Home for the Holidays (1995 film)

Claudia Larson is a single mother who has just been fired from her job. She flies from Chicago to spend Thanksgiving at the Baltimore home of her parents, Adele and Henry, while her only child decides to stay home and spend the holiday with her boyfriend. While on the plane, Claudia makes a phone call to Tommy, her younger brother and confidant, whom she believes won't be attending the Thanksgiving dinner, and unloads her problems on his answering machine.

Claudia arrives in Baltimore at her parents' home. That night, Tommy arrives with his business partner Leo Fish, whom Claudia believes to be his new boyfriend. Claudia is glad to see her brother but fears that he and Jack, his longtime boyfriend, have broken up. The next day while in town, Claudia runs into a girl she used to go to school with and feels diminished by talk of her divorce. Leo comes to her aid.

On Thanksgiving Day, eccentric Aunt Gladys (Adele's sister), who is showing signs of dementia, professes her love for Henry. Shortly after, Tommy accidentally drops the turkey all over his and Claudia’s conservative sister Joanne resulting in an argument in which she reveals to everyone that Tommy had married Jack in a beach wedding several months ago. To get away from the chaos, Tommy and Claudia eat their dinner in the kitchen.

After the meal, Tommy, Leo, Joanne’s husband Walter and son Walter Jr. play football and, frustrated by the game, the brothers-in-law begin to fight. Walter wrestles Tommy onto the ground, and Tommy accidentally punches Leo who's trying to break them up. Henry sprays them with the hose, and Walter leaves with his wife and children.

The family returns inside, where Henry answers the ringing phone; it turns out to be Jack calling. Before handing the phone over to Tommy, Henry says that he's happy for both of them. Their conversation reveals they are still happily together. Claudia and Leo drive Aunt Gladys home, then deliver leftovers to Joanne's family. Claudia and Joanne get into a heated argument, until Joanne demands that Claudia leave her alone. In the car, Leo tells Claudia that Tommy showed him a picture of her, and he came to Thanksgiving to meet her. They kiss.

Arriving back at Claudia’s parents’ home, Leo and Claudia begin to make out in the living room, but Tommy reminds Leo that they have to get an early start in the morning. The next day, Claudia wakes up and sees Tommy and Leo driving away and heads to the airport herself shortly after. Before the plane takes off, Leo gets into the seat next to her, and they fly back to Chicago together.

{{Cast listing|

• Holly Hunter as Claudia Larson
• Robert Downey Jr. as Tommy Larson
• Anne Bancroft as Adele Larson
• Charles Durning as Henry Larson
• Dylan McDermott as Leo Fish
• Geraldine Chaplin as Aunt Gladys
• Steve Guttenberg as Walter Wedman
• Cynthia Stevenson as Joanne Larson Wedman
• Claire Danes as Kitt Larson
• Austin Pendleton as Peter Arnold
• Amy Yasbeck as Ginny Johnson Drewer
• David Strathairn as Russell Terziak
• Emily Ann Lloyd as Brittany Lace Wedman
• Zach Duhame as Walter Wedman, Jr.
• Celeste LecesneCredited as James Lecesne as Ron Drewer
• Angela Paton as Woman on Airplane
• Randy Stone as Man in Car
• Sam Slovick as Jack
• Shawn Hatosy as Counter Boy

}}

File:Jodie Foster 1995.jpg

Screenwriter W. D. Richter adapted a short story by Chris Radant that appeared in the Boston Phoenix.{{cite news | last = Hunter | first = Stephen | title = Foster Feels at Home Adding Fun, Meaning to Holidays Clan | work = Baltimore Sun | date = November 19, 1995 }} Executive producer Stuart Kleinman sent Jodie Foster the screenplay with a note that said, "It's a complete mess and I love it." Foster agreed and decided that it would be her second directorial effort (the first was Little Man Tate). Castle Rock Entertainment was originally going to finance the film but canceled. Foster's own production company, Egg Pictures, acquired Richter's screenplay.{{cite news | last = Portman | first = Jamie | title = Home for the Holidays No Ordinary Family Film | work = Montreal Gazette | date = October 31, 1995 }} She struck a deal with Paramount Pictures and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment to handle distribution on the film: Paramount would distribute across all media in North and South America with the exception of North American home video and U.S. pay television, with PolyGram handling all other rights.{{cite web|title=Foster's 'Home' Finds A Home|website=Variety|date=12 March 1995|access-date=5 January 2025|url=https://variety.com/1995/film/features/foster-s-home-finds-a-home-99124193/}}{{cite news |last=Young |first=Paul F. |date=November 19, 1995 |title=Foster Moves Home to Par |work=Variety}} Most of these rights now belong to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) through their acquisition of PolyGram's pre-1996 library.

Foster said, "The great challenge was to find a beautiful idea to pull through it, a narrative line that would make the story work." Foster met with Richter and together they brainstormed and "had great fun thinking up new details and lives and clearing up the relationships," Foster remembers. They worked on the script so that the film reflected Foster's point of view and her own life experiences. She showed the first draft to Holly Hunter who agreed to star after reading it.{{cite news|last=Allen |first=Tom |title=Becoming Jodie Foster |work=Moviemaker |date=December 2, 1995 |url=http://www.moviemaker.com/directing/article/becoming_jodie_foster_3144/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070618104131/http://www.moviemaker.com/directing/article/becoming_jodie_foster_3144/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 18, 2007 |access-date=2009-02-13 }} Working with a $20 million budget,{{cite news | last = Bibby | first = Patricia | title = Jodie Foster Looks Home to Heal | agency = Associated Press | date = November 12, 1995 }} Foster spent ten weeks filming in Baltimore with a two-week rehearsal period. She used this time to get input from the actors about dialogue. If a scene of speech did not ring true, she wanted to know. She picked the city because it was the "prototype of the American city. It's dangerous, east coasty, urban. Yet it still has a hopeful quality to it." Principal photography began in February 1995.{{Cite news |last=Kaltenbach |first=Chris |date=May 7, 1995 |title=Neighborhood gets casting call for Jodie Foster's latest film |work=The Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1995-05-07-1995127146-story.html |url-status=dead |access-date=May 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622174618/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1995-05-07-1995127146-story.html |archive-date=June 22, 2021}} Filming of the Thanksgiving dinner took more than ten days, using 64 turkeys, 20 pounds of mashed potatoes, 35 pounds of stuffing, 44 pies, 30 pounds of sweet potatoes, 18 bags of mini-marshmallows and 50 gallons of juice that stood in for wine. Foster allowed Robert Downey Jr. to improvise, which got him excited about making films again after a period of time when he became disillusioned with acting.

{{Infobox album

| name = Home for the Holidays (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

| type = Soundtrack

| artist = Various artists

| cover =

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| released = 1995

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| genre = Soundtrack

| length = 47:14

| label = Mercury Records

| producer = Mark Isham

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1. Rusted Root – "Evil Ways" 4:03
2. Mark Isham – "Holiday Blues" 4:46
3. Nat King Cole – "Candy" 3:51
4. Tom Jones – "It's Not Unusual" 2:01
5. Mark Isham – "Blue Nights" 9:25
6. Mark Isham – "Birth of the Cool Whip" 2:53
7. Dinah Washington – "Trouble in Mind" 2:50
8. Mark Isham – "Late Night Blues" 4:59
9. Mark Isham – "Medley of the Very Thought of You/With Us Alone" 2:42
10. Ray Noble – "The Very Thought of You" 4:25
11. Nat King Cole – "The Very Thought of You" 3:47
12. Janis Joplin – "Piece of My Heart" 4:14

Home for the Holidays was released on November 3, 1995 in 1,000 theaters and grossed US$4 million in its opening weekend. It went on to make $17.5 million in North America.{{cite news | title = Home for the Holidays | work = Box Office Mojo | url = http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=homefortheholidays.htm | access-date = 2008-08-12 }} The film earned a further $4.7 million internationally for a worldwide total of $22.1 million.{{cite web |title= Home for the Holidays (1995) – Financial Information |url= https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Home-for-the-Holidays#tab=summary |website= The Numbers }}

On Rotten Tomatoes Home for the Holidays has an approval rating of 64% based on reviews from 50 critics. The site's consensus states: "Much like a real-life visit Home for the Holidays, this Thanksgiving-set dramedy can get a little bumpy – but it also has its share of fondly memorable moments."{{cite web |title= Home for the Holidays (1995) |url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1066169_home_for_the_holidays |website= Rotten Tomatoes |access-date= September 24, 2021 }} On Metacritic the film has a score of 56 out of 100 based on reviews from 15 critics.{{cite web |title= Home for the Holidays |website= Metacritic |url= https://www.metacritic.com/movie/home-for-the-holidays |access-date= November 1, 2019 }} Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade C+ on scale of A to F.{{cite web |url= https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |title= Cinemascore |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181220122629/https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |archive-date= 2018-12-20 }}

In his three and half star review, Roger Ebert praised Foster's ability to direct "the film with a sure eye for the revealing little natural moment," and Downey's performance that "brings out all the complexities of a character who has used a quick wit to keep the world's hurts at arm's length."{{cite news | last = Ebert | first = Roger | author-link = Roger Ebert | title = Home for the Holidays | work = Chicago Sun-Times | date = November 3, 1995 | url = https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/home-for-the-holidays-1995 | access-date = 2019-11-01 }} Janet Maslin, in her review for The New York Times, praised Holly Hunter's performance: "Displaying a dizziness more mannered than the cool, crisp intelligence she shows in Copycat, Ms. Hunter still holds together Home for the Holidays with a sympathetic performance."{{cite news | last = Maslin | first = Janet | author-link = Janet Maslin | title = When Adults Go Home To Mom at Thanksgiving | work = New York Times | date = November 3, 1995 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/03/movies/film-review-when-adults-go-home-to-mom-at-thanksgiving.html | access-date = 2008-08-12 }} In his review for the Boston Globe, Jay Carr praised the film for being "filled with juicy performances that expand resourcefully beyond what we think are going to be their boundaries, the film carries us beyond our expectations. That's what makes it so pleasurable."{{cite news | last = Carr | first = Jay | title = Foster Homes In, Enjoyably, On Families | work = Boston Globe | date = November 3, 1995 }}

USA Today gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "Home has the usual hellish ritual. They come, they eat, they argue, they leave. It's the stuffing in-between that makes it special."{{cite news | last = Wloszczyna | first = Susan | title = Holidays Dishes Out Hearty Fare | work = USA Today | date = November 3, 1995 }} However, in her review for The Washington Post, Rita Kempley criticized some of the performances: "Downey brings a lot of energy to the role, but his antics can be both tedious and distracting. Hunter has a lovely scene with her disgruntled sister, but there's no time for that relationship to develop, what with a romantic interest yet to explore."{{cite news |last=Kempley |first=Rita |date=November 3, 1995 |title=Home for the Holidays |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/homefortheholidayspg13kempley_c0354f.htm |access-date=2008-08-12}} In his review for Rolling Stone magazine, Peter Travers had problems with the screenplay: "It's a shame that W.D. Richter's un-Disney-ish script often slides into shrill stereotypes and sitcom silliness."{{cite magazine | date = December 18, 2000 | last = Travers | first = Peter | author-link = Peter Travers | title = Home for the Holidays | magazine = Rolling Stone | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/home-for-the-holidays-252011/ | access-date = November 1, 2019 }}

The film has become something of a cult classic in recent years,{{Cite web |last=Jacobs |first=Matthew |date=2020-11-03 |title=Jodie Foster On The Joys Of 'Home For The Holidays' 25 Years Later |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jodie-foster-home-for-the-holidays_n_5f9c786fc5b60eefc85286b6 |access-date=2023-05-22 |website=HuffPost |language=en}} with critic Emily St. James describing it as "a warm, messy comedy about how warm and messy family can be. It doesn’t really tell a story so much as chronicle a sequence of events, but it captures something ineffable about how going back home to squabble with relatives and eat lots of food can add a nostalgic glow to the chill of late November."{{Cite web |last=St. James |first=Emily |date=November 18, 2017 |title=1995's star-studded Home for the Holidays is the big family movie Thanksgiving deserves |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/11/18/16671618/home-for-the-holidays-1995-review-jodie-foster |access-date=May 22, 2023 |website=Vox |language=en}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|id=0113321|title=Home for the Holidays}}
• {{mojo title|id=homefortheholidays|title=Home for the Holidays}}
• [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1066169-home_for_the_holidays Home for the Holidays] at Rotten Tomatoes
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928215656/http://www.summit-pc.com/chris/own_home_1a.html An excerpt from the original short story]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110716163000/http://www.summit-pc.com/chris/experience_1.html Author Chris Radant's experience working on the film]

{{Jodie Foster}}

Category:1995 films

Category:1995 black comedy films

Category:1995 comedy-drama films

Category:American comedy-drama films

Category:Films about dysfunctional families

Category:Films about vacationing

Category:American LGBTQ-related films

Category:1995 LGBTQ-related films

Category:LGBTQ-related comedy-drama films

Category:Films directed by Jodie Foster

Category:Films set in Baltimore

Category:Films shot in Baltimore

Category:Paramount Pictures films

Category:PolyGram Filmed Entertainment films

Category:Films with screenplays by W. D. Richter

Category:Films based on American short stories

Category:Thanksgiving in films

Category:American black comedy films

Category:Films scored by Mark Isham

Category:1990s English-language films

Category:1990s American films

Category:English-language black comedy films