Pieces of April
Starring: Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson, Oliver Platt, Derek Luke
Directed by: Peter Hedges
Playing at: the Plaza Frontenac
Grade: C+

Store bought stuffing. Canned cranberry sauce. These mundane Thanksgiving items are criticized in Peter Hedges’ “home for the holidays” comedy “Pieces of April,” but the film feels as bland as those ingredients. Hedges, who screenwrote “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?” and “About a Boy,” falls back on the dysfunctional family circus shtick that made “Grape” famous, but with less ambitious aims. With his obviously low budget and semi-talented cast, he instead creates a trite, feel-good comedy about putting aside differences and sitting down for a peaceful meal.

It’s Thanksgiving morning, and the prodigal daughter April (Holmes) wakes up in her Lower East Side apartment to prepare dinner for her visiting family. Live-in boyfriend Bobby (Luke) goes out to run some mysterious errands, leaving April at home with a celery-stuffed turkey, unfinished party decorations, and a broken oven. Meanwhile, the rest of the Burns family is gearing up for the trip. There’s the good-natured Papa Bear-type Jim (Platt), pretentious little sister Beth, voyeuristic Timmy, who never puts down his camera, and domineering matriarch Joy (Clarkson). It seems that Joy and April never got along (“Remember the drugs? The stealing?” says the mother at one point), and now that Joy is suffering from breast cancer, this might be their last opportunity to reconcile. Throw in a senile grandma (Alice Drummond, who excels at playing befuddled old ladies), and you’ve got yourself a road trip from hell.

Meanwhile, April is forced to seek the help of others when she realizes her oven is kaput. Her first Good Samaritan is Evette, an Afro-centric soul mama who laughs in her face when she says she’s in trouble. “You’re white, you’ve got your youth, you’re privileged, and you wanna tell me you’re in trouble? [Endless cackling]!” The next shot shows Evette in tears after hearing April’s tale of mother-daughter antagonism. Having won over one heart to her plight, April must find others. Wayne (Sean Hayes), a well-groomed, pug-carrying antisocialite, seems like a good target, but he turns out to be more than April can handle. With her family drawing closer, her turkey “kidnapped,” and Bobby nowhere in sight, what is April to do?

If you can’t guess how “Pieces of April” turns out, you haven’t seen enough holiday comedies. Even “Home Alone” was more unpredictable than this! Fortunately, what the film lacks in originality it makes up for with light comedy, some fine acting, and a certain lo-fi charm (okay, so Digital isn’t exactly “lo-fi,” but it gives the film that grainy, “indie” feel). The pacing and delivery make the tame jokes come alive, so that scrubbing potatoes and eating Krispy Kreme donuts even seems funny. Other bits of comedy will work depending on your cinematic jadedness: If you can’t get enough of Adam Sandler’s treatment of the elderly (read: they’re old and goofy!), you’ll love Grandma Dottie. If you’ve had enough of that crap, she’ll get old quick. The character of Beth is similarly one-sided, doing little more than whining and showing off. Clarkson, however, turns in a winning performance, blending petulance and mean-spiritedness with an invalid’s vulnerability. We actually come to feel her character’s pain, especially after some shocking “before and after” breast cancer photos.

Holmes, in a rare starring role, never gives us a reason to think April was a problem child; she’s unconditionally sweet and innocent, making the “punky-goth” getup look like a fashion craze. She does have impeccable musical taste, though, spinning records by indie poppers the Magnetic Fields throughout the film. April’s boyfriend Bobby presents the greatest problems as a character. His unnamed “errand” is set up to look like a drug deal, but it turns out he just needs a suit from the Salvation Army. He is also accosted by Tyrone, April’s former boyfriend. When he arrives back at the apartment, bruised and bloody, Beth shrieks from inside the car, “Oh my God! Lock the door!” As the family recoils in terror, director Hedges seems to be toying with any preconceptions we might have about African-American men, but he ends up looking the most prejudiced. Despite this one cringe-inducing aspect, “Pieces of April” turns out a light, carefree comedy. With everything turning out all right, it leaves the viewer feeling stupidly content, sort of like a Thanksgiving dinner. Bon appetit.

Popularity: unranked [?]

 Print This Post

This entry was posted on Monday, November 3rd, 2003 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Cadenza. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.