The Critical Response To J.D. Vance's Movie Hillbilly Elegy, Explained

The running mate of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Ohio senator J.D. Vance, has also made a mark in the movie business. Unfortunately for him, said mark has been a distinctly negative one, at least from the critics' standpoint. Vance's sole movie credit, Netflix's 2020 drama "Hillbilly Elegy," was utterly lambasted by the reviewers to the tune of a 25% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is based on Vance's memoir of the same name and explores the author's return to his native Ohio, where he gets a crash course on the area's plight. 

The "Hillbilly Elegy" version of J.D. Vance is played by "Super 8" star Gabriel Basso and backed up by some of the greatest actors and filmmakers out there, but critics have failed to enjoy the end result. Their consensus is that while the movie aspires to be an impactful, award-winning drama, it ends up wasting much of its potential with its sheer blandness. "Nothing really happens in this film," Jordan Hoffman of TV Guide wrote. "The memoir was more about themes and ideas, so the grafted narrative can't be too spicy and remain 'based on the book.' Partisans on the left and right may root around for either poisonous or righteous messaging, but I don't think it's worth the effort."

While critics found "Hillbilly Elegy" bad, viewers quite liked it. The film's Rotten Tomatoes audience score is a very respectable 82%, and the movie was the 7th-most watched release on Netflix during the 2020 Thanksgiving weekend. This is not exactly a surprise considering the sheer number of major names behind the film. 

"Hillbilly Elegy" was directed by none other than Ron Howard, and its adapted screenplay was written by Vanessa Taylor of "The Shape of Water" fame. If that wasn't enough to direct viewers in the movie's direction, Gabriel Basso's Vance has an Appalachian family circle with colorful characters played by the likes of Glenn Close and Amy Adams. Both do an admirable job in their roles, with Adams' "Hillbilly Elegy" accent proving she can do it all and Close making us love her even more by completely embracing the comparatively unflattering role of Vance's grandmother, Mamaw. 

Close ended up getting an Academy Award nomination for her role, and "Hillbilly Elegy" also received an Oscar nomination for its impressive makeup and hairstyling achievements. However, as if to highlight the duality of its critical and audience reception, the film also raked in three Razzie Award nominations ... including a worst actress nod for Close.