Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! We picked a festive, holiday-appropriate flick for today’s Throwback Thursday feature.
Released in 1995, Jodie Foster’s directorial follow-up to Little Man Tate was this family drama (or pitch-black comedy, depending on how you look at it) that features a seemingly coked-up Robert Downey, Jr. as “the gay son.” His homosexuality is not what’s really at issue here – it’s simply that he’s an obnoxious jerk. The relationship between him and sister Holly Hunter borders on the comically incestuous.
The slightly neurotic but sane Hunter returns home for the Thanksgiving holiday. To anyone who has suffered through family get-togethers, her anxiety is all the more empathetic as she is greeted by a varied assortment of relatives. Anne Bancroft and Charles Durning are her meddling though caring parents, Geraldine Chaplin is the flaky aunt, Cynthia Stevenson is fabulously crazed as Hunter’s majorly-anal sister, and in the always-excellent Downey is her spirited and jocular gay brother. (And hey – his boyfriend is played by Dylan McDermott at the absolute height of handsome).
While all the characters have their peculiarities, Foster and writer W.D. Richter ultimately exploit their endearing characteristics as well. The film is at its best up to and during the eventful dinner scene, and the closing montage nicely brings the film together. Meandering, touching and often piss-your-pants funny, Home for the Holidays is definitely worth a look, and there’s no denying that killer cast lineup.
Check out the original theatrical trailer below and click here to order your copy!