster

Watches

April 16, 2021

0.5*/5.0*

For those looking at the poster of Hillbilly Elegy and telling themselves it can't be as bad as it looks ... it's really that bad. Ron Howard is hardly the most subtle director and even though he can turn out a decent film if all the stars align, Hillbilly Elegy is the worst imaginable kind of Hollywood dreck.

The film serves family drama, following three generations of trashy hillbillies. It's a subject that has the potential to quickly dissolve into clichés, rather than try a more subtle approach Howard goes full in and exploits those clichés until the film becomes an absolute parody of itself. It's just a shame he never even seems to realize it, as it tries to keep a straight face from start to finish.

Not sure if the Razzies are on this year, but Close and Adams certainly deserve one. Howard and Zimmer too, just invite them all on stage at once and it'll be a short show. This was absolute drivel, the worst kind of drama stretched to reach the 120-minute mark. A real low point in Howard's career.