HOLES MOVIE REVIEW
THIS HOLES MOVIE REVIEW IS ALL ABOUT THE CHARACTERS, LIFE IN THE DESERT, AND MUCH MORE!
Holes is a classic film from the early 2000’s – which I would argue is the time period with the BEST movies! This Holes Movie Review will cover all sorts of great information like the movies summary, my own personal review, character analysis, quotes, life in the desert, and heartwarming moments that you probably missed.
BE WARNED: THIS REVIEW HAS SPOILERS. But honestly, this movie has been out for almost 20 years… if you haven’t seen it by now, then you need to get your life together! This amazing movie should be seen by EVERYONE!
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MOVIE SUMMARY
“Dogged by bad luck stemming from an ancient family curse, young Stanley Yelnats is sent to Camp Green Lake, a very weird place that’s not green and doesn’t have a lake. Once there, he’s thrown headlong into the adventure of his life when he and his colorful campmates.” – Amazon Summary
CHARACTERS - HOLES MOVIE REVIEW
Born into a cursed family, Stanley barely gets by in life.
One day, his family’s curse hits him hard…literally…in the head. He is sent away to a horrible camp, but the whole time he tries to remain positive and optimistic.
STANLEY YELNATS IV
At this horrible camp, he writes to his mom and lies to make her feel better. He claims the food is great, the lake is amazing, his new friends are welcoming, and he is “really enjoying the wildlife.” HA! He is a sweet kid for lying to her though. All parents stress out while their kids are away, and Stanley did a beautiful thing but soothing her worries.
Caveman: Stanley has to go through a few days of being the new kid, but he quickly gets accepted into the group and is bestowed the nickname “Caveman”.
Zero is another sweet little kid. He had a hard life, constantly moving around with his mom until, one day, they didn’t have a home at all, and his mom disappeared.
Hector Zeroni
While at camp, he is only known as “Zero” because he doesn’t speak, so everyone assumes he isn’t intelligent. We soon learn that he is perfectly capable of speaking, but he can’t read. It says a lot about how he feels being at Camp Green Lake that he doesn’t bother to make friends and he allows everyone to talk down to him. We don’t even learn his real name until the end of the movie.
“But if you forget to come back for madam zeroni, you and your family will be cursed for forever and eternity.” – Madam Zeroni
MADAM ZERONI
This creepy lady is the one who starts ALL of the trouble for EVERYONE in the story.
Just because one heartbroken young man doesn’t carry her up a mountain, she curses him, which curses his whole family and many other people who are involved.
She controlled the fate of many people throughout several generations.
Miss Katherine was a sweet young woman who taught children and adults alike in her very small town.
She had a deep crush on a man named Sam – the ONLY black man in the town. And he liked her as well. They were constantly finding ways to be near each other. In fact, I would consider them to be soul mates.
KISSIN' KATE BARLOW
Unfortunately, the son of the wealthiest man in town wanted her, which meant trouble. He killed Sam out of revenge for being rejected, and because it was illegal for Sam to kiss Kate, which started a chain of events lasting through multiple generations.
Sweet Miss Katherine, destroyed by the loss of her Sam, became Kissin’ Kate Barlow – a lawless woman who went from town-to-town robbing just about every rich person and bank she could find. As Trout said, she “robbed every bank from Hell to Houston.” She even carved her initials into the bullets that she used to kill, then kiss, her victims.
You know what they say… “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”
She even cursed Trout, the man that killed Sam. Her curse stick, because even Trout’s granddaughter, The Warden, was never able to find the treasure.
“Im tired of this grandpa” – Young Warden
“Well thats too damn bad.” – The Wardens Grandpa, Trout
THE WARDEN
Now, this is a SCARY lady!
She makes her own nail polish, and her secret ingredient is Rattlesnake venom. Why, oh why, would anyone want Rattlesnake venom on their nails?!?!
We quickly learn in the movie that she is the granddaughter of Trout, the man that killed Sam. She went out onto the dry lake with her grandfather as a child to dig holes in an attempt to find Kissin’ Kate Barlow’s treasure. Even on Christmas. True, she had a rough childhood. However, she grew up to be a vicious and selfish woman.
She created a camp to recruit misfit teens to dig out in the middle of the desert to help her find the mysterious treasure of Kissin’ Kate Barlow. She instills fear into her employees and all of the teenagers in the camp.
Even when Stanley and Zero are in danger, she is more worried about her reputation and that of the camps rather than helping them.
TOP QUOTES- HOLES MOVIE REVIEW
” SHORTER SHOVEL, SHORTER HOLE”
“IF ONLY, IF ONLY, THE WOODPECKER SIGHS, THE BARK ON THE TREE IS AD SOFT OS THE SKIES, as the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely, HE CRIES TO THE MOON, IF ONLY, IF ONLY.”
“I feel sorry for the little old lady who lived in the shoe, because it must have smelled really bad.” – Stanleys Mom in a Letter
“I can fix that” – Sam
LIVING IN THE DESERT
Let’s talk about those pesky Yellow Spotted Lizards for a second… Why those creatures even exist is a mystery. They are tiny, so it’s easy for them to get into just about anywhere. They are very fast. They can RUN ON THEIR BACK LEGS, which is just not fair. Their teeth are sharp, and their venom will kill you.
Stay away from the Yellow Spotted Lizards!!
I don’t think I really need to say this, but I’m going to anyway… living in the desert is HARD!
Even under the best circumstances – air conditioning, unlimited water, a sturdy home with no way for critters to get in…. desert life is rough.
Stanley Yelnats and the other kids at Camp Green Lake didn’t have any of those amenities. They had a limited water supply while they were digging holes. They only had the opportunity for a short shower once a day. Their food options … well, to call it FOOD might be an overstatement.
HEARTWARMING MOMENTS YOU PROBABLY MISSED
ONIONS AND PEACHES
At the end of the movie, Stanley Yelnats III is cooking up a recipe to get rid of the odor in shoes. He places a small bowl of onions on top of the stove, but it accidentally falls into the boiling pot of water, shoes, and other ingredients. One of those ingredients includes peaches.
How is this significant, you ask?
Katherine Balow was well known in her town for her spiced peaches. Sam was known as the onion man.
Peaches and Onions.
Kate and Sam.
This is a moment that most viewers don’t catch, but it’s so sweet and really brings everything together.
ONIONS AND YELLOW SPOTTED LIZARDS
While out in the mountains, Stanley and Zero had nothing to eat but onions growing around the stream of water. Those onions were THE SAME ONIONS that Sam was collecting and selling in his town. These onions have one specific magical element…. the Yellow Spotted Lizards HATE them. Eating those special onions while out in the desert digging for the treasure literally saved their lives. Otherwise, they would have been lizard food.
The Rain
As Kissin’ Kate Barlow said right before she died, it hadn’t rained around the “lake” since the day Sam was killed.
Fate was clearly angry about Kate and Sam being separated. However, as soon as all of the loose ends up tied up and the curses are broken, it rains on the lake. A lot.
CONCLUSION
The holes movie is great for all ages. It has everything you could ever need in a great film – relatable characters, elements of magic and fate, love, and adventure.
If you are looking for something to watch for family movie night, then this is the movie for you!
Fair warning, though, there are a couple of curse words. However, its nothing that most kids and pre-teens haven’t heard before.
Click HERE to watch the movie on Amazon now!