Pieces of April Movie Review 2003

Delightfully dysfunctional family meets for a chaotic Thanksgiving when tattooed New Yorker April (Holmes) has her suburban family join her for holiday dinner. The family trip to NYC is rife with humorous dramas and sidetracks involving roadkill and Mom bogarting little bro's stash. Meanwhile in the city, domestically-challenged April's oven breaks down while seemingly nice new boyfriend Bobby's behavior hints that something dark is afoot. Despite a misleading and slightly disturbing subplot involving Bobby (Luke) and a somewhat hasty ending, film is entertaining and original. Completed in three weeks on a limited budget ($200,000) with surprisingly slick digital camerawork.

Distribution

MGM Home Entertainment, 2500 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90404-6061, Phone: (310)449-3000, Fax: (310)449-3100, URL: http://www.mgmhomevideo.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 81 minutes.
Originally from United States.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Thanksgiving, Family Drama, New York, New York, Terminal Illness, Interracial Affairs, Unhappy Meals, Road Trip

Screenplay

Peter Hedges

Cast

Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson, Oliver Platt, Derek Luke, Alison Pill, Alice Drummond, Sean P. Hayes, John Gallagher, Sisqo, Isiah Whitlock, Lillias White

Cinematography

Tami Reiker

Director

Peter Hedges

Music

Stephen Merritt

Other

Aaron Rudelson, Mark Livolsi, Laura Bauer, Richard Butler

Producer

John Lyons, Gary Winick, Alexis Alexanian, InDigEnt, Kalkaska Productions, United Artists

Awards

Natl. Bd. of Review 2003: Support. Actress (Clarkson); Natl. Soc. Film Critics 2003: Support. Actress (Clarkson).