Given the promotion for Hello, My Name is Doris, it is easy to assume that this film is targetted for an older audience. However, this showstopper is definitely a film that can resonate with people of all ages.
The independent flick distributed by Roadside Attractions and Stage 6 Films, smaller companies of Sony Pictures and Lionsgate Films, features Sally Field, known by younger audiences as starring opposite Robin Williams in the hilarious comedic class Mrs. Doubtfire. Field plays a smitten woman with a crush on a younger co-worker, John Fremont, played by New Girl’s Max Greenfield. Doris imagines John showing his feelings for her in the movie because she is initially too shy to tell him she likes him. On the surface, it is a movie about an older woman fantasizing about a younger man. However, this film actually portrays a universally relatable experience of battling loneliness and wondering if someone sees you the way you view them.
Although this is Field’s first lead role in almost 20 years, she is back making people cry and laugh as she takes us along her character’s journey. After seeing the initial trailer, it is hard not to fall in love with Field’s portrayal of Doris. Her quirky personality, electric outfits, and her subtle mocking of today’s hipster culture adds to Doris’ image as an outsider. Aside from her outcast factor, Doris connects to a millennial driven society when she decides to Facebook stalk John and start listening to his favorite band, headed by real musician and lead singer of Bleachers, Jack Antonoff.
The cinematography is beautifully simple. There isn’t any fancy camera work or special effects, factors not particularly needed in this work. During a time when the cinematic world is dominated by action and superhero movies that show off new technological capabilities, Hello, My Name is Doris is a refreshing reminder of the main purpose of movies: to impact an audience.
The supporting cast adds just as much to the film as Field. Greenfield sheds the spastic persona he is known for as Schmidt on New Girl. In some ways, he is almost as awkward and confused as Doris, which makes their connection even stronger. This isn’t the classic unpopular girl likes popular guy story. It is two people proving that age does not define a relationship. Doris takes you on a roller coaster of emotions. You are hopeful for her, upset when she faces obstacles, and you suffer from secondhand embarrassment while witnessing her daydreams. Hello, My Name is Doris is a valuable, underappreciated gem, and the movie industry desperately needs to create and support more films like this one.
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