Amazon.com: Holly Hunter plays a Chicago-based single mom who--on the day before Thanksgiving--loses her job and is informed by her daughter of the latter's intention to surrender her virginity while on a weekend-long affair. If that's not enough, Hunter's character then has to fly to Baltimore to join her fractious family for another difficult Thanksgiving. Robert Downey Jr. is terrifically charming as her prankish, gay brother, and Anne Bancroft and Charles Durning show plenty of comic resilience during the predictably interesting Thanksgiving dinner scene. The script by W.D. Richter (Brubaker) avoids the usual clichés in family dramas--the deepest, darkest secret revealed here involves the painfully sweet revelation of a 40-year-old crush. Jodie Foster, directing her second feature, focuses instead on the inevitable softening of old grudges and disappointments with time. This is a wise as well as wonderfully fun movie. --Tom Keogh
OK NOT GREAT TYPICALLY I LOVE HOLLY HUNTER, BUT EVEN HER TALENT DID NOT CREATE ANY INTEREST FOR ME. THIS IS MOST LIKELY TOO TRUE TO REALLY ENJOY, A LARGELY DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY--- NOT WORTH PAYING MONEY FOR. JUST STEP NEXT DOOR AND GET THIS FOR FREE.
Its lack of effort disappoints me... There are plenty of holiday family films that get it right. In recent years I've enjoyed `The Family Stone' and `Pieces of April'. `Home for the Holidays' just doesn't do it for me the way that these other films have. I searched this film out mainly because I adore Robert Downey Jr. (such a major comeback) and I heard great things about his performance here. That and the fact that Holly Hunter is always a delight (as are Anne Bancroft and Charles Durning) and I was seeking this film like a missile. The film as a whole is not as great as its individual parts.
The film is bogged down by too many clichés.
There was not a single original character in this film. If that were the only issue then I could see still enjoying this film to a certain extent, but that is not the only issue I have with `Home for the Holidays'. The film is littered with realistic conversations between family members, but unlike films by Woody Allen and or Robert Altman, Foster can't manage to make these seemingly natural situations appear `natural'. These sequences come off more uncomfortable than anything else. And then there are the less than impressive, slightly (often not slightly) over-the-top performances that tend to degrade the films credibility.
More on those in a minute.
The film revolves around single mom Claudia Larson who, day before Thanksgiving, finds herself jobless and traveling to visit her family. Her daughter Kitt is staying behind to give herself to her boyfriend, and her eccentric brother Tommy (the only family member she gets along with) is reportedly `not' coming to the family dinner. So, Claudia is a nervous wreck, aware of the fact that she will have to get through this weekend on her own. Her parents, Henry and Adele, have all but lost their minds; her crazy Aunt Gladys has lost hers and her sister Joanne obviously harbors much resentment for Claudia, mainly because she doesn't know her yet has her all figured out (don't you hate people like that). When Tommy surprises everyone with his presence (and a new guy in his life) the family is thrown up in arms as secrets are revealed, grudges are uncovered and fights ensue.
I just wish that something, anything, felt fresh and or new.
The films only saving grace at this point would be the acting, since the scripting is all over the place with its attempts at being meaningful (not all attempts succeed), but the acting never even really gets off the ground. Holly Hunter, a very capable actress, suffers from a diluted script that never gives her character enough attention to grow. She is left trying to be something more than the film allows her to be, and in the end she becomes rather boring. The only scenes where she really excels are scenes where she is conversing with Downey Jr. (they actually make for very believable siblings) but that leads me to Downey Jr., who never really manages to pull off his performance as a whole. He has his moments where he is charming and natural and graceful, but then he has his episodes where he is just downright obnoxious and unbearable (that whole car scene with the story of the snot was ridiculous).
Dylan McDermott is a bland leading man; Claire Danes is barely there (even if she is naturally luminous); Steve Guttenberg tries, but fails; Geraldine Chaplin has a few funny scenes (and a stout revelation) but cannot elevate the film in any way. Anne Bancroft and Charles Durning seem like a great pair for the whole mother/father team but they are stuck muddling through jokes and gags that are beneath them. In fact, Cynthia Stevenson (from `According to Jim'!!!) is the only actor/actress here that actually manages to pull something beautiful off. I just wish that her characters open-shut cliché wasn't so dominant. She actually moved me in ways I never expected.
So, if you want a sweet and touching family film that embraces the holiday spirit then you might want to look elsewhere. `Home for the Holidays' has its moments, and it does try and capture the warmth of family, but it fails to really connect in a way that many other films can. It loses many points for not even attempting to bring anything new to the table, but even through clichés a film should be able to make a statement. This film, sadly, does not.
Family Values NOT This film embodies the abject misery a lot of people experience when forced to go home to The Family for the holidays. You have to confront aging parents, aging siblings and old school friends/rivals. Nothing is the same anymore; yet you are bombarded with bittersweet memories. This film delivers in all those areas. You identify with the characters because you either know people like this or are related to them!
Robert Downey Jr really shines in this - which is amazing since the cast was brilliant. His performance just sparkles. He plays the gay brother of Holly Hunter who starts out just plain weird and becomes The Star of the film. I was disappointed when his character just goes away by escaping the insanity of The Family when he goes back to his real home to be with people who really love and appreciate the person he is rather than the little boy his family remembers. It seemed to me that the spark was gone after that.
Anyway, buy this film, put on the popcorn, curl up and enjoy. Oh, and Merry Christmas. Heh heh heh.
Great movie This is such a great movie, saw it years ago and always wanted it. So I added it to my movie library, and love it. Great holiday movie.
Avoid this seller (MovieMars) This seller (Movie Mars)sent defective merchandise. After returning it at MY cost, I had to keep contacting the company to find out what happened to my replacement. Home for the Holidays
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