Rating: 
Summary: Delightful Dysfunction
Review: Home for the Holidays has made my list of favorite movies. Why? It is full of warmth, biting wit, and brimming with...well...dysfunction.Holly Hunter is great as Claudia Larsen, a single mom approaching forty. Claudia (nicknamed Clyde), is petrified of going to her parents' for Thanksgiving. Anne Bancroft and Charles Durning as Adele and Henry are typical well-meaning parents - Adele's interference balances out Henry's bumbling sentiment. Adele's eccentric sister Gladys brings a little out-and-out humor to the movie. The scourge of the movie is Claudia's sister's family, the wonderful Witmans. Younger sis Joanne is a sickening perfectionist, and her daughter is even worse. The meek men of the house, Walter and Walter, Jr. are avoiding direct contact with Joanne, if not alleviating her tantrums. Claire Danes is also good as Clyde's daughter Kit, even though her appearance in the movie is brief. Also, Dylan McDermott is a charming bystander as Clyde's love interest. Finally, the best part of the movie. Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of gay middle child Tommy is brilliant. It's funny, touching, and (I think) Oscar worthy. Well, definitely Globe worthy, then. Home for the Holidays is about Thanksgiving, basically, but is great for any occassion - watch it to gain some appreciation of your family. You're not as abnormal as you think.
Rating:
Summary: Just as important to my Thanksgiving as the Turkey!
Review: I never get tired of "Home for the Holidays!" I watch it every couple of months, especially around the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays. I love all holiday movies, but I thrive on the ones that focus on the non-perfect families, such as "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." So, "Home for the Holidays" fits right in. "Holidays" focuses on 30-something Claudia, an artist who is stuck restoring other people's art. Or so she was. The day before holidays she is fired and makes out with her much older boss. Think that's bad? It hasn't even started yet. She is to leave to go to her parents for the holidays. There's the worry-wart mother, newly-retired father, senile aunt and jealous older sister and her family. Her only savior is her gay baby brother. "Holidays" also has some of the most talented actors. Holly Hunter, Claire Danes, Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Robert Downey Jr., Dylan McDermott, Cynthia Stevenson, and Steve Guttenberg round out this cast.
Rating: 
Summary: Family Matters
Review: I have to say that I was a bit surprised at how much I liked Home For The Holidays. After all, a large family gathering for a major event, is certainly nothing new in film. There are plenty of dramadies like this--it's all in the execution--and that makes it work. I have to also disclose that I'm not the biggest fan of Holly Hunter's and perhaps that caused me to go into this, not expecting a whole lot. In the span of a 36 hour period, Claudia Larson (Hunter) has managed to lose her job, make out with her boss and learn that her daughter (Claire Danes) is planning to "go all the way". But Claudia's fortunes actually take a turn for the worse when she flies home to endure an even more difficult hardship known as the family Thanksgiving. Beleagured, not ony by her neurotic mother (Anne Bancroft), a kooky father (Charles Durning), eccentric brother (Robert Downey Jr.) and compulsively "normal" sister (Cynthia Stevenson), Claudia struggles to maintain her sanity. But as the festivities roll along those prospects prove difficult. As sparks fly, tempers flare and issues are exposed, surprisingly, Claudia manages to discover things about herself and her family she never know. The script from W.D. Richter is better than I expected. Coming from a large family of my own, there's plenty that I can identify with. Really anyone who has a family will find that to be the case for them as well. The script very well done. The drama is "real"-and not over the top or too melodramatic. The lighter moments are not too broad or cheap. Directed by Jodie Foster, the cast hits all the right marks--even Hunter. I had very few complaints. Foster, as well known actress herself, dives right in and isn't affraid of the limited setting. The DVD boasts a solid audio commentary from Foster. Who, as she has on her other commentaries, provides for an engaging and insightful track. The only other extra on the DVD is your typical theatrical trailer. Participation from the cast would have made things a bit more comlete. Home...works. Its problems are few...Recommended
Rating:
Summary: One to Own
Review: This movie is hysterical, painful, sad and joyous. The characters are real, the situations are all too familiar, and the humor is spot-on. We watch this movie at least twice a year and laugh just as hard each time. Robert Downey Jr. steals the show and portrays his character with such honesty that it is (in my opinion) his best performance to date. Holly Hunter captures the helplessness of the annual Thanksgiving from Hell that is often the reality of all of our lives. However, it is not preachy, it doesn't wrap things up in a pretty bow, but it leaves you with the feeling that life is good just the way it is. A must see.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Dialogue, characters and a GREAT Brother
Review: What a find! I will definitely end up watching this every year. As it stands, I rented this DVD the night before Thanksgiving, and have watched at least pieces of it each night since (3 nights). You must listen closely or watch repeatedly to get the dialogue, plot and character nuances....kind of like real life, actually. Poor Claudia makes her way home for Thanksgiving to her odd, nerve-wracking and stressful family (like most people, I imagine). Her mom and dad are odd, her aunt is nuts, her sister's family is just YUCK and then....there is her brother. The whole movie really is a profile of the relationship between Claudia and her little brother Tommy...who is gay, and not expected for this holiday dinner. He shows up, with a "friend" in tow. SPOILER: What looks like an innocent "Oh, I thought I'd just show up" visit from Tommy is actually one big huge wonderful gesture of filial love. He knows she has just lost her job, has issues with her 16-year-old daughter, is NOT looking forward to going home, etc. He knows she is going nuts with fear. He knows his very presence will be a great distraction for her and for the rest of the family. He comes, even when he will have to leave before dawn the next day to make a business meeting...all because he cares about his dear sister. He is exasperating and waaaaayyy too energetic, but you just LOVE him. AND he brings a really genuinely nice man (whom everyone thinks is his new "partner." ) How very like Tommy to let everyone believe this...most of all Claudia. The friend, Leo Fish, turns out to be polite, humorous, and very, very heterosexual. Frank in his pursuit of Claudia (once she figures out which way the wind blows), he and she have a few pretty damned cute scenes together. Good for Jodi Foster that she left in the making-out-while-eating scene. Too bad if it grosses people out....it's real!!! The doorstep scene is funny, too especially her snarling remark "Sh**! I left all the CR** in the back seat!" as her brother in law opens the door. Claudia's daughter keeps repeating a private calming mantra "Watch the Fish...Remember the fish" that I found irritatingly ham-handed (hello! Leo FISH!? Duh, OK I get it!), but mostly, I think director Jodi Foster got the overall feel right. Robert Downey Jr. steals almost every film he is in, but it was a tough heist in this one: Hunter is GRAND, as is Anne Bancroft. Most reviewers did not like the Leo Fish subplot, but I liked it, and the actor did a believeable job. My family has adopted his hilarious phrase that characterizes conversations with his father: "Par Par Bogie Bogie Par Par" now means blah blah blah in my house! Please see this film, then watch it again to catch the great dialogue. I understand R. Downey Jr. ad-libbed many scenes. He is so good, so gifted, and this movie is ALMOST his. Every sister should have such a great brother.
Rating:
Summary: a modern holiday CLASSIC!
Review: This movie has become one of my all-time favorites. While there are many classic films celebrating Christmas, this is the film I look forward to watching at Thanksgiving each year. I discovered this film one year when I couldn't make it home for the holidays- and watched it again and again. I felt like I had indeed gone home and seen old friends. I cannot understand why some reviewers didn't love it (like Leonard Maltin, but then, when was the last time you concurred with one of his reviews? I think he's paid to praise Hollywood high budget action films). "Home for the Holidays" is a familiar and touching picture of a typical American family gathering at Thanksgiving time. The casting is wonderful and includes Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr , the always amazing Anne Bancroft and Dylan McDermott. The lead character, a single mother who has long-ago fled her hometown, as played by Holly Hunter is very endearing and readily identifiable, and the situations while depicted humorously, ring true. Jodie Foster did a wonderful job directing- any sentiment from this film, and it has a lot of sentimental value- comes from her wry depiction of family renunions, the inevitable bickering, and resolution at the holidays; emotion is never forced by the actors or upon the viewer. This is a great feel-good, true to life film; I think everyone who is single and under 40 should own it and enjoy it each Thanksgiving, whether you make it home for the holidays or not.
Rating: 
Summary: like fruitcake
Review: Robert Downey Jr is a hoot. But no one else in this movie measures up. Direction is ploddding; chracterization, mawkish.
Rating:
Summary: A Holiday Classic--NOT!
Review: I was dissapointed overall with this movie, it is far from a holiday classic! Yes, it has its funny and very funny moments, its serious (although tainted) moments and some brief touching moments, but it lacks the wonderful scenery of a classic movie, the absence of "a usuable message" in the overall story, and contains entirely too many profane words (unless you think that makes a movie qualify as a classic) all on George Carlin's "7 words you can't say on television" list. Not something I want my daughters to watch! Also the family is not a "typical" one either, at least not in the sense of what I remember a family to be. Go ahead and rent this movie, but don't waste your money buying it, there are far more better classic holiday movies out there to add to your collection.
Rating:
Summary: Required Thanksgiving Holiday Video (no children please)
Review: It's gotten so that Thanksgiving just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the required viewing of "Home For The Holidays."
Not for kids, this film is the epitomy of disfunctionality at its finest. It taps into at least two or three of your family's favorite dysfunctions. You can't help but laugh at yourself, your mom, your dad, your crazy aunt, your goofy brother, etc. It's really like going home, when we can't go home anymore. The ending has me weeping and aching for home every single time I see it.
Rating:
Summary: A modern holiday classic
Review: This gem isn't your typical holiday movie that can be very heavy on sentiment. What Jodie delivers is a perfect slice of life film on how people deal with family traditions, e.g. Thanksgiving. I can't help but see either a family member or a friend in each character. IMO, Jodie's commentary is probably the best I've heard on any DVD. It sold me on buying the DVD because I can relate to her experiences with her family. Watching this movie every Thanksgiving has become a tradition for myself and probably a lot of people. However, you don't need to watch this film every Thanksgiving to appreciate this fantastic story.
| 
