Home for the Holidays (1995)

Director:

Jodie Foster

Writers (WGA):

Chris Radant (short story)
W.D. Richter (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 November 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

On the fourth Thursday in November, 84 million American families will gather together... And wonder why.

Plot:

After losing her job, making out with her soon to be ex-boss, and finding out that her daughter plans to spend Thanksgiving with her boyfriend...

Plot Keywords:

Thanksgiving | Holiday | Dinner | Gay Interest | Smoking

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Holly Hunter	...	Claudia Larson
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Tommy Larson
Anne Bancroft	...	Adele Larson
Charles Durning	...	Henry Larson
Dylan McDermott	...	Leo Fish
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Aunt Glady
Steve Guttenberg	...	Walter Wedman
Cynthia Stevenson	...	Joanne Larson Wedman
Claire Danes	...	Kitt Larson
Emily Ann Lloyd	...	Brittany Lace Wedman
Zack Duhame	...	Walter Wedman Jr.
Austin Pendleton	...	Peter Arnold
David Strathairn	...	Russell Terziak
Amy Yasbeck	...	Ginny Johnson Drewer
James Lecesne	...	Ron Drewer

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic material, language and brief drug use.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 (certificate #34076) | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Finland:S | Germany:12 (w) | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Baltimore Museum of Art - 10 Art Museum Drive, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Robert Downey Jr. publicly admitted to using heroin during the making of this film. Jodie Foster wrote him a letter praising his work but warning him that he could not keep doing this on other films.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Claudia goes into the basement to talk to her sister, her lipstick is on/off between shots.

Quotes:

Russell 'Sad Sack' Terziak: I'm just lettin' the guys have the day off, you know, so they can visit their families, since I'm all alone this year.
Tommy: (to Leo) This is the saddest sack in the universe.
Russell 'Sad Sack' Terziak: Yeah, I don't have anybody anymore, my brother and sister got canned and they left town, and then my parents went and died on me.
Claudia 'Clyde' Larson: I'm so sorry. I had no idea.
Russell 'Sad Sack' Terziak: Yeah, well, you know - it was a car wreck, last summer, drunk driver, cut right across the, uh what was it, you know - meridian, pow - pow! Head on.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004)

Soundtrack:

Pow

torture

"Nobody means what they say on Thanksgiving, Mom. That's what the holiday is all about. Torture." - Claudia

That is my favorite line in this, one of my favorite movies. This is a holiday at anyone's home: a congregation of people you love beyond comprehension and hate beyond belief but are bound to by blood. There are so many wonderful and true moments in this film both funny and dramatic, that I cannot possibly name them all except to say that these moments, even the one between the sisters near the end, are what we give thanks for even if they are painful. Yes family gatherings are dreaded, but once they are over we are happy to have attended, because somewhere amidst the chaos we remember why we love these people, where we came from, who we are, and what is truly important in this life. coming to realizations such as this inevitably involves torture. we would much rather not think about it... this movie forces us to. Great movie.