Cute, funny, nice film.April Burns, the eldest daughter in a highly dysfunctional family, lives in a small tenement apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan with her boyfriend Bobby. Although estranged from her family, she opts to invite them for Thanksgiving dinner, probably the last for her mother Joy, who has breast cancer. The film focuses on three journeys: the family's arduous trek from suburbia to New York City, one punctuated by stops for Krispy Kreme doughnuts, bagels, Joy's frequent need for a restroom or a joint to ease her pain, a burial service for an animal they hit, and various arguments and recriminations; Bobby's efforts to find a suit so he can make a good impression on his girlfriend's relatives; and April's preparations for the meal, a near disaster when she discovers her oven is broken. With the help of various neighbors, she manages to assemble dinner, while learning to appreciate the importance of family and making some new friends in the process.
Some of the neighbors in the tenement building are memorable: the Chinese family that ultimately comes to April's rescue; Eugene and Evette, a black couple whose children will be visiting later in the day, and who help April get started cooking her turkey, as well as understand that convenient food is no substitute for good food.
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