When I watched “Pieces of April” back in 2010, I didn’t like it. At the time, I disdained any storyline that featured characters with no plot other than “ruin everything for the main protagonist.” To some extent, I still feel that way (I’m looking at you, “Die Hard“), but now, in 2023, I realize “Pieces of April” has a lot going for it.

“Pieces of April” was written and directed by Peter Hedges, who may be more famous for his novel (and later film) “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” and “Dan in Real Life.” I’m not a Peter Hedges expert, but I feel comfortable saying his work tends to emphasize the complexity of family dynamics. Also, if you haven’t seen “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” add it to your list. It may make you cry, but in a restorative way. 

The “Pieces of April” trailers somewhat unfairly painted this movie as a quirky indie comedy, specifically emphasizing all the moments where characters say something witty or strange. While it does have comedic moments, it’s not a laugh-out-loud comedy. It’s not like “Little Miss Sunshine” or “Napoleon Dynamite.” It’s much more of an indie drama with occasional comedic moments.

What makes this movie shine are the performances. Katie Holmes is surprisingly good as the reformed-troubled child, April, and I found myself wondering if she’s turned in many fabulous indie movie performances, and I was just too distracted by all the Tom Cruise and Scientology crap to notice. 

Patricia Clarkston steals every scene she’s in (which eventually earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress). Other actors, like Derek Luke, Oliver Platt, and Alison Pill, turn in impressive supporting performances. Sean Hayes even has a brief supporting role as “Most Chokable Human Being Of All Time,” which he nails.

“Pieces of April” takes place on Thanksgiving Day, and on the surface, it’s about a young woman desperately trying to prepare the blandest-looking meal of all time with no working oven. April then spends most of the film running up and down the stairs of her grungy NYC walk-up, trying to find anyone willing to give up their oven for her sad turkey. It goes about as well as you’d expect. 

However, despite April’s dogged determination to put on Thanksgiving dinner, that’s only the inciting action. The real conflict is between April and her dysfunctional family, who initially seem open to giving her a second chance and letting her host dinner. Still, as they slowly make their way up to New York, they’re plagued by unresolved feelings of anger and resentment towards her.

All of this would be complex enough, but April’s mother, Joy, has terminal breast cancer. Joy and April never got along, but they’re attempting to use this Thanksgiving to mend fences and make decent memories in the little time Joy has left. The path to peace would be a lot simpler if Joy was the kind of terminal cancer patient we normally see depicted in movies: weak but gentle, kind, and imbued with wisdom only those in the last days of life possess. Joy is nothing like this. 

On a personal note, I think Joy is one of the most realistic portrayals of a terminal cancer patient I’ve ever seen depicted.

Patricia Clarkston’s Joy is acerbic, impatient, and irreverent. She spends most of the movie interacting with the rest of her family on the long car ride to New York, and through her interactions with her family, we come to understand how her relationship with April became so contentious. Throughout the film, Joy pulls no punches, cutting down her youngest daughter, Beth (Alison Pill), an irritating but well-intentioned try-hard who anxiously seeks her family’s validation. 

(Some readers may see the worst parts of themselves in Beth, and I would like to remind those readers that you’re not bad for wanting your family to approve of you, nor are you bad for being angry at a cruel sibling.)

Although no one outright says it, it’s clear the family is very anxious about Joy’s terminal condition, which Joy happily takes advantage of to tell mean-spirited jokes about April’s cooking. Everything Joy does, even when she’s at her most spiteful, feels almost painfully realistic. 

Now, you may be wondering if there’s anything nice about this supposed comedy, and I promise you, there is. 

What I enjoyed most about this movie were the various people April encounters who help her with her meal. I love the first couple, Eugene and Evette, who rightfully tell her that cranberry sauce from the can is a travesty right after sharing what may be the most mouth-watering Thanksgiving menu I’ve ever heard described in a movie, ever.

“Evette:Tell her what you’re making.

Eugene: Nothing special this year.

Evette: No. Just sweet potato soup with buttered pecans, herbed oyster stuffing, giblet gravy, some lemon-rosemary green beans, sauteed red Swiss chard with garlic, hickory nut ice cream, and maple pumpkin pie.

April: Wow.

Evette: Nothing special this year.”

Pieces of April

It’s a menu that sounded so good I sincerely hope this movie experiences a resurgence in popularity just so Binging with Babish will make it next year. I’m dead serious about this. All jokes aside, if anyone knows that guy, please have him make Eugene and Evette’s menu from this movie. If that’s all this blog becomes known for, then I’d be okay with that.

Evette’s character exudes so much warmth and kindness, in direct contrast to Joy, that you wonder who April might have been if she’d had that kind of positive influence growing up. Evette’s character is also the reason I’ve been making cranberry sauce all these years because I need this fictional woman to be proud of me.

While trying to cook her turkey, April encounters other well-intentioned and ill-intentioned people. I love that a kind immigrant family helps save the day when April is at her lowest, and through their generosity and resourcefulness, the poor turkey is finally cooked all the way through.

I don’t want to spoil too much about how the movie ends, but it pulls at your heartstrings. When April’s turkey is finished cooking, you genuinely hope her family will see all the hard work she poured into that disgusting meal. 

Some people may not love “Pieces of April,” but this may be the movie for you if you enjoy movies that highlight dysfunctional family dynamics. If you’re in the mood for a Thanksgiving movie, then this would also be a good pick. You could also watch “Turkey Hollow,” a Jim Henson Thanksgiving movie streaming on Disney+ that won’t give you nightmares.

If you’re looking for something to watch with your family, then think twice before picking this movie because there is an awkward sex scene between April and her boyfriend in the first few minutes of the movie. The characters discuss their Thanksgiving menu and it’s preparation while they go at it. I’m willing to look past this movie’s use of the word “mayonnaise” in the middle of a sex scene, but your grandma might struggle with it.

“Pieces of April” is currently streaming on Tubi, but I’m sure it’ll be somewhere else online by the time you read this, so maybe try renting it from Amazon. And Happy Thanksgiving!