Link first. You're going to need that.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0311648/
Take a small indie film company, and throw something kinda wacky at them. Say a dysfunctional family. Really dysfunctional. Now make two of the family members oh, say... Oliver Platt and Katie Holmes. Yes, she of the recent Cruise attachment, pregnancy and Church of Scientology conversion. But this was before that, okay?
Okay, now it's Thanksgiving. That's a holiday I understand not one bit, but I like the idea just the same. For the first time since April (Katie) left the nest, she's inviting the rest of the family to Thanksgiving dinner at her apartment. Most of the things you can think of go wrong, and a few others besides. Somehow it fails to descend into slapstick, though the situation encourages it, and I for one applaud that.
Let me say I love the ending. But (and yes, I know I'm not supposed to begin sentence with 'but') I'm not telling you what happens.
Standout work from April's mother (Patricia Clarkson), and her younger sister (Allison Pill).
Director Peter Hedges wrote 'What's eating Gilbert Grape', and the screenplay for 'About a boy'. That might give you some idea what you're in for.
This is good stuff, and stands on its own, but I can't help but drag the whole thing down to my usual level by noting that the movie starts with Katie Holmes in her undies. How can that go wrong?
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