Do you like those movies you get around the holidays made by those Frank Capra wannabes? The movies that are so damn sweet they make your stomach hurt? The ones that are so sappy you'd rather laugh than cry?
Clearly, I don't.
And that's precicely why Pieces of April made me smile. Katie Holmes may not be the first name you think of when you think of a quirky, goth-esque girl living in a small apartment in the slums of New York City, but I don't think any other actress could have pulled it off. She's living with a boy named Bobby, and they don't just love each other - they are in love with each other. Now it's Thanksgiving morning. April's prepping to cook a giant Thanksgiving dinner for the rest of her family.
That's problem number one. The rest of her family consists of her cancer-ridden mother who is constantly sick from the chemotherapy; her mild, passive father (played by Oliver Platt); her prim and proper, always right bitch of a younger sister; her brother (who seems to be the only voice of reason amongst them all); and her grandmother with Alzheimer's. It's a six-hour road trip for the crew, and they're all pretty bitter about the fact that they don't get along with April and she can't cook. Oh, and they're all stinking, filthy rich and don't know Bobby is black, which leads to both great comedy and a feeling of tragedy later in the movie.
But the movie has a happy ending - I'll tell you that much - and in no way is it sappy or mushy. Even my brother, who only gets into movies when things explode into the stratosphere, liked this movie. It's a good film for everybody, and with a PG-13 rating, it would be a guaranteed family film if it were only as popular as it deserves to be.