A 1995 American dramedy film directed by Jodie Foster, starring an Ensemble Cast that includes Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Dylan McDermott, Geraldine Chaplin, Steve Guttenberg, Cynthia Stevenson, and Claire Danes.
It follows single mother Claudia Larson (Hunter) as she returns to her childhood home in Baltimore to spend Thanksgiving with her parents and siblings. The circumstances are less than ideal: Claudia has just lost her job as an art restorer due to budget cuts, and her teenage daughter Kitt (Danes) is not only staying behind in Chicago to spend the holiday with her boyfriend, but announces – while dropping her mother off at the airport – that she's planning to lose her virginity to him over the weekend. And if all that isn't enough, Claudia's also suffering from a bad cold, which isn't helped by her losing her winter coat even before boarding the plane.
Then there's Claudia's family, which includes her sweet but just-this-side-of-senile retired father Henry (Durning); her well-meaning but intrusive mother Adele (Bancroft); her deeply resentful sister Joanne (Stevenson), who's there with her uptight husband Walter (Guttenberg) and their bratty kids; and their dotty Aunt Gladys (Chaplin). The only one who Claudia is really able to confide in is her gay brother Tommy (Downey), who surprises everyone by showing up without his longtime boyfriend... but with his friend and coworker Leo (McDermott), who Claudia finds herself growing attracted to even though he is presumably Leo's new partner.
Tropes in this film:
- Alpha Bitch: A scene has Claudia encountering her high school's former homecoming queen Ginny (Amy Yasbeck), who was presumably one of these... and hasn't changed much.
- Dysfunctional Family: The Larsons are a fairly realistic example.
- Friends Are Chosen, Family Aren't: Lampshaded with this exchange toward the end:Joanne: If I just met you on the street, if you gave me your phone number? I'd throw it away.Claudia: We don't have to like each other, Jo. We're family.
- The Gadfly: Tommy is fond of pushing people's buttons, including Claudia's.
- Good-Times Montage: The film ends with a series of flashbacks depicting a happy past event in each of the main characters' lives.
- Heteronormative Crusader: Joanne and her husband Walter are openly disdainful of Tommy's homosexuality.
- Mistaken for Gay: Everyone except Tommy assumes that Leo is this, but he's not.
- Precision F-Strike: Joanne screams "Cocksucker!" at Tommy after he accidentally flings the turkey into her lap while trying to carve it.
- Random Events Plot: The movie is basically a series of vignettes taking place over the course of Claudia's two-day visit.
- Sibling Rivalry: Joanne sees herself as the responsible and dutiful one who got married, had kids, and stayed behind to care for their parents while Claudia and Tommy went off to "live it up" as supposedly carefree singles.
- Shower Scene: Claudia gets one... with Tommy busting in on her and taking a photo.
- Thanksgiving Day Story: The film centers around the Larson family's Thanksgiving reunion.
