There have been
numerous films that have dealt with the Thanksgiving
holiday. "Planes, Trains, &
Automobiles" is, in my opinion, the best, but other
films like "Hannah and Her Sisters" and
"Home for the Holidays" have dealt with the
season in their own peculiar ways. "Pieces of
April" is certainly one of the best films about
Turkey Day ever made, and it is made so by the marvelous
performances contained therein, and that feeling of family
that director Peter Hedges eventually makes us feel.
It may be a dysfunctional feeling of family, but is a
feeling of family nonetheless.
Katie Holmes (in, really, her first commanding role as a
leading lady) stars as April Burns, a young woman who is
covered in tattoos and is very into that whole punk/goth
hybrid. She is the black sheep of the family, to say
the least. Somehow, her extremely nice and
supportive boyfriend Bobby (Derek Luke) convinces her to
cook Thanksgiving for her family. And, somehow, she
agrees. So, her family embark on a road trip
straight out of "National Lampoons Vacation".
The family: her father (Oliver Platt), her mother
(Patricia Clarkson), her sister (Alison Pill), her brother
(John Gallagher, Jr.), and her Alzheimer's motivated
grandmother Dottie (Alice Drummond).
The film switches between three different stories:
(1) April attempting to cook Thanksgiving dinner.
This is not so easily done because her oven does not work
and she has to borrow one, not to mention she has never
stuffed a turkey before and makes it far more complicated
than it actually is; (2) the Burns family driving to their
daughter's apartment. You really see into the type
of family they are when they accidentally run over an
animal and stop for burial rites; (3) an unnecessary side
story involving Bobby going on a quest of his own, which
director Hedges would have us believes is criminal in
nature, but turns out to be something totally different at
the end of the film.
Katie Holmes shines as April, a somewhat insecure girl who
is extremely nervous about the way her parents will
respond to every single detail of her life. And,
Patricia Clarkson delivers yet another Oscar worthy
performance as Joy, her mother. Plus, it was nice to
see Oliver Platt back in another film after a hiatus that
lasted far too long. My only question is -- when is
Clarkson going to deliver a non-Oscar worthy performance?
I do not know if it is possible.
The only flaws in the film are the unnecessary side story
involving Bobby and his journey, and the bizarre way in
which director Hedges just tacked on the ending. It
was as if he had crafted this marvelous film and then just
ran out of ideas. Maybe the DVD release will have
something special to explain that because it really threw
me off. Otherwise, "Pieces of April" os a
terrific holiday film about family that left me feeling
very warm hearted at the end. Sure, I saw this film
after Thanksgiving, but that doesn't matter, which makes
me wonder why studios wait until November and December to
release holiday films. Sometimes we need them in
April and May. What about August? Anyways,
this is definitely worth checking out, and I recommend it.
