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A film you've never heard of but really should see. (Trust me.)

Sunday, March 8, 2009

"Home for the Holidays" Movie review

124. Home for the Holidays


One of the things we can all agree on is that our families are screwed up, and no time is that more obvious that when we gather them all together for a celebration. Weddings, funerals or holiday groupings are prime time to show us just what works and what doesn't work about our familial gatherings.This version of that idea is charming, appalling, hysterical, horrific and painful. All the things that coming home for the holidays has meant to all of us at one time or another.The alliances, the long running feuds, the oddities and the secrets tend to come out when we get together. Who hates who, whose life is falling apart, who is gay? All of these things await as assuredly as the turkey.

Here is some of the cast:
Holly Hunter  . . .  Claudia Larson
 Robert Downey Jr. . . .  Tommy Larson
 Anne Bancroft . . .  Adele Larson
 Charles Durning . . .  Henry Larson
 Dylan McDermott . . .  Leo Fish
 Geraldine Chaplin . . .  Aunt Gladys
 Steve Guttenberg . . .  Walter Wedman
 Cynthia Stevenson . . .  Joanne Larson Wedman

The performances are universally brilliant, the direction is likewise. To tell you any more about the story would be a crime. You must discover this one as you go. Just like the people involved you have to enter this 20 soul pile up just as those who drove into the traffic. Hey, if nothing else, you may end up feeling better about your little family!




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