Hello, My Name is Doris: Indie comedy elevated by Sally Field

Sally Field and Max Greenfield in Hello, My Name is Doris. Photo credit: Aaron Epstein.

Sally Field is remarkable as the star of Hello, My Name is Doris.

Michael Showalter directs the late-life coming-of-age comedy from a screenplay written by him and Laura Terruso. The script was based on an eight minute short, Doris and the Intern, written and directed by Terruso. Lucky for film goers, Showalter viewed the film while teaching at NYU.

What Showalter saw in the project was an older playing a lead role in a comedy. Sadly, roles such as these are limited to indie films, which is a shame. There’s a market out there for people that want to see older actresses in a leading role and not just in indie films.

Field leads a star-studded cast that includes Max Greenfield, Beth Behrs, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Stephen Root, Elizabeth Reaser, Natasha Lyonne, Tyne Daly, Peter Gallagher, and Isabella Acres.

Doris Miller (Field) is not your typical person. She’s a hoarder who lived with her mom until after her mother died. She’s used to being ignored at work until a new person comes into the picture at the office in the form of art director John Fremont (Max Greenfield). She soon finds herself infatuated by Fremont to the point that uses her friend’s granddaughter to help her set up a fake Facebook account so that she can get to new him better.

Doris has feelings for John and they are real. Only John doesn’t know with. With the aid of Roz’s granddaughter, Doris soon finds out what type of things John is into and she decides to go to a concert in Williamsburg with the hope that he’ll be there. They soon click and she connects with his friends.

Doris is thrilled for her new life but it comes with a price as her friends and family think she is losing her mind over a guy that’s half her age. They don’t think a relationship would even be possible.

John later asks Doris if she’d be interested in dating a younger guy. Unfortunately for Doris, the younger guy is not John but rather, somebody else altogether. This puts Doris into a spiral and it comes right as a doctor was going to help her with cleaning out her cluttered house.

It’s a fun film but it’s not for everyone. Doris is such a unique character but audiences should be willing to give her a chance.

Roadside Attractions distributed the 90-minute comedy, which opened in limited release on March 11, 2016.

Danielle Solzman

Danielle Solzman is native of Louisville, KY, and holds a BA in Public Relations from Northern Kentucky University and a MA in Media Communications from Webster University. She roots for her beloved Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, and Boston Celtics. Living less than a mile away from Wrigley Field in Chicago, she is an active reader (sports/entertainment/history/biographies/select fiction) and involved with the Chicago improv scene. She also sees many movies and reviews them. She has previously written for Redbird Rants, Wildcat Blue Nation, and Hidden Remote/Flicksided. From April 2016 through May 2017, her film reviews can be found on Creators.

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