Home for the Holidays (film) Totally Explained

Everything about Home For The Holidays Film totally explained

Home for the Holidays is a 1995 comedy-drama film directed by Jodie Foster and produced by Peggy Rajski and Jodie Foster. The screenplay was by W. D. Richter based on the short story by Chris Radant. The music score was by Mark Isham and the cinematography by Lajos Koltai.
The film stars Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Dylan McDermott, Geraldine Chaplin, Steve Guttenberg, Cynthia Stevenson with Claire Danes, Austin Pendleton and David Strathairn.

Plot

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

The story is about Claudia Larson (Holly Hunter), a single mom who spends Thanksgiving at the home of her parents, Adele (Anne Bancroft) and Henry Larson (Charles Durning) while her only child Kitt (Claire Danes) decides to spend the holiday with her boyfriend. It also doesn't help that Claudia has just lost her job. The family gathering also includes Claudia's sister, Joanne Larson Wedman (Cynthia Stevenson), her husband (Steve Guttenberg) and children; Claudia's brother Tommy (Robert Downey, Jr) and his newest friend Leo Fish (Dylan McDermott), her eccentric aunt Gladys (Geraldine Chaplin).

Cast

Holly Hunter – Claudia Larson

Robert Downey Jr. – Tommy Larson

Anne Bancroft – Adele Larson

Claire Danes – Kitt Larson

Charles Durning – Henry Larson

Dylan McDermott – Leo Fish

Geraldine Chaplin – Aunt Gladys

Steve Guttenberg – Walter Wedman

Cynthia Stevenson – Joanne Larson Wedman

Soundtrack

Track listing

Rusted Root - "Evil Ways" 4:03

Mark Isham - "Holiday Blues" 4:46

Nat King Cole - "Candy" 3:51

Tom Jones - "It's Not Unusual" 2:01

Mark Isham - "Blue Nights" 9:25

Mark Isham - "Birth of the Cool Whip" 2:53

Dinah Washington - "Trouble in Mind" 2:50

Mark Isham - "Late Night Blues" 4:59

Mark Isham - "Medley of the Very Thought of You/With Us Alone" 2:42

Ray Noble - "The Very Thought of You" 4:25

Nat King Cole - "The Very Thought of You" 3:47

Janis Joplin - "Piece of My Heart" 4:14

Reaction

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."

Trivia

Robert Downey Jr. publicly admitted to using drugs during the making of this film, and to having great difficulty filming his scenes. Jodie Foster tried to intervene but could not.

Back story: The author of the original story, Chris Radant, was a single mother, artist and copywriter living in Boston. Chris had taken a break from the aforementioned duties to take a job with the Rolling Stones Tour (Urban Jungle--the European leg of "Steel Wheels Tour" in America.) Twenty-six cities in 4 months seemed like the ultimate thrill until she returned home to Boston and received a call from screenwriter Rick Richter. Rick said his wife had read the original Home for the Holidays story, (published in the Boston Phoenix newspaper) and then shown it to Rick. Then he told Chris he was interested in buying the rights to the story to write a screenplay. Chris admits that she didn't then know what an option was, but said an enthusiastic YES to the word "buy" in that sentence. Radant also wrote a book of essays promoting the film: Home for the Holidays & Other Calamities, published by a division of Simon & Schuster in 1995, and contributed to the Home for the Holidays Cook Book, a compilation of recipes that have become a tradition in the families of the movie's cast and crew.
Today, Chris Radant is mother of a grown child, artist and copywriter living in Seattle.

Further Information

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