I can see why some might shy away from seeing this film. It's not particularly original in idea or in execution. However, I have an affection for films that are bold enough to depict family dysfunction in an honest way that can be laughed at and empathized with. Usually slice of life family stories are a string of melodramatic scenes with huge Oscar-buzz monologues that have everyone in tears. Most of these films rely on said tear-jerking moment to bust those box office records. Home For the Holidays takes a refreshingly different approach to this in that it almost pokes fun at the usage of blame that is often so rampant in families, and in films depicting an average family environment. Characters are sarcastically and begrudgingly forced to accept and relearn to live with each other, and in an extremely entertaining way.
Not to mention that a great cast of well rounded multi-dimensional characters fills out this slice of life. There are no perfect people in this setting to get sick of watching, but instead a mix of charismatic, intelligent people who are all very different and yet easy to relate to individually. No easy solutions are offered for their ails, and sometimes there aren't any answers to be found.
As for the plot, everyone has gone through it at some point in their life. Having to return home (forced by a government sponsored holiday such as Turkey Day) to visit family you find difficult to talk with, hearing about the success and failure of your peers from high school, and trying to figure out "was I adopted? Do I belong here?" The best way to sum up the plot, since it is more emotional than physical, is in two words "family reunion".
It's a film that first grabs you through the Murphy's Law day of Holly Hunter. Between being fired after having slept with her boss and her daughter outlining her plans for losing her virginity on the way to the airport, and the final building internal tension of having to deal with your parents alone. This well paced exposition is engaging from the start, but from the moment she gets into the house, it's the shared world we concentrate on where we no longer dwell on these details of her personal dramas until she mentions them.
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