Home For The Holidays

"Home For The Holidays" begins with an opening scene in which the central character Claudia Larson, played by Holly Hunter, finds out without warning that she has been fired from her job as restorer of paintings at a Chicago Art Museum, to which she responds by kissing her soon to be ex-boss. Having to go back to her overbearing parents on the Thanksgiving, and that too via plane when she's afraid of flying; builds up to the holiday hysteria. To pull the rug from her under her feet, her only daughter, Kitts, only a teenager, confides that she will probably experience sex for the first time. After boarding the flight to Baltimore and sitting next to a person who just won't shut up, Claudia arrives at her childhood home, oblivious that she's about to meet the full crew; one weirdo after another.

Upon reaching the airport, she meets her mother Adele, played by Anne Bancroft, and father Henry, played by Charles Durning, who are getting ready for the holiday. Up next, she meets her gay brother Tommy, played by Robert Downey Jr., who turns up unexpectedly, not alone though but with a Leo Fish, played by Dylan McDermott. Thankfully, Tommy is also her confidante so Claudia is saved of too much heat from her parents and others she has to meet in a while, or so she thinks. To make matters worse for her, Claudia's uptight sister Joanne (Cynthia Stevenson), her even more uptight husband Walter (Steve Guttenberg), their brat kids, oddball Aunt Gladys (Geraldine Chaplin) and Claudia's sad old friend Russell also come in to play their bits. After a series of disasters, some expected and others totally unexpected, Claudia finds herself knee deep in an emotional crisis.

After a hectic and argumentative Thanksgiving with family, Claudia returns home and Leo comes with her. How she deals with her crises, we'll leave that for you to find out. "Home For The Holidays" is based on a short story by Chris Radant, and directed by Jodie Foster, best known for her acting in the cult classic psychological thriller, "Silence of the Lambs". Back in 1995, when "Home For The Holidays" was released, it got fairly mixed reviews from the critics, though the majority of audience liked what they saw. Jodie Foster's direction and Holly Hunter's and Robert Downey Junior's performances were immensely liked by the audience. This comedy drama was just able to depict the common family problems with a touch of quirky wit. It makes for an enjoyable movie to watch on Thanksgiving Day.