yuntrips Reviews

Home for the Holidays (1995)

Where is Cynthia Stevenson??

[7/10 · 17 December 2002]

I like this movie, even though it slumps badly in spots, overall the madcap weirdness of this family brings it 'home' for me. I think they could have left the whole Dylan McDermott thing out. It only further muddles and confuses things. Whatever may have failed in construction and timing, is more than made up for by the cast and the endlessly quirky, flawed (dare I say maimed) characters they portray.

And what of the wonderful Cynthia Stevenson (Cynthia fans unite!!!)? Is there not a casting director out there who realizes what a gem she is? Only Robert Altman ("The Player") and Todd Solondz ("Happiness"), and of course Jodie Foster in this case have the courage to cast her against type. In my opinion, she practically walks off with this movie as the relentlessly bitchy, put-upon caregiver sister to Robert Downey, Jr. and Holly Hunter. The turkey scene is a bona fide archive vault classic! She currently seems locked in as the linchpin of the terminally sappy "Air Bud" direct-to-video franchise. Thank goodness she is getting regular work, at least.

The Family Man (2000)

Contrived plot but enjoyable

[5 November 2002]

"What if...?", certainly a question that has been asked by movies and literature repeatedly over the centuries. Most of us are fascinated by conjecture on how things might have been if we'd chosen something other than what we did.

It's asked again in "Family Man". I'm going to assume that people reading this have seen or heard of this movie, so I won't summarize the story, other than to say, it won't supplant any of the classics like "It's a Wonderful Life", but it's edginess and the star power of its protagonists carries it through quite nicely.

My only real problem with this movie is the contrived plot elements. The issues of career versus family are treated as black-and-white... you can either be a soulless Wall Street securities maven, or a suburban family man with a beautiful wife (more on that later), surrounded by a posse of bowling-shirted knuckleheads. Even when the movie attempts to confront the issue by presenting the possibility of having both, the wife dismisses it out of hand in favor of maintaining status quo. Although, in the end, she's willing to give it up in the name of love. This type of oversimplification has carried mid-level screenwriters for years. I was looking for something more original.

But hey, it's not all bad. What makes it work for me is the appeal of the characters. I'm glad that Cage has begun to edge away from action roles in favor of more character-driven material (you know, the stuff that made him a STAR). He seems perfectly suited here. And the incredible Tea Leoni simply radiates from the screen. If there is a more BEAUTIFUL and talented young actress working today, I don't know who she is. She looks like every guy's unreachable high school crush and radiates simple, earthy sex appeal. She's the one person in the world most men would throw it all away for. Leaving us to wonder why Cage's character didn't realize his luck and left her at the airport in the first place ... DUH!!!

If you haven't seen it, do so. One case where the stars overcome the weak material.