Dollar Tree Cinema: Pieces of April

“Pieces of April” (2003)
Starring Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson, Oliver Platt, Derek Luke
Written and directed by Peter Hedges
Rated PG-13 for language, sensuality, drug content and images of nudity

Christmas movies are not just their own genre, they have their own channels. There are a number of Halloween-centric movies, but almost any horror film will do in a pinch. The same can probably be said of rom-coms and Valentine's Day. Then there's Groundhog Day, which really just has the one, but who would want to try to invade its turf?

Thanksgiving is more toward the Groundhog Day end of the spectrum. Unlike a traditional Turkey Day dinner, the pickings are relatively slim, but there are options. The gold standard is probably “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” which I somehow hadn't watched until last year. I know Eli Roth recently directed a horror movie entitled “Thanksgiving,” but since it was directed by Eli Roth, I also know I'm not going to watch it.

Probably the movie I most associate with Thanksgiving is “Home Alone,” due to NBC traditionally airing it on the holiday for years. When I tagged along as a band kid with my high school choir to perform with America Sings in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, a friend and I joked that it was a shame we wouldn't be able to keep up that timeless holiday tradition since we were going to see “Les Miserables” on Broadway that evening. It would have been a throwaway joke, but a girl in our group was absolutely horrified that we would want to watch that over “Les Mis” on Broadway, so we pretty much ran that joke into the ground.*

I don't think I realized “Pieces of April” was about Thanksgiving until I read the back of the box upon finding it at a Dollar Tree. I recalled two things about it: Katie Holmes was in it, but Patricia Clarkson was the star. I even thought she won an Oscar for it, but it turns out she lost out on the Best Supporting Actress statue to Renee Zellwegger for “Cold Mountain.”

Clarkson had been in a number of movies before this, including ones I'd seen, but this is what I remember really putting her on the map as a prestige actress. And it's easy to see why.

Spoilers follow.

Clarkson plays Joy, the estranged mother of the titular April (Holmes). We meet April first, as her boyfriend Bobby (Luke) awakens her on Thanksgiving, which she is hosting for her family. Joy is, somewhat reluctantly, traveling to April's New York apartment with husband Jim (Platt), son Timmy (John Gallagher Jr.), younger daughter Beth (Alison Pill) and her own mother Dottie (Alice Drummond, the librarian from the opening scene in “Ghostbusters”).

We're not told exactly why they're estranged, but we see the effects plainly enough. April refers to her mother by her first name and is on edge about the family's impending arrival. Beth keeps trying to talk the family out of going, in large part we learn, because Joy is terminally ill. And even with that bit of information, Joy's bitterness toward her eldest daughter is scathing and surprising.

And yet things shift to comedy as April's plans to make a classic holiday dinner are initially thwarted by her oven being broken. Bobby and his optimistic attitude can't help because he's away on a mysterious errand that, I have to admit, I thought involved crime and made me feel mildly, unintentionally racist. Turns out, he was just trying to get a suit to impress April's family with the help of his friend Latrell (Sisqo**).

So April must get to know her neighbors, in the hopes of finding one, or more, willing to share their oven on this most cooking-centric of holidays. Her success varies, ranging from a friendly couple to a strict vegan and the culinarily serious Wayne (Sean Hayes, of “Will and Grace” fame).

Meanwhile, we get a window into the dynamics of April's family, as Jim tries to keep the peace and Beth works to win her mother's approval that Timmy seems to have gotten with little effort. Joy is a mystery, understandably tense and exhausted from her battle with what we eventually learn is breast cancer, but quite obviously harsh and stern before it.

The push and pull of comedy and drama continues throughout the entire movie. And then there's just some outright weirdness, like Joy encouraging Timmy's photography hobby by having him take a portrait of her, topless, before her double mastectomy. We're not talking #StuckInAMoment levels of distraction here, but yeah, that part unfortunately stayed with me.

I kept expecting to get a flashback or detailed account of what led to the fracture between April and her family, but it never comes. And it's never needed.

A friend of mine who has written major comics once explained to a group of us aspiring comic creators the importance of showing not telling in writing. “Pieces of April” is one of the best examples of this I've ever seen, especially in a story where dialogue and small, personal actions and expressions are the primary means of showing. Other than some references to shoplifting and drugs while Joy and Jim are fighting and a painful story recounted by April, we don't know exactly where things went wrong or why the family members feel the way they do. But we do know how they feel, with a full, messy, realistic picture painted by the end of the movie.

I don't know how the invitation to April's came about, especially with her mother seriously ill. I thought for a lot of the movie that April just wanted to rub her independence and “success” in Joy's face. But when she how excited she is heading down the stairs to welcome them in, only to find they turned around after seeing the run-down neighborhood she calls home, it stings. Likewise, when one family member makes the decision to go back, there's no speech as to why. You see it all in faces and actions.

The climax of the movie comes without dialogue, and again, none is necessary. I found a genuine smile growing on my face as it unfolded.

The only disappointment I really had with this movie was a sex scene that wasn't graphic, but also didn't leave anything to the imagination. I could see an argument where it fit into the plot, but it wasn't at all necessary. And then the photography thing.

The movie looks and feels almost like it was shot on someone's cell phone. It was actually filmed on a Sony PD-150 camcorder (thank you, Google). So that explains maybe why it looks a little different to me, but the intimate cinematography fits the tone well.

* - For the record, “Home Alone” is a wonderful movie, but “Les Mis” was amazing -
once I came to grips with the fact that the characters just sang everything.

** - Yes, as in the “Thong Song.”