And while the film is certainly plausible, the film is made enjoyable thanks to the wonderful performance by Sally Field. A charming comedy, “Hello, My Name is Doris” is a film worth watching.
© 2015 Retro Jumpsuit, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: Hello, My Name is Doris
FILM RELEASE: 2015
DURATION: 90 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:86:1), English and French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English, English SDH, French and Spanish
COMPANY: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
RATED: R (Language)
Release Date: June 14, 2016
Directed by Michael Showalter
Based on the short film “Doris & The Intern” by Laura Terruso
Screenplay by Laura Terruso, Michael Showalter
Produced by Kevin Mann, Riva Marker, Jordana Mollick, Daniela Taplin Lundberg
Co-Producer: Christopher Boyd, Anthony Brandonisio, Dominic Ottersbach
Executive-Producer: Mauricio Betancur, Michael Showalter
Co-Executive Producer: Tiana Idoni- Matthews, Alison Sanders
Associate Producer: Rebecca Cammarata, Valerie Contreras
Cinematography by Brian Burgoyne
Casting bySunday Boling, Meg Norman
Music by Brian H. Kim
Edited by Robert Nassau
Production Design by Melanie Jones
Art Direction by Catherine Devaney, Eva McCarney
Set Decoration by Karuna Karmarkar
Costume Design by Rebecca Gregg
Starring:
Sally Field as Doris
Max Greenfield as John
Tyne Daly as Roz
Stephen Root as Todd
Wendi McLendon-Covey as Cynthia
Peter Gallagher as Willy Williams
Natasha Lyonne as Sally
Beth Behrs as Brooklyn
Isabella Acres as Vivian
Elizabeth Reaser as Doctor Edwards
Kumail Nanjiani as Nasir
Rebecca Wisocky as Anne Patterson
Rich Sommer as Robert
After a lifetime of being overlooked and ignored, Doris (Sally Field) finds her world turned upside down by a handsome new coworker (Max Greenfield) and a self-help guru that inspires her to take a chance on love. Hello, My Name Is Doris is a witty and compassionate late-life coming-of-age story that will make you cheer and want to say, “I’m Possible!”
Academy Award winning actress Sally Field has had a successful career which began with the 1965-1966 TV series “Gidget” and continued into the ’70s with “The Flying Nun” and “The Girl with Something Extra”, in the 2000’s with “ER” and “Brothers & Sisters”.
Field would show her diverse acting on the big screen with films such as “Mrs. Doubtfire” (1993), “Forrest Gump” (1994), “The Amazing Spider-Man” films and “Lincoln”.
And now, she returns with another wonderful performance in the 2015 comedy “Hello, My Name is Doris”, which will be available on Blu-ray in June 2016.
Directed by Michael Showalter (“Wet Hot American Summer”, “The Baxter”) and co-written with Laura Terruso (which the film is based on Laura’s short film, “Doris & the Intern), the film would star Sally Field, Stephen Root (“No Country for Old Men”, “NewsRadio”), Wendi McLendon-Covey (“The Goldbergs”, “Bridesmaids”, “Reno 911!”), Max Greenfield (“New Girl”, “Veronica Mars”, “The Big Short”), Tyne Daly (“Cagney & Lacy”, “Judging Amy”, “The Enforcer”), Peter Gallagher (“The OC”, “While You Were Sleeping”, “Mr. Deeds”), Elizabeth Reaser (“The Twilight Saga” films), Natasha Lyonne (“American Pie” films, “Kate & Leopold”), Beth Behrs (“2 Broke Girls”, “American Pie Presents the Book of Love”) and many more.
The film focuses on the character of Doris (portrayed by Sally Field), a sixty-something woman who is an office worker and has taken care of her mother and a while taking care of her mother who has passed, has become a hoarder.
Trying to find a new purpose in life, her best friend Roz (portrayed by Tyne Daly) tries to get her out of the house. And when Roz takes Doris to see a motivational speaker (portrayed by Peter Gallagher), about taking big risks and pursue new goals, Doris wants to get out of her comfort zone and try something new.
When John (portrayed by Max Greenfield) moves from Malibu to work in Manhattan and Doris’ company, needless to say, wanting to try a risk and pursue a new goal, she becomes attracted to John and fantasizes about him. So, much that she has Roz’s young teenage daughter Vivian create a social media account for her and create a fake profile in order to learn more about John and try to enjoy the things that he enjoys.
Meanwhile, Doris’ brother Todd (portrayed by Stephen Root), his wife Cynthia (portrayed by Wendi McLendon-Covey) and Dr. Edwards (portrayed by Elizabeth Reader), try to intervene out of concern for Doris’ hoarding lifestyle and are trying to get her to rid of the junk she has in her home, so they can sell the house and for Doris to start anew.
Will Doris be able to turn her life around? And will she be able to get closer to John?
VIDEO:
“Hello, My Name is Doris” is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:85:1 aspect ratio). The film looks vibrant in outdoor scenes and close ups are full of detail. I didn’t notice any problems with overall picture quality and for the most part, “Hello, My Name is Doris” looks very good in HD!
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Hello, My Name is Doris” is presented in English and French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. While the film is primarily dialogue-driven, there are many scenes which involve a party and also going to the club. So, the surround channels are utilized more for ambiance at these crowded locations. And music is crystal clear!
Subtitles are in English, English SDH, French and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Hello, My Name is Doris” comes with the following special features:
- Filmmaker Commentary – Featuring an audio commentary by director Michael Showalter.
- Deleted Scenes and Alternate Opening – (25:05) Featuring 16 deleted scenes and an alternate opening.
Actress Sally Field delivers a wonderful performance in the comedy “Hello, My Name is Doris”.
A film about a sixty-something single woman who gave up most of her life to take care of her mother and work and through that time of staying at home, accumulating many things and literally becoming a hoarder.
With the death of her mother, she now can live her life but the world has changed a lot.
But as she starts to embrace her new life, she becomes smitten with a young executive and even begins fantasizing about him. Making her want to pursue a new goal, to become closer to him and eventually have a relationship with him.
Her best friend thinks she is crazy but for Doris, she wants a new chance at life.
Meanwhile her brother Todd and his wife Cynthia want to sell her house (which belonged to her mother) and most of all, to put an end to Doris’ hoarding ways.
But will Doris find a new lease on life? And begin anew?
Directed by Michael Showalter and co-written by Laura Terruso and Showalter, “Hello, My Name is Doris” features a talented cast alongside Field such as Stephen Root, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Max Greenfield, Tyne Daly, Peter Gallagher, Natasha Lyonne, and Beth Behrs to name a few.
Max Greenfield has the task to play Doris’ love interest, John. The character of John is for the most part a good guy, to the point where he doesn’t look at Doris as too old and invites her to watch a live concert with him. And because she is short, carries Doris on his shoulders. The two develop a friendship and Doris interprets John wanting to spend time with her as possibly inching closer to love. But does he feel the same about her?
As for the film on Blu-ray, the picture quality is very good as close-ups feature a lot of detail, outdoor scenes are vibrant and lossless audio compliments the film’s dialogue and music. There are numerous deleted scenes included and also an audio commentary by filmmaker Michael Showalter.
While “Hello, My Name is Doris” is made better by the performance by Sally Field, the film is charming but also a little predictable.
While I was not expecting something like Hal Ashby’s 1971 film “Harold and Maude” (about a young man having a romantic tryst with an older woman), it would have been interesting to test similar waters.
While I don’t want to spoil the film and whether or not Doris and John find love, the film has its share of deep moments as Doris’ friends question her change and not wanting to “act her age” and her brother and sister-in-law trying to get her to rid of her belongings (because Doris is a hoarder).
And while the film is certainly plausible, the film is made enjoyable thanks to the wonderful performance by Sally Field.
A charming comedy, “Hello, My Name is Doris” is a film worth watching.
