Monday Recommended: Pieces Of April-For Thanksgiving!!

First some notes. I will not be blogging next week during the holiday week. There will be no review of the new Hunger Games this week because I have a close friend who wants to see it with me next week so I will be pushing it back one week. Lets face it....no matter what me or critics say...people are still going to go. So after Thanksgiving look for a flood of reviews showing up on this blog.

Well this is the Monday recommended of a film that may have passed you by. I am going with a Thanksgiving theme here and recommending:

PIECES OF APRIL
Directed by Peter Hedges
Screenplay by Peter Hedges
Starring: Katie Holmes; Oliver Platt; Patricia Clarkson; Derek Luke; and Alison Pill



A nervous daughter April (Holmes) invites her dying mother (Clarkson) and the rest of her estranged family to her apartment for Thanksgiving dinner.

Back before there was a Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes, you may forget there was a Katie Holmes the actress. She was and still is a very good actress. Here she is awesome as the daughter cooking her first Thanksgiving dinner for her family in New York City.
 We see Holmes go from one nightmare scenario to another while cooking this meal. You fall in love with her and want sooooo bad for her meal to turn out well.
We also see the family coming from Pennsylvania to New York City for said meal. They are miserable and are not excited at all by the trip or for the coming meal. Throw in the fact that Clarkson as mom has cancer and is keeping everybody on edge with her narcissistic behavior. She received an Oscar Nomination for this role.
There is also another storyline that is enjoyable. April's relationship with her boyfriend Bobby played by Derek Luke. They have fantastic chemistry and are fun to watch.
This film may sound miserable but I promise you it is funny and sad and loving. It is Thanksgiving.
4 1/2 stars out of 5 for Pieces Of April. I think Holmes should have also received a nomination for this film.
Pieces Of April is available for rent from Netflix.

As always thanks for your time.