Pieces of April
A yummy Thanksgiving Movie Treat for you to enjoy this holiday!
In her finest performance, Katie Holmes plays the titular April, who bravely invites her dysfunctional family from suburban Pennsylvania to her tiny apartment on the Lower East Side. Disaster strikes early when her stove breaks, and she is forced to find a working oven in her building. Meanwhile, her cancer-stricken mother (Oscar nominee Patricia Clarkson) slowly dreads the trek into the city to see her somewhat estranged daughter.
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In a very poor zone of New York, April Burns and her boyfriend Bobby are preparing to receive April's family for Thanksgiving dinner. While Bobby tries to borrow a suit for himself, April realizes that her stove is broken. She tries desperately to find a neighbor who can let her cook the turkey since she does not want to fail (again) with her family. Meanwhile, in a suburb of Pennsylvania, her dysfunctional family is preparing to travel to New York. While driving, the relationship between the Burns and their black-sheep April is disclosed through the conversations between her father Jim, her resentful mother Joy, her brother, her sister and her grandmother.
*Movie information in Story Line, Details and Cast sections from IMDb and/or Amazon Movies.
Genres: Drama, Comedy
Release Date: November 28, 2003
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Rating: PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
Director: Peter Hedges
Studio: MGM
Review:
"Outstanding!"
16 January 2005 | by stills-6 (California) –
From the initial scene of the ordeal of getting April up in the morning to the final shots, this was one of the most enjoyable movies I've seen in a long time. And it's enjoyable on many different levels — it's funny, charming, weird, intelligent, and it has a real honest heart to it that isn't nearly sentimental or gushing. The psychological depth of this movie is astounding; and the characters, though there are many of them, are well realized. It is very clear that this film was made with a lot of care and compassion. With the possible exception of Wayne (overdone by a miscast Sean Hayes, reminiscent of the cringe-inducing Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany's), you felt real emotion from every character. Katie Holmes is great as the disaffected daughter, and Patricia Clarkson is just fantastic in a very complicated role. Well made and well acted. Highly recommended.
Starring:
Katie Holmes, Derek Luke, Oliver Platt
Supporting Actors:
Alison Pill, John Gallagher Jr., Patricia Clarkson, Alice Drummond, Vitali Baganov, Lillias White, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Adrian Martinez, Susan Bruce, Jamari Richardson, Leila Danette, Stephen Chen, Sally Leung Bayer, Sean Hayes, Sisqó, Marcus Lovett, Jack Chen