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The Stream Queen watches Home for the Holidays
12 Plays3 years ago
Just in time for the holiday season, The Stream Queen is joined by friends Caitlin Leach and Brianne Cryer to watch and dish out our perspective on Home for the Holidays, directed by the one and only Jodie Foster. Tune in for some laughs.
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Stream Queen' and 'Home for the Holidays'
00:00:00
Speaker
to all the ladies I am big it's the pictures that got small
00:00:14
Speaker
All this way for my advice, I feel like Oprah. Person your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy night. What the hell? I'm not going to worry about if people accept me or not. I'm going to pick Hollywood wherever I am at.
00:00:32
Speaker
Oh, as if! Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Stream Queen, where we select films by female directors to watch and discuss on the show. I'm your host, Tapia Leyto Adebo, and every week, I invite a friend or two to join me in watching movies and indulging in our love of cinema. So today, the Stream Queen is watching Home for the Holidays from director Jodie Foster. It's available on Amazon, and it's now, well, it's definitely not playing in theaters, but if it was, we could watch
Meet the Guests: Kaitlyn Leach and Brie Crya
00:01:01
Speaker
it.
00:01:01
Speaker
Anyway, so today joining me, we have two amazing guests with us. Thank you. We've got Kaitlyn Leach, we'll just call her KT for now. I'm never getting rid of that. You're never getting rid of this thing, who absolutely, absolutely is a film lover for sure, a cinephile, but she also minded in film theory. So she's going to be giving us some of that today. And also joining us is
00:01:26
Speaker
Brie Crya, who just, I mean, she's just an amazing person. She loves film. She's kind. She works as an occupational therapist. I could say great things about her all day, but we'll just get to stick with that because we came here to talk about film.
00:01:39
Speaker
One of the great things about having two very different spectrums of people who love films is that we're going to have a fantastic discussion about this movie. Really setting it up. No pressure. So, so, so, so, so. Let's get the
Family Dynamics in 'Home for the Holidays'
00:01:54
Speaker
show on the road. Hey, guys. Hi, Choppy. Hi. Do you have anything else to add to that wonderful introduction that I made for each of you? No, dude. No. Nailed it. Yeah. Fucking nailed it.
00:02:09
Speaker
Okay, let's talk about this movie. So, Home for the Holidays, which was directed by Jodie Foster. That blew my mind. I didn't even know. I didn't even know that she ever directed a movie until I found this one. Yeah, that definitely blew my mind. And it wasn't poorly directed.
00:02:26
Speaker
No. Were you expecting it to be poorly directed? I don't know what I was expecting. I think I got exactly what I was expecting out of it. But it was well directed. There was a good eye behind the camera on it, I thought. Absolutely. It wasn't shit. Well, just for the audience who are listening, so Home for the Holidays, I'm hoping that the title tells you exactly what it's about.
00:02:48
Speaker
But it's basically about these people who get together over Thanksgiving. And I think this is the perfect movie as we're going into the holiday period. I know that at some point when this comes out, Thanksgiving is probably going to be done. We're probably going into the holidays, you know, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, all of that. And it's a time where people get together with their families, whether you love them, whether you hate them, whether you just can't stand them or whatever. And it's a film about family dynamics.
00:03:17
Speaker
over the holidays. Yeah, but like low stakes too, man. That's true. Like it was just, it was low stakes story about this family. Like there was nothing, anyway, we can get into that in a minute. We are getting into it. No, this is the podcast now, right? We're recording? Yes, this is happening. Well, let me start with Brie, who is not a film theorist. It's true. What were your thoughts on this movie? Like how did you
00:03:45
Speaker
Yeah, so I think, yeah, I think there's probably two camps that process this movie, one camp that they can kind of identify with a dysfunctional family like this, and another camp where they
00:04:00
Speaker
have a whole different experience. I have a smaller family. So I never really, I don't have gatherings like this. I haven't yet anyways. So I just thought it was fun and fascinating to like go into these people's world and watch this like Thanksgiving gathering that I have not experienced.
00:04:25
Speaker
Yeah. And it's, yeah, I was, yeah, kind of a dysfunctional family. And yeah, they're all very entwined. Yeah. Maybe kind of almost jealous almost that they have closeness. And then like such, even though there was like fighting and stuff like,
00:04:54
Speaker
I don't know, it was, it seemed kind of, it seemed kind of fun and just, yeah. Yeah, it is very, I did see that too, you know, like what was really fascinating to me was like you, it is a dysfunctional family. But like mildly so. It's like solo stakes.
00:05:14
Speaker
I guess it's on the spectrum because if you are not from something like that where like maybe your Thanksgiving goes well without any drama, this is like a dysfunctional family. But if you are on the other side of the spectrum where like, you know, murder sometimes happens at your Thanksgiving dinner, then this is awkward. This is from Zero to Sixty real quick on that one. That is the spectrum idea, is Zero to Sixty.
00:05:42
Speaker
So, but I think what was really interesting like Brie brought up is even throughout all of that, you could tell like they love each other in like their own very strange way. Oh yeah, there's love there. There's love there even though like it looks like cats fighting. But like not even man. Okay.
00:06:02
Speaker
Maybe on the different side of that spectrum. Okay, so that's why we have both of you on this show. So, KT. Yo. What was your takeaway from this movie? What did you think? I think it's
Critiquing Film's Narrative and Performances
00:06:14
Speaker
distinctly, I've already, it's done and done. It's so low stakes. Drop it in the chat.
00:06:19
Speaker
Well, I don't know why. I didn't take anything away from the movie. I'm not sure why I watched it other than this podcast, which is really exciting. And finding out that it was a Jodie Foster movie. And finding out that it was a Jodie Foster vehicle. Yeah. I just felt like, narratively, I didn't give one iota about it.
00:06:44
Speaker
There's nothing driving it forward for me. Nothing. And it took super weird turns. She has, of course, this very 90s art restorer job because you only have jobs like that in the 90s. That's true.
00:06:58
Speaker
And then she gets fired and then makes out with her boss, which is super weird. We never circle back to that. Well, we kind of do. It's brought up tangentially throughout. They mention it. Also is like just the way to show us. I want that movie. That whole situation. That's the next.
00:07:16
Speaker
home for the holidays when she goes and gets her box after the entire, and then just totally just makes out with her boss again. Yes. But then nothing else. Yeah. Julie, you need to make that. Although, who is that actor? I meant to look him up. I really like him, and I want to watch his whole entire IMDB. At least just for those eyebrows.
00:07:39
Speaker
But and then like the way she was acting high before she met like is I thought that maybe she had like a drug problem going into that and that's not even to mention Robert Downey Jr's performance, which we'll get to Okay, so going back to the guy she made out with us Austin Pedleton, so go for it like Of course his name is Pedleton He's pedaling wearers. He's pedaling art wearers. I mean like he can get it. I
00:08:08
Speaker
Okay, got a thirst track going. It's so weird. Okay, tell me. So you obviously didn't feel like this was a high stakes movie. It feels kind of just like a day in the life, right? But the day in the life is like Thanksgiving. Nobody's life that I care about. You don't care about anybody?
00:08:26
Speaker
I mean, I thought like, I will tell you the performance, like everybody's performance was, they all showed up. Yeah. Everybody showed up. Robert Downey Jr. showed up 12 days early. Like everybody showed up for their performances. That's still gonna be the best line. I'm totally gonna use that. Showed up 12 days early.
00:08:49
Speaker
But like, and again, we'll get to it because it's a whole thing. But like, I mean, Holly Hunter is like, I love her. I love watching her.
00:09:00
Speaker
But yeah, I just, I wasn't, I mean, she's great. Yeah. But like, I didn't care about anything that happened here. Yeah. It starts off with her. Like that's how the, the film starts. It's like, we follow her in, you know, for a minute there, I was like, is this her perspective of how the whole dinner went? Um, because I don't think you get many other people's POVs from this.
00:09:27
Speaker
Yeah, it's all from it's her it's she's the epicenter for sure. And then also that relationship she has with her daughter is super weird. But I think that's kind of typical of like a single mother who had a daughter early maybe that I just kind of
00:09:42
Speaker
No, I think it was attachment. It was like attachment issues. I felt like her daughter was trying to be the mother to her in the beginning. That turned me off as well. Yeah, kind of. I'm just a cruel reversal. Because even though she was like, don't call me, she ended up calling her mom to check in on her. So it does feel like, OK, who is the actual parent in this relationship?
Exploring Parent-Child and Sibling Relationships
00:10:04
Speaker
Right. And baby Claire Danes, though. Oh, baby Claire Danes. Adorbs. That was one year away from Romeo and Juliet.
00:10:11
Speaker
Really? Oh, man. Yeah, she did. My so-called life already. But yeah, she did. She was very, I did want to see more of her in the movie. Right? And then they introduce her and she's like, she sparkles on screen and she's great. And then it's like nothing. And then she basically tells her mom she's going to have sex with a boy before driving off. Who does that? Who does that?
00:10:35
Speaker
I like that. I mean, it's very mid 90s. It's very modern. My mom would miss her flight and follow me. Let's be clear. She's like, not on my watch. No, no, no. And her mom was like, I guess she wasn't really cool about it because she calls her brother and is like, my child is about to do this.
00:10:54
Speaker
Yeah. And that's the extent of her intervention, I guess. Well, like Brie, what did you think about like her relationship with Claire or whatever her daughter's name is in the movie? I can somewhat relate. I am like, yeah, the daughter of a single mom. But my mom didn't have me super early. Yeah, because she's a smart lady. Yeah.
00:11:21
Speaker
Choices, girl, choices. There is a closeness, I think, that you have. And I thought it was really cool for her daughter to even tell her mom that. Yeah, yeah. Let's be clear, most daughters are not doing that. Yeah. I was that way, I think. OK, I wasn't. Really? That surprises me. Great, but OK. Don't be putting out all the laundry on this podcast.
00:11:53
Speaker
Again, I forgot we're recording. Yeah, I think the mom was kind of like a little bit in shock almost. I think that since she got pregnant really young, she probably educated her daughter on safety and doing everything. So she probably trusted her daughter to
00:12:17
Speaker
I think that's why she didn't stay and stop that from happening.
00:12:24
Speaker
Mm hmm. And I think, you know, I kind of saw it also as like maybe when she was growing up, this is one of the things she can talk to her mom about. And so she's developed this relationship with her daughter where there's like honesty and openness, even if like they even if she disagrees with the path she's taken, it's like, I just always want to know. Right. And you could tell like they've already established that relationship. So like Kit telling her mom, hey, I'm going to have sex with this guy.
00:12:51
Speaker
you know she's yeah does she want her to do it absolutely not because obviously she's you could tell she's looking back at her life and like oh wait exactly yeah um but she's also kind of like thank you for telling me right right and it's like just troubled by the whole thing on this whole bumpy flight
00:13:09
Speaker
But like, okay, let's talk about the flight here in just one second. Okay. Um, but like also why did they have that conversation? What did that add to the narrative? Because then they circle back to it maybe like once or twice with very low stakes.
00:13:22
Speaker
It makes us looking for a plot here, Caitlin. I got these for plats. That's the only thing I'm looking for. Plats. I think that's showing a lot of breakdown of boundaries. Yeah. It felt nice. Mid-90s. Very mid-90s. The boundary breaking did escalate. There's a breakdown of boundaries. We'll get to that.
00:13:42
Speaker
Yeah. When, um, the mom undresses in closet room. Girl. She shows up in the bathroom while she's showering. She leaves the door open. What's the actual fuck? No. No. Like that's the part that's a little dysfunctional in that. That's dysfunctional, right? No. The dysfunctional part is your brother taking a picture of you in the shower.
00:14:08
Speaker
Okay, so it's not just me. That's nuts, right? Nobody, I would hope, please audience, if your brother is taking pictures of you in the shower. Gross, you just said it out loud and it's grosser. Just talk to somebody about this. It's not okay. It's don't normalize it.
00:14:24
Speaker
call a friend. Okay, but let's talk about the flight for two seconds real quick. Okay, so this bitch that she's sitting next to is eating chicken wings. And then I think like a hard boiled egg.
00:14:44
Speaker
The thing that drove me crazy and I turned to my husband and I was like, did she just take the skin off the chicken and then sprinkle it with salt and then eat it? And his response is, she comes from the era where people boiled their food. And I was like, that tracks. OK, well, the skin didn't look boiled. It looked fried. It looked fried, which is probably why she took it off. But like also, who does that when you're sitting so close to somebody on a plane?
00:15:10
Speaker
Who does it? There's a circle of hell reserved for people like that. This is what Brie was talking about. This whole film is about a lack of boundaries. Girl, spot on. Spot on. Honestly, that got me more riled up than anything else in the movie.
00:15:29
Speaker
The only time I was yelling at this screen. Speaking of which, let's talk about the siblings dynamics. So there's three. Yes, yes, yes. There's the two sisters. Well, there's two girls and a boy. I'm guessing... Okay, well, who do you think is the oldest, first of all? The one that got the turkey on her dress, that really hideous dress. No, they say that Claudia is the oldest. But then, yeah, exactly. I'm sorry.
00:15:56
Speaker
Did you ask who I thought was or who I know was? I think they did say that, what's her face? Don't remember the names, don't care. I thought, I'm gonna call her Turkey Girl from now on. Turkey Girl was the oldest. I thought she's the oldest too, but I don't think she is. But yeah, I think Bri might've got it right. Yeah. Cause Bri was actually listening. One point says like, you're my oldest, smartest child or something. Oh, okay. Oh, I loved that team too. Okay. Is that when they were like in the pantry hiding away from everybody?
00:16:26
Speaker
No, it's two times that they had those kind of conversations. There was one before that, before she got naked. Also, can we talk Halloween costumes? Caitlin, let me talk. Sorry. Yeah, there was a scene when Claudia first gets there that the mom's trying to give her meatloaf, even though she's very in. Yeah. The mom is berating her about her, I guess, just like, I don't know, just these
00:16:56
Speaker
things about like getting into her. Oh, you were fired or whatever. But anyway, she says, Oh, I thought you were my, my
00:17:07
Speaker
oldest, smartest daughter. Yeah. Yeah. Because she was like a really talented painter when she was younger. And I think that was actually really kind of a beautiful conversation that they had. I mean, the mother was really genuinely proud of her. And she's sitting there rolling her rides at this conversation. And the mother's like, you're talented. You're wayward. Again, very 90s themes. What the f*** are you doing with your life? You're better than this. Get over yourself.
00:17:36
Speaker
I liked that. I love the mother. I related to the mother. You know, like parents have certain expectations of the children, right? There's the ones they think are going to make it. There's the ones they think that they're lost cause. Right. And so I think they're mostly disappointed by the ones that they're like, you have so much potential. What are you doing working for somebody else? Like someone could pay you like why can't someone pay you like millions of dollars to do this? But you paint your own. And so I think that that was like where the conversation was coming from.
00:18:05
Speaker
Oh, yeah, it was coming from heart. That felt real. It felt organic. But
Handling of LGBTQ Themes and Serious Family Issues
00:18:10
Speaker
again, disconnected from the rest of the narrative. And when I was when I was watching it, I thought that the Robert Downey Jr. and doing this is his cocaine years, apparently. I thought he was the middle child, but now I'm thinking he is the youngest child. No, he's I think he's the youngest. He's giving me young child vibes. Yeah.
00:18:29
Speaker
Well, a young child on cocaine. I could not keep up with anything he was saying. He was going so fast. No, no, no. It was all over the place. And I'm thinking, did Jodie Foster know what she was getting by hiring him? Because she found out real quick, though. Yeah, he was in another galaxy during this film. Oh, my goodness. And also,
00:18:49
Speaker
And I get it, it's 1995. I'm going to keep coming back to that because this movie is 100% smack dab in the middle of the 90s. So of course he had to be gay.
00:19:03
Speaker
And of course there had to be a little drama against super low stakes. And also they never like come, they, they mentioned it once. Like you got married and the middle sister is a bitch about it. We all hate her. There's no, and she has no redemption at the end either. No, she doesn't forget about her. She's just done anyway. And then we didn't come back to it.
00:19:25
Speaker
Well, I think that there is some coming back to it in the sense of like, you know, when I was watching this, I watched this last year around Thanksgiving and then like came back to it this year. And I think what really struck me was for a film that was made in the 90s, like this conversation could have been about him being gay. Like it could have been like the whole like, oh, my God, he's gay. And then the father who you look at him, meat and potatoes man, and you're like, oh, yeah, he's not going to take this.
00:19:51
Speaker
at all. And he he was more concerned about not being invited to the wedding. He didn't want. Yeah, exactly. And the fact that he was the mom. Yeah. The mom was the same way. It was just like it was like, I really don't care. You're gay. He was actually more concerned that he whether or not he wore a dress.
00:20:06
Speaker
I was like, I don't care that you got married. Did you wear a dress? That was it. And so I think in other movies, I've watched where things I've seen, these revelations, it's usually way more dramatic and way worse. And the conversations are all about whether LGBTQ should have rights and things like that. But this was kind of nice to not have that in it being
00:20:30
Speaker
the most benign thing was what they were upset about. His mom was upset about not being invited to the wedding, and his dad was like, gee, I hope he didn't wear a dress. Those were what was more important to them than the fact that he decided that he's going to be with me. Right. And I understand where you're coming from in that, because at the time, if LGBTQ was represented, most of the time it was in peril. Yeah, absolutely. Right? And I understand where you're coming from, but again,
00:20:59
Speaker
I feel like they keep pulling all these things that are going on in in society, but they don't actually delve into any of them. Yeah. So what's the message here? Just kind of the point, though, to me, I just didn't like that. I mean, they're more going to like, kind of, they're not going to have a structure to know how to talk about. That's fair. Yeah. And
00:21:24
Speaker
Um, really get into it. I don't think that would really happen a lot in the gathering where it came, just came out kind of more gloss over it. There were details, but then, um, they might want to talk about more, but it would be so uncomfortable that they wouldn't. So I think more speaking at real, a realistic.
00:21:48
Speaker
And definitely very realistic because particularly as like, you know, you when you don't see your kids all the time and you have this image, everyone has this image of the head of the perfect Thanksgiving, the perfect Christmas in the goal is to have that, like particularly for older like parents, you know, when they go. Yeah, for sure. That's the goal. And so like everything you're doing in that moment,
00:22:11
Speaker
from when they arrive is to kind of recreate when they were kids and when it was all like, you know, you were the person they leaned on. And so there are things that like come up that perhaps, you know, like your daughter not having a job and how she's going to provide for yourself. And you want to like talk about it, but you're like, I only have her for a day and a half. So we're just going to gloss over it.
00:22:30
Speaker
True, true, true. Or my son got married and didn't tell anyone, oh, I want to talk about it. We'll blow up for five seconds. No, we're going to gloss over it because we have to have turkey. And I don't relate to that at all, though. There is a balance between wanting to really have these conversations, but then wanting to keep the peace at this one time of the year where you see all of the family and you know that that doesn't really happen ever. Yeah, so that just leads to closet crying.
00:23:00
Speaker
Yeah, which was a huge thing. I really do want that pantry though, just where the wall it just it like it's a seamless wall and you open and then you open it. I totally hide from my family and they're 100%. There's food. There's water. Yeah, there's space. Nothing. That's it. I need a pantry too.
00:23:25
Speaker
All right, well, okay. Well, let's talk about some of your favorite moments. Like, I know, Caitlin, that overall... Got
Favorite Moments and Film Critiques
00:23:34
Speaker
it, got it, got it. You couldn't go back to this movie. Well, I'll be nice, I'll be nice. And Jodi's gonna hear about this, obviously. Great. But what was your favorite... I'll say she was good. Nicely. Brie, you go first. You got Brie, you go first. What was your favorite part of the movie?
00:23:49
Speaker
Um, I really liked that, um, the parents, like you got to see them in love and they were dancing and they were like making double entendres about sex.
00:24:04
Speaker
We love sex, by the way, for the audience. One of my favorite line was, wait till you see your father's organ. He can't. And so while I really liked that, like you got they were like good role models. Yeah. And in a lot of movies, the parents, they apparently hate each other or whatever. Yeah. But like,
00:24:33
Speaker
they liked each other. And so yeah, I liked that.
00:24:40
Speaker
I had that highlighted in my notes, too. He has notes, guys. We both have notes. I am doing the podcast. I got to have notes. No, Brie and I both have notes. Oh, I see. That was great. Yeah, I liked him. Aunt Gladys. She kind of reminded me of you weirdly. And I mean that as like the best. Oh, really? I was thinking about you. He's my favorite part of the movie.
00:25:10
Speaker
Did she fall asleep in the line? She is like, if the parts of me and Bri that are the same, and then they're a person, that is here. That is true. I absolutely see that. I absolutely see that. I thought she was, she's my favorite part of the whole movie. Really when she confesses her 43-year-old love? Yeah, but then like no one gets it. Then it's over. It's done. Like no one gets it. I was like, I'm glad this strikes again. Oh my God.
00:25:38
Speaker
Oh, oh, okay. Yeah. Sorry. You had like another, you had another one that you really liked. Oh no, that was, that was the other one. That's the only thing I liked. KT, you better have something you liked about this movie. Cause I did, I told you I liked the aunt. I thought she was hilarious. Like I want a movie of just her.
00:26:01
Speaker
That's true. I would do like a side movie. Like a spin-off. Yeah. A Day in the Life of Aunt Gladys. Yeah. And just. Yeah. Yeah. Particularly as she goes thrift shopping. Like I want to know like where she goes for those lamps. Yes.
00:26:18
Speaker
I'm looking through the things that I highlighted. When they're doing the prayer at the table, I thought this was appropriate for your podcast. When they said amen, and the little girl's like, a woman. A woman, yeah. She was like, yeah, queen. Totally, totally, totally. That was cute. I feel like the prayer that the brother did is something that my husband has done at Thanksgiving. It felt very relatable.
00:26:44
Speaker
Oh, Greg. Good food, good bird, good God, let's eat or something like that. Oh my God. Oh, okay. And actually one of my favorite parts, which is actually made me the most uncomfortable, again, aside from the chicken and egg being eaten next to someone. I will forever remember that. Oh God. I smelled it. You know what I'm saying? You can. Anyway, all right. You absolutely can.
00:27:08
Speaker
The handyman ex-boyfriend? Was he an ex-boyfriend? I just thought it was him trying to set her up with. No, no, no. They date like didn't Robert Downey Jr. tell her like they had a conversation about him being like an ex-boyfriend from high school. And the mom was like, look at this guy. He's single. You're single.
00:27:27
Speaker
but also that actor, who's that actor? David Strathan? Oh God, I'm sorry, David. I really love you, but your last name is- No, we can get this out, it's fun. It's harder for now sometimes. Anyway, he's- I love him. He is great. And he played cringe.
00:27:43
Speaker
so well he played cringe so again everyone showed up for their performances she was in chloe zow's nomad land i really loved him and yes yeah yeah i know kind of playing the same character in a way a little bit maybe that's just who he is oh yeah oh boy oh boy i really found a little chemistry between them more so than what her and the other guy
00:28:09
Speaker
oh god don't okay i cannot wait to talk about that asshole
00:28:16
Speaker
Oh, my God. So like, as we're talking about here is her brother tries to set her up subtly, very subtly with a friend he brings over because, you know, people bring over random strangers for Thanksgiving. That's a thing. Classic. And and his sister thinks that that's his new boyfriend. But turns out that it was just a ploy to bring him to dinner so he could meet his sister. So.
00:28:45
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, like honestly, that's disgusting enough. I mean, I, you know, I mean, that's disgusting. What's the word? Just like God awful. Well, if he, it seems like he nailed it because they kind of got together. Well, of course they did because it was in the stupid script. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But like, let's pretend the script is not the reason they got together because people need to watch this movie.
00:29:11
Speaker
I do like how they left it open at the end. We don't really know. He has a creepy vibe to him.
Family Reconciliation and Romantic Subplot
00:29:24
Speaker
I don't know if that was a good character choice.
00:29:27
Speaker
It might just be his cheekbones. It's just too firm. Too firm. You just get crazy. Maleficent level. Yeah. I was like, I can't trust you. Look at those cheekbones. But also he said something to her like, don't you want to climb inside my head? Like, fuck you. Yeah, no. And he was just kind of just pop up. And who the hell just shows up on your flight? Like, please.
00:29:49
Speaker
That was the second worst thing to happen on a flight. I was like, this isn't sexy. There are phones. You could have called me. This could have been a phone call. Well, not on a cell phone. It's 1995. But they have phones. It wasn't the dark ages. But they have phones on the plane. She left a weird voice over her brother from the plane. Kids today will not understand having to take- They'll never understand phones.
00:30:12
Speaker
this cable phone, drag it across the kitchen into the bathroom. So you can have a private call. You can just walk away from it. And you got to make sure that it doesn't get wound up because then you got to untangle it. They'll never know. They'll never know how we suffered.
00:30:31
Speaker
Oh, I know. For real. Although I had my own line, so that was cool. Okay. Well, it sounds like, KT, that if you had a choice, there were certain things that you would change or do differently about this movie. So what would those be? I think that's unfair. And also I think I'm being unfair to the film.
00:30:48
Speaker
I'm glad that we came to a circle. This is kind of like therapy. This is very therapeutic. I was yelling at them. Yes. Me too. But mostly about this relationship that they try to force because I was just like, yes.
00:31:03
Speaker
I could have done that. That would be the one thing if I could change anything, I would have just like if you're going to bring them in as like, you know, because they had like the little title card is at company and it was like the inner tales. And I was like, OK, if you're going to bring someone in, that's fine. But trying to force this like love romance between these people.
00:31:23
Speaker
And it was like, no. I think they were forcing, they were shoehorning love into that narrative when it was, they were just hooking up. They just had so many things going on. Leave it at that. It would have been just as entertaining, just as like, okay, I get it. This is what it means to, you know, I don't know anybody that hooks up on Thanksgiving, but you know, if that's you, go with God. I can't say I haven't in the past. But yeah, that would be the one thing I change. What about you, Brie? I don't know.
00:31:51
Speaker
I'm a romantic at heart, so that kind of, she really is. She's like, yes, get together, jump on that flight. She should have been on that flight alone. I feel like I would have immense, I would have liked it.
00:32:06
Speaker
Not immensely. What's the opposite of that? Slightly more. No. When I saw her on the flight alone, I was like, Oh bummer. But then I saw him and I was like, Oh, okay.
Analyzing Pivotal Scenes and Family Chaos
00:32:17
Speaker
Yeah. Cause there's that moment in the car where her dad is like a penny free tots kiddo. And she's like, I let him got away. Didn't I? And then like, nobody followed up on that. And I was like, Ooh, girl.
00:32:28
Speaker
I wanted it to end there. I wanted it to end there by yourself. That would have been a great ending. I'm awesome. I think for those who are into romance, it doesn't feel like it. But then it felt like an afterthought.
00:32:42
Speaker
of romance. It didn't even feel organic in any way. It felt sure. See, I love having both of you on this podcast because it's like two ends of the spectrum on this movie. Yeah. And it's great. I love it. I absolutely love it. All right. We need to circle back to that dinner scene. Yes, do it.
00:33:02
Speaker
Okay, yeah, sure. I don't have any questions, just like, again, it seemed pretty low stakes. I loved the aunt just being like, I kissed your husband for 43 years. I win. I'm still in love with him kind of.
00:33:21
Speaker
Let's eat. This line where she's like, he made my dreams come true for you. And I literally was like, oh, that's a great line. That's a great line. Yeah. And before that, when the sisters dynamic in the kitchen where the one that's really tightly wound is like doing everything, but then what's her face is like, well, no one asked you to. I thought that really hit for me because I know that personality type. Like I know that.
00:33:50
Speaker
like I know that vibe. But again, she never got a reconciliation in the movie. She just remained the bitch. I think the, you know, when Holly Hunter's character goes to her house, like she's trying to, you know, it's like,
00:34:07
Speaker
You know, we're family. We're going to have these blow ups. We're going to have these issues. But we love each other deep down. And we we don't have to like each other, which is what she said. We're family. And you could tell like she was she was like, I said, sorry, I'm trying to say sorry. And it was like her sister wanted to remain mad because then she could claim the higher ground. Exactly. But that whole family was wound up tight anyway. Like even the husband was wound up tight like except for the end.
00:34:32
Speaker
The aunt was not. No, I mean, the whole family like as in the sister's family, like the her husband, her kids and everything, because as soon as he fell over and, you know, the play fighting after football, whatever, and the dad just like hoses them down as like, hey, kids, stop fighting. You know, like something that would be hilarious. He looks like we're leaving.
00:34:49
Speaker
And I feel like everyone knows each of the characters in that movie, at that dinner, everybody has experienced them once, either at Thanksgiving. And I think that's what makes this movie so relatable is I was sitting there watching it and be like, oh, that's that person. Oh, that's that person. Oh, remember last Thanksgiving? That was that person. It was just so relatable, which is why I think people should watch this before maybe going to the next family gathering.
00:35:18
Speaker
What's the tagline? The tagline is so bleak, too. On the fourth Thursday of November, 84 million American families will gather together and wonder why.
00:35:29
Speaker
I mean, we do though, we do. Cause every day we're just like, why, why are we related? Like the question is always is, are we related? Was I adopted? Like how are we connected to this people? Everyone asks this question. It's like valiant and romantic that that family still continue to get together. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. The dad was like, I'll see you at Christmas.
00:35:58
Speaker
And I think what's important to note is there's no perfect family. There's flaws. There's fights. There's things we say we hurt each other. And at the end of the day, we just will work through it. And I think that was the message from this movie for me. It's kind of just showing how things can just go from zero to chaotic. And it's right back to zero. But that's their signature. That's their family signature. Yeah. Yeah. That's fair.
00:36:28
Speaker
No, you're right. It's completely real and relatable. I'll end the sentence there. I guess I'll give it that. So what else about the dinner did you? The fact that she called him a cocksucker is super 90s. And her daughter was like, mom, you said a bad word. I kind of love that. You can't say that anymore.
00:36:51
Speaker
Oh, no, you can. It's just, you can't say it again. It's completely inappropriate, but I thought it just made me giggle. I don't know why. I don't know why. It's hard for me with Robert Downey Jr's character too, because I want to, he's super fun. He's the most fun to watch, but like he's also super annoying. I don't like the way he treats either of his sisters. But also like, what's the history there?
00:37:18
Speaker
Does, did he earn that relationship that he had with them? I think so. I think that's something he has always done to the point where like, Claudia is not even surprised. Like, Collie Hunt's character is not even surprised when he shows up in the middle of the night, like rips off the blanket and takes a photo of her. And again, takes the first of two nude pictures of his sister.
00:37:39
Speaker
You know, whereas I think like I definitely got middle sister vibe from the net for the other girl because she was just like, she's the one that is most trying to get the attention of her parents. She wants to be the favorite. She's trying really hard to be the perfect wife, the perfect daughter, the perfect everything. The perfect like to Steve Gutenberg, by the way. Yeah, like police academy. Really? OK, OK. OK, you do. You still got to work, man. I get it.
00:38:05
Speaker
Whereas, you know, the kids on the other end are just goofy. Like they have the best relationship because I guess there's just no pressure on them. The son is still the favorite of his mom. And the daughter, Holly Hunter's character is a favorite of her dad. And then you have the middle child who's like, who do I get? That makes me their favorite. So she's trying extra, extra, extra hard. And I think she's just frustrated that they can just
00:38:29
Speaker
get away with anything. They can lose their jobs. They can get married on a whim. They can be gay.
Film Ratings and Anthropological Insights
00:38:35
Speaker
They can do all these things and just like life will still go on for them. The parents will still love them. And maybe she feels like I will always have to work hard.
00:38:46
Speaker
No, and I totally get that. I feel like even she's almost antiquated in her character because even her reaction to her brother marrying his husband at the time felt out of place and antiquated. Oh yeah. What would my friends think? Did you have friends in person?
00:39:03
Speaker
It just felt, and I, I mean, I guess that's a character that existed at that time. It just felt, well, it's the neckiness. Nothing's changed. I guess that's true. I guess that's true. It felt, I don't know. I just, yeah. I mean, nobody likes her. You're not supposed to. So it's fine. Then she did her job. She did her job. Well, well acted again. Everyone showed up.
00:39:27
Speaker
Yeah, I did like seeing after her outburst how it brought Claudia and Tommy together. Tommy's Robert Downey Jr.'s character? Yeah, yeah. I'm so bad at names. Okay, great. They bonded and they had that hug. Yeah, I like to... Yeah, it showed that part as well, I guess.
00:39:53
Speaker
Yeah, I also got the impression that they've always been close because before she gets on the flight and she calls her brother and she's like, hey, I'm heading over here. I do not want to do this alone. Yeah. And then she kind of just spills all of these things that are happening in her life. And then they get each other's jokes.
00:40:14
Speaker
Yeah, there's insight there for sure. She can tell him that she made out with her boss and he finds that hilarious. Whereas like, what is wrong with you? You know, I love that. It's just such a beautiful moment.
00:40:29
Speaker
Yeah that's true. Well ladies then let's get your ratings for this. What would you give, how many stars would you give this film? Adam what? Five. Three. You. Tell us why. I'm gonna do two and a half stars.
00:40:51
Speaker
You're such a wild card. I love her. Okay. Why, why two and a half? I respect it for what it is realism of this family getting together. Yeah. But it's not a movie that I want to watch every year. That's true. I'm not going to revisit it.
00:41:12
Speaker
It's not super feel good, but it's not feel bad either. Yeah, I think of it as more from an anthropological perspective. Watching animals in a zoom. Today we tune in to the...
00:41:28
Speaker
to the Claudia family as they bumble on in the Thanksgiving dinner, which as the male, the male creature comes to the wife and kisses her on
Film Trivia and Closing Remarks
00:41:39
Speaker
the neck. That's normal. I don't know why I'm German now. No, you went full German there towards the end. Sorry, Marie, keep going, keep going. I watched it twice for this podcast and like, this is a good song. Very good.
00:41:54
Speaker
I was like, well, we all get something more out of watching it again. And I didn't get anything more. This is what I was talking about. Caitlin's about to, we're in video right now. Caitlin's about to jump out of her chair. But I thought it would have done really well for what she was doing.
00:42:14
Speaker
Yeah, I said they gave the same you thank you. She took the words out of my mouth. Two and a half because I want to see Jodi and all these other bitches do a better script together. Like, yes, I'm. Yeah. Yes. Yes. But definitely I love that you said it's very anthropological because that really is what it is. It's kind of like a snapshot of like animals in their habitat and like how they interact with each other. And I could just see David Attenberg just like narrating. Yes.
00:42:45
Speaker
Oh God, was that your David Attenborough impression? I was, I was going there and then somehow it just, it went left field. You're actually British. Do not judge me. Actually, my husband does a better at David Attenborough than I do. Wow. That's a fact. That's a fact. Anyway. I believe that. Anything else to say about this movie because we're about to conclude.
00:43:08
Speaker
I'm looking through my notes. Okay. One more thing. I will leave you with this. Okay. When the sister and her and Gutenberg show up with their kids, they have a bunch of Tupperwares with them. And one of the Tupperwares like literally just has a bunch of oranges in it. Yeah. What's that about? I don't know. No one ate those oranges. But I don't know what it was. They were just like oranges in a big giant Tupperware. Speaking of which, speaking of food, Aunt Gladys showed up to this Thanksgiving only to eat her own sweet potatoes. Who does that?
00:43:37
Speaker
I'm glad to say so. She's great. She's great. She probably needs help putting her lipstick on right, though, but that's a different topic for another day. Sure. Okay. Any last words from you, Brie? Oh, did you know this scene took 64 turkeys to- 64 turkeys? What did she want to do? What did the media article did you read? I know. This is NPR information.
00:44:03
Speaker
64 turkeys were harmed in the making of this. Just use the same turkey all over again. Come on now. God, that poor chef in the back just cooking those turkeys every day. All I do is make turkeys day in and day out. Day 24 on the set of Home for the Holidays. This is my 12th turkey. I keep telling myself today it will be my last.
00:44:30
Speaker
He has a little S-E, like he takes the leftover turkeys and spells S-O-S. But still, they ask for more. Oh, yeah. You can cut that one out, too. No, I love that that's staying in. Well, thank you, Caitlin and Brie, for joining me on this amazing podcast. She called me Caitlin. OK, T, whichever you want. So it's always great to get a different perspective when films come out.
00:44:56
Speaker
even, you know, and we have two very different perspective and that's why we're doing this. So but I also want to thank everyone who's listening today. I hope you learn something new. And, you know, if you want to watch this movie, go ahead. You might watch it once, you might watch it twice, you might never watch it again. But remember, we will be doing more movies and you can subscribe to this podcast and get notified about the next episode, The Drops, which I'm really excited for. So until next time, this is the Stream Queen. Check now.
00:45:41
Speaker
Of course.