Alexander Payne had not made a single film that I like until I went to see The Holdovers for Tightwad Tuesday. Masked by the period piece setting, the story is more about how broken people find peace than it’s outward image as a Christmas film. Teaming up with Paul Giamatti and using David Hemingson’s first script for the big screen, Payne avoids the rom-com holiday fare by pitting the veteran Giamatti’s cantankerous private school professor against first time actor Dominc Sessa, an actor literally from the drama class at the school used as a set. Balancing the two is Da’Vine Joy Randolf, an inspired casting decision who turns in a revelatory performance. Join my son Luke and I as we discuss this surprising holiday hit that has a chance to become a drama to come back to every December.