Pieces of April (2003)
Average Rating: 7.1/10
Reviews Counted: 147
Fresh: 124 | Rotten: 23
A delightful, heartfelt comedy.
Average Rating: 7.2/10
Critic Reviews: 39
Fresh: 34 | Rotten: 5
A delightful, heartfelt comedy.
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Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 28,915
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Movie Info
Novelist and screenwriter Peter Hedges makes his directorial debut with the comedy drama Pieces of April. Family outcast April Burns (Katie Holmes) lives in a beat-up apartment in New York's Lower East Side with her boyfriend, Bobby (Derek Luke). In order to spend some time with her dying mother, Joy (Patricia Clarkson), April invites her conservative suburban family to her place for a Thanksgiving feast. She discovers that her oven is broken the morning of the big day, so she goes around her
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Cast
-
Katie Holmes
April Burns -
Patricia Clarkson
Joy Burns -
Oliver Platt
Jim Burns -
Derek Luke
Bobby -
Alison Pill
Beth Burns -
John Gallagher Jr.
Timmy Burns -
Alice Drummond
Grandma Dottie -
Sean Hayes
Wayne -
Sisqo
Latrell -
Lillias White
Evette -
Isiah Whitlock Jr.
Eugene
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All Critics (149) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (126) | Rotten (23) | DVD (24)
Laughter and poignancy go hand in hand in this DV debut whose comedy that may be standard, but never ceases to deliver sharp, dark laughs.
Top CriticPieces of April is built around the tired premise of a dysfunctional family's Thanksgiving get-together, but -- surprise -- it's fresh.
Longer on calculating sourness than on psychologically organic wit.
It's in the cross-cutting between April's disaster-prone preparations and her family's turbulent journey that Hedges's movie finds its lively and likeable rhythm.
This is one of those quietly wonderful films that really deserves an audience.
The film more than earns its heartwarming finale by virtue of the skilled performances of the leads.
Thought-provoking, engaging; mid-teens and older.
Peter Hedges sustains the idea this family's interactions have begun with bared teeth for years. If they can summon it, one comforting moment will have to do. At best, it's a ramshackle reconciliation of tough-minded emotion and well-earned laughter.
Looking for a break from the hokey holiday fluff? Watch this movie and you won't regret it...
April's cranberry sauce may be canned but the laughter and tears of an affecting, unsentimental coda are real.
Pieces of April has its heart in the right place, and while it may not always be entirely successful, marks a promising debut for a talented filmmaker.
Screenwriter Peter Hedges makes his directorial debut with the best entry to date in the burgeoning Thanksgiving Day-from-hell genre.
Had Hedges gone with unknown actors, or non-professionals, it might have worked, but with recognisable faces one can never quite suspend disbelief enough to care about the characters.
A delightful, charming, instant holiday classic which makes us laugh repeatedly while delivering an emotionally satisfying message about unconditional love.
A series of terrific performances (led by the amazing Patricia Clarkson) make this unusual Thanksgiving comedy a feast for the mind.
A shining example of just how compelling and affecting low-budget filmmaking can be when you've got a good story and strong cast.
Peter Hedges has made a simple and sweet movie that will leave you misty eyed.
A film to savor and to be thankful for.
Holmes, Clarkson, and Platt steer the course through the straight and narrow and keep the film from becoming an inedible holiday leftover.
Es una pequeña peliculita, pero con una sensibilidad enorme.
This delightful little miracle of a movie reminds us of how crucial it is that we appreciate and love each other in spite of our failures, grudges, and disappointments.
..I can't stress enough the grace and beauty of Peter Hedges' haunting picture ..
Katie Holmes... gives her most subtle and audacious performance yet...
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Foreign Titles
- Retrato de April (ES)
