Pieces of April (2003)

Director:

Peter Hedges

Writer (WGA):

Peter Hedges (written by)

Release Date:

19 February 2004 (Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

She's the one in every family.

Plot:

A wayward daughter invites her dying mother and the rest of her estranged family to her apartment for Thanksgiving dinner.

Plot Keywords:

Thanksgiving | Thanksgiving Dinner | Apartment | Dysfunctional | Neighbor

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 14 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Katie Holmes	...	April Burns
Derek Luke	...	Bobby
Oliver Platt	...	Jim Burns
Alison Pill	...	Beth Burns
John Gallagher Jr.	...	Timmy Burns
Patricia Clarkson	...	Joy Burns
Alice Drummond	...	Grandma Dottie
Vitali Baganov	...	Half Asleep Man
Lillias White	...	Evette
Isiah Whitlock Jr.	...	Eugene
Adrian Martinez	...	Man in Mohair Sweater
Susan Bruce	...	Tish
Jamari Richardson	...	Boy on Bicycle
Leila Danette	...	Woman in Stairwell
Stephen Chen	...	Lee Loung Tan

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language, sensuality, drug content and images of nudity.

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M (cable rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-7 | Germany:6 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (original rating) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Chile:14

Filming Locations:

Bear Mountain, New York, USA

Company:

United Artists

Trivia:

Shot in just 16 days on a budget of $100,000. Costs were kept this low by the film company InDigEnt cutting a deal with the unions. This meant that Peter Hedges was paid $10 to direct the film, and another $10 to write it. All the actors worked for $248 a day.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end of the film, when the snapshots are shown of April and her mother hugging, April is wearing a pink sweater. In the very next shot of Joy's face April is not wearing the sweater.

Quotes:

April Burns: Well, the cranberries were easy. I just had to open the can.
Eugene: [needing support from his wife] Evette?
April Burns: [sensing Eugene's outrage] What? Oh, come on. Everyone likes it from the can.
Eugene: No one likes it from the can.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pieces of April: All the Pieces Together (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Aphrodisiac

I agree, best Thanksgiving movie ever

I am so glad that I decided to plonk down a couple of dollars and see this movie on Pay for Play the other night. I wasn't sure what to expect, and I had one of the nicest movie surprises I had in a long time.

April is a the black sheep of her family, but as Rita Mae Brown wrote in one of her better novels to describe a character, has golden hooves. She's gone off from the hills of, what is filmed anyway, in upstate New York to lower Manhattan. But she's no That Girl. Her previous boyfriend was a drug dealer, and her current fellow, gets his clothing at less than wholesale prices.

She has a mixed bag dysfunctional family, the star of which is the kind of little sister you wish you had sent out to play in traffic when you had a chance, that she is trying to reconnect with. April is too good for this bunch, as she tries to prepare the all American Thanksgiving dinner in her own special way for this undeserving bunch.

It is so touching to see her, finally succeeding (maybe) in her quest for a stove making favors, and decorating the stairway, all 4-5 floors with autumn colored streamers, etc.

I just wanted to hug her!