Holiday Movies to Depress You

Holiday Movies to Depress You

So..
I'd like to give a little shout-out to some lesser-known holiday-type movies out there.
First up:

The Family Stone

I don't like this movie at all.  The plot involves Sarah Jessica Parker meeting her future in-laws who are all basically unwelcoming self-righteous assholes - meanwhile she is an uptight bitch (as the sister says) who has no sense of humor or sense of graciousness.

Here's the trailer:

You might think, based on this trailer, that it's a fun holiday dramedy and hey, with a cast like that, it can't possibly be bad, right?  So wrong.  It's awful.  It's not a "quirky-meet-family-during-the-holidays" type of movie so much as "how many self-centered unlikable assholes can we put in a house together?" kind of thing. And then of course, at the end, they hit you with (spoiler alert) this.

Pieces of April

Yes, that is Katie Holmes. In one of her lesser known roles, she plays the titular (heh heh...titular is a funny word) - April in this independent work about a family making a Thanksgiving road trip to visit their daughter in the city.  This is a really well-done movie with heart, and leans quite heavily into the drama end of the spectrum.  It's definitely a good watch and takes place during Thanksgiving. Possible tearjerker, depending on your sensitivity level. Also? (Spoiler alert): this.

Home For the Holidays

This is the story of Claudia and her family when she goes home for Thanksgiving.  Another dramedy that leans more toward the dramatic end of things, a lot of people really love this movie and how it's honest and real and such.  For me, this isn't a bad movie, it just isn't a good movie, either.  It starts rather slow and after about a half an hour or so starts to pick up a little bit, but still is rather slow-ish, all around.  The story is fine, and if you choose to watch it, when judging the characters, it's important to remember this was made back in '95.  I don't dislike it, but....then again...I have no real enjoyment of it, either.  Kinda like how I feel about artichokes.