Home for the Holidays

What I like most about this movie is the atmosphere it creates: the anticipation of returning home during the dreariness of the season's weather, the hustle and bustle of the holiday, the conflict between the loneliness and yet the quiet peace of waking to the first moonlit dusting of snow. There's always such a buildup to that big day, and then it's over, and, as one titled scene suggests, "now what?"

But what touches me about this movie is what it has to say about love. "The very thought of you" is more than a song at the movie's end, it's a theme that permeates the movie: such as when the father watches the home movie of his children, illuminating one of the pivital moments of his life that was only seconds in length, but brings his life such joy and meaning. The movie reminds us that it is "the very thought of you" that brings joy to us all.

This film, when stripped of all its humour, cover-ups and bravado, is one of the saddest stories put to film in recent years. The line that strikes me the most is nearing the end, when Claudia and Leo go to Joanne's to return her Tupperware. The dialogue goes as such:

Claudia: You don't know the first thing about me, Joanne. Nothing.

Joanne: Likewise, I'm sure. [pause] If I just met you on the street, if you gave me your phone number, I'd throw it away.

Ouch. If either of my sisters said that to me I'd have to hurt them. This is a touching, heartfelt film, and I adore it.

Review Date 6/27/2019

I have Reviewed OVER 500 "Christmas Films and Specials". Please BEWARE Of films and specials with just one review! For instance When "It's a POSITIVE" chances are that the reviewer was involved with the production. "If its Negative" then they may have a grudge against the film for whatever reason. I am fare about these films.

All families go through transitions. Parents are getting older. Siblings resentment and how we all kind go through the motions of life without realizing seeing what is front of our own eyes.

In this film every year, Claudia (Holly Hunter) dreads her trip home for Thanksgiving. Between her parents (Charles Durning and Anne Bancroft), her sardonic brother (Robert Downey Jr.) and her overdramatic sister (Cynthia Stevenson), things are bad enough. But this year, Claudia has more reason for angst. She's lost her job and is dealing with her daughter's (Claire Danes) revelation about her sexual activities. Claudia's sister seems to think her brother and sister ran out of town leaving her stuck to take care of their aging parents.

Lots of laughs and a reality check for everyone.

I have never written a review before, though I am frequently on IMDB, but now I think it is my duty to let prospective watchers of this movie know that it is really very good. Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr, and Anne Bancroft are all highlights. Cynthia Stevenson and Geraldine Chaplin are great too. The story is funny and smart, and Jodie Foster got most of the details right on. Rent this movie on Thanksgiving for the full effect; I do every year.

"Nobody means what they say on Thanksgiving, Mom. That's what the holiday is all about. Torture." - Claudia

That is my favorite line in this, one of my favorite movies. This is a holiday at anyone's home: a congregation of people you love beyond comprehension and hate beyond belief but are bound to by blood. There are so many wonderful and true moments in this film both funny and dramatic, that I cannot possibly name them all except to say that these moments, even the one between the sisters near the end, are what we give thanks for even if they are painful. Yes family gatherings are dreaded, but once they are over we are happy to have attended, because somewhere amidst the chaos we remember why we love these people, where we came from, who we are, and what is truly important in this life. coming to realizations such as this inevitably involves torture. we would much rather not think about it... this movie forces us to. Great movie.