Date: Fri 10-Nov-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A-13

Quick Words:

Home-Holidays-Hunter-Foster

Full Text:

(rev of Home For The Holidays , Now Playing, 11/10/95)

NOW PLAYING

Not A Way To Spend Thanksgiving

By Trey Paul Alexander III

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and with it comes visions of Macy's holiday

parade, the Dallas Cowboys roaming the gridiron, and, of course, a dinner with

the folks, featuring turkey and all kinds of extravagant, delicious trimmings.

I have always fancied this November holiday as one of the highpoints of the

year. Although Christmas intrinsically holds more meaning, these days it is so

inundated by promotions, advertising, consumerism, hectic planning, etc, it is

often hard to concentrate on exactly what is being celebrated (sometimes I

think the overkill is meant to distract us from contemplating anything of

relevance during Christmas, but that is a gripe for another time).

On the other hand, Thanksgiving comes with few baubles and half the fanfare.

Yet it features a wonderfully temperate pace that allows us to stuff

ourselves, spend time with family and friends, and watch plenty of pro

football. What more could one ask for?

Apparently, my fanciful idea of the day is not in keeping with Jodie Foster's.

The extremely talented, Oscar-winning actress is making her second directorial

effort with Home For The Holidays . Her film, though populated by some sharp

performances, is marred by the dysfunction it wears proudly on its sleeve.

Boiled down to its essence, the movie's premise maintains that going home to

spend the holidays with one's family is worse than any level of hell

envisioned by Dante.

Claudia Larsen (Holly Hunter) is dreading the flight to her parents' house,

imagining the worst for this annual get-together. Her sense of dread is

amplified by the sad state in which she left her affairs in Chicago: she has

been fired from her museum position as restorer; she had a brief dalliance

with her boss; and her daughter (Claire Danes) curtly announces she plans to

have sex with her boyfriend while Mom is absent.

If there is any ray of hope, it is quickly dashed when Claudia arrives in

Baltimore. Though her parents (played by Anne Bancroft and Charles Durning)

mean well, by the time the ride from the airport is finished, Claudia already

feels smothered. But the good times are only getting started.

One by one, the motley crew that is Claudia's family is introduced: Tommy

(Robert Downey, Jr), Claudia's impetuous, gay brother, arrives unannounced in

the middle of the night with a new friend, Leo Fish (Dylan McDermott), whom

Claudia believes to be Tommy's significant other; Aunt Glady (Geraldine

Chaplin), the eccentric, loony relative who has everyone rolling their eyes in

disbelief; and Claudia's married sister, Joanne (Cynthia Stevenson), whose

family has the most acrimonious relationship with the rest of the Larsen clan.

Though there are several poignant sequences and more than a few funny ones

(mostly involving Chaplin's crazy character), the overall disharmony within

the family is too overwhelming. When Claudia and Joanne come to an impasse

during an argument, Claudia coldly states, "We don't have to like each

other... We're family."

There may be some intense moments of revelation here for some viewers, but

essentially, Home For The Holidays is often a morose downer. Like many daytime

talk shows, the movie displays the downtrodden wearing their abberant behavior

and somber circumstances like some kind of badge with which we are all

expected to identify. But not all of us will, and here's hoping that few

audience members share such a bleak experience when in the company of family.

Home For The Holidays , which is playing at Danbury's Crown Cinema, is rated

PG-13 for frequent profanity and sexual references.