November 21, 2001
NOT going home for the holidays... 
last night, my boobala and i watched one of my favorite movies, "home for the holidays". i have seen this movie countless times, but i never tire of it. there's just so much to love about it! directed and co-produced by jodie foster, it's about a hugely dysfunctional family at thanksgiving (oh, how appropriate)...and while i'm no big holly hunter fan, it also stars robert downey jr. yeah yeah yeah, so he's a drug addict who can't get his act together even when his entire career is on the line...but he's just a really great actor. i had stopped watching "ally mcbeal" until he joined the cast...and it hasn't been the same since he left.
anyway...it's one of those movies that's hilarious, thought-provoking, and poignant all at the same time. every time i see it, i cry at the ending, which i think is beautifully done. go, jodie! i wish she'd direct some more. but then again, she might come up with another "nell"!
of course, one of the best things about this movie is that it portrays family dysfunction in a way that a) makes you laugh, and b) makes you realize that perhaps your own dysfunctional family is really not all that unique. sibling squabbles...bratty kids...sordid family secrets being revealed after decades...family members who, aside from DNA, have absolutely nothing in common...sound familiar?
every year at this time, we are bombarded with the hyper-commercialized myth of "family" and what that is supposed to mean to us. the "holidays" are supposedly about getting together with your family, showing your love for each other, blah blah blah...and there is nothing i would rather NOT do than get together with my dysfunctional (biological) family. i suppose it depends, really, upon your definition of "family"...and if my family has become my boobala, my 2 cats, 1 or 2 select "blood" relatives, and a coupla close friends, i'm fine with that. well, today, anyway....
3:08 PM
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