Ensemble drama starring Joan Chen, Julianna Margulies, Mercedes Ruehl, Kyra Sedgwick and Alfre Woodard. Tensions rise and old wounds are opened as four familes from culturally diverse backgrounds, living on one Los Angeles street, prepare for Thanksgiving.
Having explored cultural assimilation from an Anglo-Asian perspective in Bhaji on the Beach, Gurinder Chadha here turns to the great melting pot society of the United States to show how African-American, Hispanic, Vietnamese and Jewish families celebrate Thanksgiving Day. As the narrative threads intertwine, secondary themes such as homophobia, adultery, delinquency, age-gap tension and class snobbery have their moment under the microscope. Yet, while Chadha handles each storyline with creditable democracy, she overseasons with life/food metaphors and melodramatic revelations. However, the sizeable ensemble cast largely succeeds in avoiding caricature, although only Joan Chen and Mercedes Ruehl - as mothers with contrasting temperaments - fashion totally rounded characters.
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Trinh Nguyen | Joan Chen |
| Carla | Julianna Margulies |
| Elizabeth Avila | Mercedes Ruehl |
| Rachel Seelig | Kyra Sedgwick |
| Audrey Williams | Alfre Woodard |
| Herb Seelig | Maury Chaykin |
| Javier Avila | Victor Rivers |
| Ronald Williams | Dennis Haysbert |
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Director | Gurinder Chadha |
