Rating: 
Summary: A Secret Well Kept
Review: I just got through watching Pieces of April, and I must say "WOW". This picture is the best movie I have seen in a long time. The message sent in the picture is sent in an emotionally charged way, and Katie Holmes shines as April. Katie Holmes stars in this short independent film as April Burns, a confident 21 year old out in the world at large. But like most 21 year olds who show an exterior of rock, she is crumbling on the inside. She is estranged from her family, and the distance is finally beginning to get to her. She invites her family over for Thanksgiving dinner at her stylish East End Apartment. She just has one slight problem, her stove is broke. So the brunt of the movie is her going around the apartment complex looking for a stove. Along the way with each stranger she encounters you get more and more incite into her character's inner turmoil. April is secretly looking forward to mending the fences with her family, but is nervous and not to hopeful about them even showing up. You can really see the emotion when April goes down to see her parents have left, and her heart is broken, but in end she gets her wish, and the family is reconciled for the time they have left together. Oliver Platt is superb as April's Father, the only one who has been in constant contact with her. Patricia Clarkson does indeed shine as April's condescending, cancer ridden mother, who is equally wanting to reconcile with her daughter, but is also unwilling to under go another disaster.
Rating:
Summary: outfrickenstanding
Review: Bravo. I can’t go on about why I like this film because it may come off as if I don’t know what I’m talking about. It’s the subtle and little things that make this an outstanding flick. The ones who know how to make movies know this, not the ones who think they know. It’s incredible IMHO that there are so many great opinions and so few great movies. Kudos Peter Hedges
Rating: 
Summary: An enjoyable (albeit simple), touching little indie flick
Review: I really love that fact that it's becoming less and less pretentious to like the 'little' movies out there. As the 2004 Oscar nominations prove, it's more than being 'artsy' for the sake of it when it comes to small-scale, independent films - there is really something special about these movies that is finally being recognized by the masses. This past year, American Splendor, Lost in Translation, and The Station Agent all wooed audiences with their fresh, creative writing and awe-inspiring performances, and although I'm not ready to put writer/director Peter Hedges' touching, charming Pieces of April with the rest of those, I can't deny that the brief 81 minutes spent in the company of Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson, Oliver Platt, and a small host of supporting characters aren't a joy. It's a rather simple, farcical kind of premise - wild-child that's left the nest, April (Holmes), has taken on the responsibility for preparing Thanksgiving dinner inside her tiny, dirty New York apartment...but of course, everything possible goes wrong in the process. Along the way, we meet various neighbors inside of her building as she scrambles to fend off disaster, while also seeing her family (dad; alzheimer's grandma; brother; annoying younger sister; and mom, Joy (Clarkson), who is slowly dying of cancer) as they make their way across the state for that inevitable, uncomfortable moment. It sounds rather dumbed-down and bare, and it is really nothing more than that. This intimate film, wisely filmed on DV, relies on engrossing, often-hilarious performances from its leads that allow the simplicity of the plot to not only become a forgivable sin but a way to the means of seeing Holmes, and especially Clarkson, shine. Yes, April is sans oven, but that gives her the opportunity to go parading around the building finding a soul generous enough to let her use theirs. Lillias White and Isaiah Whitlock, Jr. are charming as a middle-aged black couple that helps April take care of part of her problem, but then the movie makes its big boo-boo with the introduction of Sean Hayes as Wayne, an eccentric neighbor upstairs with a dog named Bernadette. The movie does make a few tiny missteps here and there, but I really did not enjoy the fact that Hayes is obviously feeding off his popularity on Will and Grace. Thankfully, he is simply a marginal character and disappears nearly as quickly as he comes on the scene. April has that 'bad mother-daughter relationship that must be resolved eventually' plot device to it, but it really becomes the greatest aspect of Pieces of April in the end. This is mainly due to Patricia Clarkson's sly-but-complicated role as the dying mother. In many movies, this would be a way to get unneeded sympathy from the audience, but the way that Clarkson delivers really takes out that necessity. April's mother is a resentful, bitter woman plagued by a not-so-pleasant past with her daughter, and April pretty much feels the same way. There's no way to sympathize with either side - we can see where both mother and daughter went wrong in the past, and most scarily of all: you'll identify with the situation. Even in separate locations for nearly the entire film, Holmes and Clarkson make that connection so real. Pieces of April is one of those films that grows on you as you watch it. Yes, some of the humor is a little stagey and you know where the ending will take you (even after a fake-out), but by the final stretch of the film, I found myself realizing what a pleasure it all is. April has an off-putting charm that morphs into a heartwarming-but-simplified finale that oversteps its cheesiness and becomes real emotion, and that will be somewhat how you might feel about the film. It's a little basic, a little facile, but it's short, harmless, and able to move you to tears. Sounds like a good movie to me. Grade: B
Rating:
Summary: bet you loose it at the end!!!
Review: This is a realy short film but it packs so much in and was one of the best i saw last year. I wasnt to impressed by the first 30 minutes as others have said then it realy got going. What i loved about the film was that it reflected the fact that help often comes from where you least expect it and those that are in the best position to help dont.....you will see. The final sequence is wonderfull, unexpected and immensely powerfull, i cried my eyes out and couldnt leave the cinema everyone had gone! Stephin Merritt's tunes are the icing on the cake, some of it composed especialy...enjoy
Rating:
Summary: Very different holiday movie
Review: Shooting for observational humor and pain on a shoestring budget, Oscar-nominated writer ("Gilbert Grape","About a Boy") and first-time director Peter Hedges almost misses as much as he hits. That said, "Pieces of April" is definitely worth 81 minutes of your time. Consider yourself warned: This baby pulls no punches. Whether it's cancer, family cruelty, life in New York City slums, or even roadside restrooms, Hedges keeps things stark. This ain't your mother's Lifetime Network Thanksgiving movie. But if you've ever had terminal illness touch the holidays, felt rejected by the ones you feel should love you most, or put up with the last straw from a self-destructive relative, you'll find truth, commiseration, and knowing laughter here. Hedges wrote this while grieving his mother's death at the hands of cancer. The immediacy and indignity of the illness are vivid and are handled with honesty and skill. Keeping April's mother sympathetic without losing her cynicism and insensitivity requires deft acting chops, and Patricia Clarkson not only rises to the challenge but owns it. The atmospheric and semi-documentary style of the movie is often spoiled by forced jokes and contrived situations that remind you you're watching a movie. This feeling is further aggravated by all the name actors in the cast. It's hard to see Holmes, Platt, Clarkson, Luke, and Hayes in this $200K film without thinking, "Boy, did they take a pay cut to do this one." Holmes' angelic face peeking out from under the Goth make-up and Hayes' overly-mannered "I'm Not Just Jack" performance have a similar effect. This requires taking suspension of disbelief to a third level. But it's doable. Some will find it pretentious, others inspiring. Just like the holidays!
Rating:
Summary: "Mom, April is *the* problem."
Review: In PIECES OF APRIL April (Katie Holmes), the family black sheep, scours her building for an oven that works as she attempts to prepare Thanksgiving dinner for her relatives in the dilapidated tenement home she shares with her boyfriend, Bobby (Derek Luke). She wants no help from Bobby in cooking her 15-pound turkey, which she hopes will please her mom (Patricia Clarkson), dad (Oliver Platt), brother, sister, and grandmother. On Thanksgiving morning April's family is reluctant to make the trek into New York City to a family member that is better left forgotten. They pig out on Krispy Kremes, take the scenic route, and plan for concealed methods to dispose the holiday meal while seating at the table. It is clear that her family would love to be anywhere else but with April for the holidays. Cruising down the road in an older-model station wagon with wood paneling and stopping occasionally to allow the mother to vomit from her cancer treatments and even to bury a roadkill, the audience wonders whether they will even reach their intended destination in time for dinner. There are several touching moments in PIECES OF APRIL: April's statement that she is "the first pancake" in the family (thus meant to be thrown away), April's interactions with the immigrant Chinese family in her building (esp. the scene of her trying to explain why Thanksgiving is celebrated), and the (sad) incident of April's sister singing in the car. Most importantly, the emotions and fears pertaining to the mother's illness depicted by each family member were greatly hard-felt and very well portrayed. PIECES OF APRIL is a wonderful holiday film that enables the audience a glimpse of one family that is far from perfect. It is full of laughs and sincere sentiments of this one particular day in their lives.
Rating:
Summary: Pieces of My Family
Review: Wow, this movie really hit me. A great film for anyone who is a black sheep, or has one in their family. Awesome acting and a story with will make you laugh and cry at the same time. I can't wait to purchase this movie!
Rating:
Summary: It hits home...
Review: Anyone who doesn't identify with at least one person, scene, or incident in this fabulous, endearing, funny, sad movie has led a very sheltered life (or grown up on another planet). While the characters and dialogue may be a bit exagerrated at times, this movie is truly a eye-opening depiction of the "nuclear" family. 'Fess up - we ALL have a family like this in one respect or another. April's fiasco with the turkey is original and hilarious. There is nothing not to enjoy here.
Rating:
Summary: Pastry film
Review: Pieces of April is a very special film. It's something where you'l laugh and cry all in the same hour. Some men, who are matrix kind of movie watchers, won't have the patience for such a carefully written film. It is not something you'll see everyday, and it's something you might want to have a copy of, because there will probably never be a film as funny and emotionally, for a really long time.
Rating: 
Summary: The Half-Baked Turkey
Review: The previews painted this movie as a hilarious farce -- the family pigging out on Krispy Kreme before the big dinner at April's, April scurrying around with a half-baked turkey in her arms, etc. etc. The movie is actually much darker and somber than these preview snippets would have you believe, with themes of death, redemption, and anger. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for exposing umanity's more sinister side, but this chafes uncomfortably against the comedic grain here. The comedic elements deserve a mention. When April is dressed down by an African-American neighbor, someone in the theatre was howling with laughter. Call me a square, but I don't find reverse racism particularly funny. I am not sure if the bratty behavior of Patricia Clarkson's mother is supposed to be funny or sad or poignant. Katie Holmes makes the best of fleshing out the title character, who is less of a person than a placeholder for Rebellious Daughter/Sister. And why is it that in Pieces of April that all the women (barring Grandma, in an age reversal of the "innocent child" character) are varying degrees of selfish and hysterical, and all the men -- Dad, Boyfriend, Brother -- are quiet, sympathetic types who bend to the relentless and often irrational demands of the women around them? And finally, the use of digital media here is sometimes creative, and sometimes looks like a terrible lighting mistake. The movie's tag is "There's one in every family". Do they mean April, who looks reasonable next to her mother and sister? Do they mean Mom? Not so sure. If your idea of hilarity is turkeys being held hostage, offensive ethnic and gender stereotypes, and sitting through a movie in which revelations drip out at the rate of a newly opened bottle of ketchup -- nothing, then a large GLUB! -- by all means, see this movie.
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