Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)"Home for the Holidays" is a quiet, fun little film that I dust off once or twice a year (usually around Thanksgiving!) and sit back and absolutely enjoy. It's become a comfort film for me, one of honesty, predictability, and enjoyment. It's a wonder more people haven't discovered this mini-classic.
Holly Hunter plays Claudia, a forty year old woman forced to endure calamity after calamity on her way to her parent's house for the Thanksgiving holiday. Hunter has her role sewn up from the moment we see her; she encapsulates Claudia and makes her very real as she is conforted with mini-nightmares. These problems plague her, only to define her life as unrealized, possibly misdirected. That Hunter refuses to play her as a sack sad, or someone pitiful, is a testament to her understanding of Claudia.
The script avoids usual the "family cliches" by showing us a dysfunctional family that functions quite well. Gay brother Tommy, so perfectly mastered by Robert Downey Jr., always the family clown, removes his "make-up" and shows incredible sensitivity when he rescues his sister from her holiday horror. Dylan McDermott charms his way quietly as Leo Fish, and you believe his sincerity towards Claudia. Cynthnia Stevenson and Steve Guttenberg rock as the high strung power couple so insistent on perfection in their imperfect lives. And the wonderful Charles Durning and Anne Bancroft as the parents, so beleaguered, so joyful, so real.
While the performances shine, the script shines even brighter, offering little solutions with much insight. You understand Claudia's trauams, but know that none of them are resolvable within a two hour film, and that's ok. Even the ending, which suggests that even daring to dream is enough, is absolutely perfect for this film. A less experienced screenwriter would have fallen into the cliche trap and wrapped everything up in a neat bow, which this film suggests, is simply not possible.
"Home for the Holidays" is a signature piece by Jodie Foster, one that people who enjoy a truly good film won't be there to pass up. I hope Foster follows up by directing more classics such as this; American cinema would be better for it.
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HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS - DVD Movie
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