pkollmeier As a child, I grew up watching this movie with my mom every holiday season. Last night, I decided to watch this movie alone and really analyze it a bit more as an adult. Whoa. This is one of the saddest movies I've ever seen in my life.I've read a lot of reviews ripping the dialogue and the strangeness of the film, but I really think a lot of it is done for pure effect here. Jodie Foster wants the viewer to think back on all of the crazy things that they've seen in their families throughout the holidays and beyond. In this film, we start to see how hard life really is. Growing old, losing your mind, worrying about small things, washing cars to keep busy, smoking cigarettes, talking bad about other family members, dreading time spent together, mustering up the strength to travel and be on your A game for your family and so on. What we also see is that although our parents create us, help guide us and (if we're lucky) help us in times of need, it is ultimately our lives and fears we must get through to live the lives that we want to live. It is not on our parents to do this for us and in Claudia's family, we start to see just how people define themselves in a group/family setting, compared to their own self-identities. Who are we without our siblings? Our parents? Old memories? Fears? Stereotypes? Alcohol? Family gatherings and embarrassments? Defined family roles? Great times? Bad times?I think Jodie Foster does a fantastic job of showing us that we aren't who we think we are without these things. We aren't even close. But, it doesn't always mean it is a good thing, and it doesn't always mean it is a bad thing. It just is.Now, like I said, this is one of the saddest movies I've ever seen. First, I don't think I ever watched the last 30 minutes with my mom because I didn't remember a specific gut-wrenching scene after the holiday meal. It broke my heart. I also didn't remember the ending to this film. It's cinema magic. Life is a journey and we often don't recognize those people (us) from the past. When I look at photos and videos from old home movies, I am overcome with a sense of sadness. It is hard to explain but I can barely get through them. It is almost like the person I see in those videos and pictures is not me. It is someone entirely different and Home for the Holidays hits on this theme throughout the film. We often forget the obstacles, and hard times and good times, our broken down cars, ex-girlfriends, boyfriends, money troubles, family roles, high school friends, pets, memories and more. Yet, we often remember them too. This always confuses things. Especially the scene with Claudia and her ex-boyfriend in their house. It's sad, really. But we've all had that someone we tried to avoid from back home but had to face. As sad as her ex-boyfriend was to watch and listen to, Claudia hasn't exactly been living the most glamorous life either. She just handles it differently and Jodie Foster does an amazing job of showing the viewer this, without specifically telling us.Tommy handles his insecurities by lashing out against others and causing them pain. It may seem like innocence and jokes, but deep down, I don't think Tommy ever feels at home when he's home. He loves his parents in a strange way that we all do, but he's started another journey with his lover Jack, and that's just the way life goes. When Claudia's journey ends this particular Thanksgiving, we see that her new journey is actually just beginning. Give this one a watch if you're on the fence. It has a lot more layers to it than first meets the eye.

SnoopyStyle Claudia Larson (Holly Hunter) loses her art restorer job due to budget cuts. Her 16 year old daughter Kitt (Claire Danes) shocks her with her intention to lose her virginity. Then she has to go back home to her parents (Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning) for Thanksgiving. Her sister Joanne (Cynthia Stevenson) and brother-in-law Walter Wedman (Steve Guttenberg) are uptight conservatives. Her irreverent gay brother Tommy (Robert Downey Jr.) shows up with Leo Fish (Dylan McDermott). Aunt Glady (Geraldine Chaplin) is an eccentric plant lady. Sad sack Russell Terziak (David Strathairn) is infatuated with Claudia.It's Holly Hunter suffering under various family members. I wish Claire Danes could stay in the heart of the movie. Downey tries to steal the movie with his antics. Claudia embodies how I feel about this movie. I love the people here but some of them annoy me. I watch this with detached bemusement. The wacky energy from Downey energizes a rather simple family dysfunction chaos. Director Jodie Foster maintains control of the manic wackiness but she isn't able to maximize the comedy.

moviedude1 Holly Hunter stars as a woman who finds out she's not quite making it just before she heads home to Baltimore for Thanksgiving, where an overbearing mother, slightly whacked-out father are waiting for their children to return home to the nest, including her homosexual brother who's very well known for his antics and escapades.I'm not sure where to begin, except that the genres for this film are seriously backwards. Don't get me wrong...I like the movie, but I found more drama than comedy in it. And there's that old saying about, "Look in the dictionary under (insert word here) and you'll find my family picture as the illustration," and dysfunctional is DEFINITELY Hunter's family in this case.It's not stupid comedy, and it's not a stupid movie, but it's not really that funny, either.3 out of 10 stars.

gcd70 A script lacking dramatic weight and humorous bite, along with characters that are just too 'off centre', mean that Jodie Foster's second outing as director is not a terribly memorable one.Holly Hunter, always an enjoyable screen presence, impresses as Claudia Larson, a single mother who finds herself making yet another annual flight to celebrate thanksgiving with her painful family. All this on top of losing her job and discovering that her sixteen year old daughter is about to begin having sexual relations with her boyfriend. Life sucks sometimes! Unfortunately Holly's character is really the only one the audience is going to be able to relate to, or even stomach for that matter. Anne Bancroft's mom is a nightmare of paranoia, dad (Charles Durning) is a nostalgic, rotund old fool who is quite possibly losing his grip, while sister and brother-in-law (Cynthia Stevenson and Steve Guttenberg) are obnoxious and self-centred. Add to this a nutty Aunt (Geraldine Chaplin) and a totally flaky and intensely irritating homosexual brother (a most unlikeable Robert Downey Jnr.) and you find it very hard to feel sympathy for, get involved with, or laugh at any of this sorry lot.The screenplay swings from drama to comedy to romance to tragedy on many occasions, but Foster is unable to gain effect in any of these modes. In the end neither cast nor crew can pick up the pieces of what was really a misdirected project to begin with. My advice......don't bother going "Home for the Holidays."Saturday, May 25, 1996 - Capitol Cinema, Melbourne