WITH THANKS TO JOHN KRASINSKI.

by Hunter Jon

It’s actually quite a delightful story how my sister and I ended up watching “The Hollars”, which was directed by and stars John Krasinski, but it’s also a long and personal one. So I’m going to keep it to myself. All you need to know is that we watched it. Rented it, in fact. Via iTunes on AppleTV.

(my sister and I are big John Krasinski fans, but because of her having initial trouble remembering and/or pronouncing his last name, we started calling him ‘Johnny K’ and it stuck)

If you haven’t seen it, not to worry - absolutely no need to spoil any real story/plot here to get where I’m going. All you need to know is that at one point Johnny K’s character revisits a place that was special to him as a child. We see him make his way through some thick bush and come out at a scenic lakeside. And then this happens…

It’s a simple and, mostly, predictable gag. Both I and my sister knew it was going to happen the second we saw that tire swing. Yet she laughed anyway. A little too hard. Which made me laugh. Then she started laughing at how much such a juvenile joke had made her laugh. She insisted we pause and rewind. The second time around we both laughed harder than anyone ever should at this tired bit.

The movie carried on. Next up was a scene without Johnny K.

But he returned in the one after that…

My sister and I exchanged a glance. What was up with his hair? Why did it look different all of a sudden? What the hell was he wearing? And why were these out-of-character clothes far too small?

In the continuing scene, it was even more obvious…

Neither of us said anything out loud, but we kept looking at each other, clearly confused. Then, in the scene, Johnny K gets up and leaves…

… carrying with him a plastic bag.

I hit pause and couldn’t get it out fast enough - “Because he was wet!” 

My sister understood immediately: he was soaked from his fall and, having a meeting at a doctor’s office soon after, bought dry clothes (that didn’t fit) and used the shopping bag to carry around his wet ones. Of course, this also accounted for his I-just-fell-into-a-lake hairdo.

What’s great is that none of this was ever explained. Never hinted at beyond the bag, weird clothes and weirder hair. Not only do you have to connect-the-dots yourself to get the joke, it takes you a moment to realize that there are even any dots to connect.

We started laughing and couldn’t stop. One of those laughs that goes on so long you’re left in tears and waving your hands around as if to say, “I can’t - stop, stop. Stop everything!”

I’m not sure if my sister remembers any of this. But I sure do, and it’s one of my favourite movie-watching memories.

So thanks, Johnny K.

And Happy Birthday, Jo.