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Selling Home & Garden

Home Buying / Selling, Home Selling Advice-How To Sell a House - HowTos  You are here: About > Home & Garden > Home Buying / Selling Home & Garden Home Buying / Selling Essentials 10 Things Home Buyers Shouldn't Do Best Tips for First Time Home Buyers "Must-Do" Tasks Before You Sell How to Buy a Home, Step by Step For Sale by Owner Advice Articles & Resources How To Buy a Home How To Sell a House Celebrity & Historic Credit Reports & Scores Design & Remodel Home Maintenance Inspections & Appraisals Investing & Foreclosures Modular & Manufactured Mold, Radon, Lead, etc. Mortgage Advice Moving & Relocation Real Estate Careers Real Estate For Sale Vacation Homes Buyer's Guide Before You Buy Top Picks Home Buying Books Foreclosure Books Mortgage Books Product Reviews Forums Help FREE Newsletter Sign Up Now for the Home Buying / Selling newsletter! See Online Courses   Search Home Buying / Selling Home Selling Advice-How To Sell a House HowTos Index How To Get Your Home Ready to Sell Get your home ready to sell. Tour the house with notebook in hand, then make needed updates and repairs before you show the home to potential home buyers. Important disclaimer information about this About site. Advertisement Related Blogs Mortgage Fraud Blog The Real Estate Blog The Money Pit Most Popular Modular and Manufactured Homes Finding Your Best Place to ... Home Buying Don'ts First Time Home Buyer Tips Before You Sell Your Home What's Hot Coping with Unethical People How To Buy Land Real Estate Appraisal Before You Buy a Log Home Package Home Buying / Selling - GuideReviews Related Topics Home Repair Architecture Credit / Debt Management Housekeeping Landscaping        Topic Index | Email to a Friend Our Story | Be a Guide | Advertising Info | Work at About | Site Map | Icons | Help User Agreement | Ethics Policy | Patent Info. | Privacy Policy | Kids' Privacy Policy ©2005 About, Inc., A part of the New York Times Company . All rights reserved. Around About Oprah's Life Vacation Ideas Shop Safely Online VIDEO: Craft Rooms VIDEO: Christmas Traditions What's Hot Coping with Unethical People How To Buy Land Real Estate Appraisal Before You Buy a Log Home Package Home Buying / Selling - GuideReviews Headlines Getting Ready to Sell Your House Guests and lots of activities make it difficult to show... Before You Buy Gas Logs Gas logs are growing in popularity every year, so manufacturers... Pros and Cons of Becoming a Real Estate Agent You've decided you want to become a real estate agent,... Step-by-Step Directions Help You Measure Square Footage Each year, home owners discover that their new home's square...

Las Vegas real estate

Real estate investors cast watchful eye on Las Vegas' high stakes housing game SFGate Home Business Sports Entertainment Travel Jobs Real Estate Autos SFGate News Web by Real estate investors cast watchful eye on Las Vegas' high stakes housing game Kelly Zito, Chronicle Staff Writer Monday, March 7, 2005 now part of stylesheet -- More... Printable Version Email This Article Las Vegas' lucky number last year was 52 -- as in 52 percent. That's how much real estate prices jumped in the nation's fastest-growing city in one year, as a housing shortage set off a wave of speculation by investors from California and other states. But as any gambler knows, Lady Luck eventually turns a cold shoulder. Las Vegans wanted to cash in, too, and so many put their houses up for sale that they flooded the market. By the end of the year, some homebuilders were slashing prices. For investors from states like California where prices seem to move in only one direction -- up -- it was a stark example of a deflating bubble. "When you lose money in real estate, you really feel it,'' said Igor Doncov, a software engineer in Half Moon Bay who bought two new houses in Las Vegas early in 2004 but sold them at a loss after his builder, Pulte Homes, cut prices on its new models by $180,000. "I thought I couldn't lose," he said in a telephone interview. "But it turned into a total disaster." Housing analysts don't think Las Vegas' slowdown is a sign that prices will soften soon in other fast-appreciating regions. But they say it is a warning of what could happen in the Bay Area as interest rates go up -- particularly for people trying to "flip" houses for a quick profit. "Everyone is watching Las Vegas with its price appreciation and flipping," said John Karevoll, an analyst at DataQuick, the La Jolla real estate research firm. "If something weird happens, it'll happen there first." For years, Las Vegas real estate was cheap. Myrna Kingham, president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, remembers not-so-distant days of driving around in a pickup wearing high heels and showing clients dusty 5-acre parcels listed for $20,000. But as the population of Las Vegas and surrounding Clark County grew 81 percent in the 1990s, adding 621,160 people, housing prices caught up, matching the national median of $145,000 in 2001. Then last year, the market caught fire, boosted by healthy job gains, a growing stream of retirees, Californians drawn to lower home prices and an influx of investor money. Builders, faced with a shortage of workers, had trouble keeping up. Add rock-bottom interest rates, and the scene resembled the go-go days of the Bay Area's tech boom. Hundreds of would-be buyers descended on open houses, and home prices seemed to increase as quickly as the progressive jackpots in the slot machines on the Strip. Record appreciation In the spring of 2004, the median price for a single-family house was $269,000, 52 percent higher than the year before -- a national record for appreciation, according to the National Association of Realtors. "The market was hotter than blazes," Kingham said. "People were looking for affordability -- they wanted a nice home in an area with nice weather that they could buy for $200,000." Californians, who pay some of the highest home prices in the nation, took notice. Golden State residents have snapped up nearly 27,000 Las Vegas properties since 2000, according to DataQuick. In 2004 alone, California residents bought 11,600 homes -- 12 percent of the transactions in Clark County for the year. Bay Area residents bought nearly 7,800 Las Vegas properties over the past five years. In the second quarter of 2004 alone, the number who bought Las Vegas property doubled from the same quarter the year before, to more than 800,surpassing investment in Sacramento, the Tahoe region and Palm Springs for the seventh straight quarter. But in less time than it takes to build a single house, the market changed. Egged on by the stratospheric prices their neighbors were asking -- and getting -- homeowners in Las Vegas flooded the market with "for sale" signs. The number of existing houses posted for sale on the Multiple Listing Service ballooned from about 1,400 in February to more than 16,000 by October. Among them were never-lived-in homes offered by investors who had bought them only months before from national homebuilders -- who were selling their own brand-new houses literally across the street. In early fall one of those builders, Pulte Homes, took the extraordinary step of slashing prices by $25,000 to $180,000 on more than 20 of its Las Vegas-area developments. The move sent shock waves through the Las Vegas building industry and angered investors like Igor Doncov. Doncov, a 57-year-old engineer who was a victim of the technology flame-out, was one of thousands of investors who hoped to turn a quick profit by buying and selling Las Vegas property within a few months. Early last year he bought two new houses from Pulte Homes for $515,000 each. By the end of the summer, he said, the houses were worth well over $600,000, based on Pulte's prices for the same models. Then Pulte cut the price by about $180,000. Doncov sold the two properties in December and January for $480,000 and $490,000; after closing costs and sales fees, he estimates he lost $100,000. He is working with a lawyer to try to recoup the losses from Pulte, on the grounds Pulte misled investors by systematically raising new home prices, then abruptly lowering them. Many people in Las Vegas shrug at tales like Doncov's, saying any plan to get rich quick is fraught with risk. "There are people who come here and lose all kinds of money on the card table," said Keith Schwer, an economist at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. By December, it was clear the peak of the frenzy had passed. Residential building permits that month were 34 percent below the previous December's, as measured by the Center for Business and Economic Research, which Schwer directs. And 15 percent fewer people were moving to Las Vegas -- some undoubtedly spooked by the region's steep jump in home prices. Pulte officials would not comment on the price reductions. In the wake of Pulte's move, other builders also cut prices but made no formal announcements. KB Home, the region's largest home builder, didn't cut prices but did tighten its policies on sales to investors. Contracts now stipulate, that, barring the loss of a job or other major problem, those who resell their properties within a year have to give KB Home the profit. Despite the builders' moves, Schwer and other experts say the Las Vegas market remains healthy. In recent months, they say, the number of homes for sale has declined and homes are selling faster. In January, however, there were still 13,800 homes for sale. Though the median price for a new home climbed 6 percent to $307,500, the median for an existing home -- $251,000 - was up only one half of one percent from a year before, according to Schwer. Over the long term, the area's job growth -- including a new 8,000-employee casino opening in April -- warm climate, entertainment options and well-equipped airport will continue to draw buyers, Schwer said. On a Friday morning in February, Bill Jeffers, who owns Valley Furniture in Livermore, toured a $731,000 home in a subdivision called Inverness. By buying a home in Las Vegas, Jeffers, who has lived on Maui for several years, will shorten his twice-monthly commute to the store and put his grandchildren into strong school systems. "I tried to get in last year, but there were just too many other buyers," said Jeffers, a Livermore native. Some making profits And some investors who bought wisely are making profits. Stephanie Wedge, a San Jose real estate agent who also brokers property in Las Vegas, bought a house for $625,000 last May. She put the 5-year-old home on the market on Feb. 23 for $775,000, and she expected to get an offer the following week. "That's a really good turnaround," said Wedge, who also has reserved a condo in a yet-to-be built high-rise. "I think it depends on where the property is -- and this is in a gated, country club community." The continued pace of construction serves as an outward sign of the region's confidence. On a stretch of freeway south of the Strip, a sign reads "KB Home, Next 5 Exits." Adding more houses to a market already flush with them would seem to only exacerbate any stagnation in the market. But Dennis Smith, president of Las Vegas' Homebuilders Research Inc. pointed out the vast majority of new homes are presold. The market "is still in correction mode because of the high inventory in the resale segment,'' he said. "It will probably take at least six months for that to end." So, will what happened in Vegas, stay in Vegas? Schwer doubts Las Vegas' deceleration will bleed into the Golden State -- or any other state -- in part because Las Vegas growth rates were so far above the norm. Others say the arc of Las Vegas' recent experience may contain a hint of the Bay Area's future. While the nine-county region saw much lower price appreciation last year than Las Vegas -- an increase of about 17 percent -- Ed Leamer, a UCLA economist, contends that both regions are enveloped in a speculative frenzy. In Las Vegas, an oversupply of homes relative to demand may spell price declines. Back in the Bay Area, Leamer thinks rising interest rates will take some of the air out of the market as fewer people qualify to buy expensive properties -- though any correction would be far less dramatic than Las Vegas'. "Because the market has cracked in Las Vegas doesn't mean it's imminent in other areas," Leamer said. "But it gives you a sense of what may happen in these areas in the face of rising interest rates." E-mail Kelly Zito at kzito@sfchronicle.com . Page A - 1 Get up to 50% off home delivery of the Chronicle for 12 weeks! MARKETING Compelling writer? Action 36 Cable 6 (KICU-TV) MECHANIC SF tugboat co POKER Expert poker player needed REAL ESTATE Sales *FREE TRAINING! Prudential CA Realty SALES Can you sell the President? IPA SALES Benefit package AGI Publishing SALES $125K PLUS In-Home Kitchen Kitchenworks, Inc. 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Science/AAAS | Scientific research, news and career information Jump to: Page Content , Section Navigation , Site Navigation , Site Search , Account Information , or Site Tools . You are seeing this message because your web browser does not support basic web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing and what you can do to make your experience on this site better. Site Tools Site Search Site Area Science Magazine News STKE SAGE KE Science Careers All HighWire Journals Terms Advanced Account Information Guest Alerts | Access Rights | My Account | Sign In Site Navigation Readers Members Authors Librarians Advertisers Current Issue Special Video Presentation: Evolution in Action Podcast: The Runners-Up Complete Breakthrough Index Previous Issues Science Magazine Home Science Express: Advance of Print Stem Cell Controversy South Korean Cloning Researcher Resigns Building a Better Chemical Trap More Cloning Researcher: Work Flawed but Results Stand Putting the Fingers on Gene Repair More News Summaries Voltage-Gated Ca 2+ Channels and Calmodulin Calcium Signaling and Ion Channel Sites and More More Loose Chromosomes Sink Cells Harnessing Hormonal Signaling for Cardioprotection More Next Wave's Best of 2005 Evolution: Getting in on the Action More Articles Find a New Job Get Funding Attend a Career Fair Employers: Post a Job Explore by Subject Medicine/Diseases Geochemistry/Geophysics Neuroscience View All Subjects Explore Special Features NetWatch Essays on Science & Society Books et al. View All Collections Experience Science your way with our new research tools. Sign in to find out. User Name Password Forgot Password? Register Today AAASMember.org AAAS Bookstore Science Products For Readers For Authors & Contributors For Librarians For Advertisers Reprints & Permissions Order an Article/Issue Science Japanese Gateway Science Table of Contents in Japanese (from Tanabe Seiyaku) Science Chinese Gateway ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT To Advertise | Find Products Magazine | News | STKE | SAGE KE | Careers | Collections | Help | Site Map Subscribe | Feedback | Privacy / Legal | About Us | Advertise With Us | Contact Us © 2005 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All Rights Reserved . You have reached the bottom of the page. Back to top

Buy Home

Amazon.com: Home for the Holidays: DVD: Holly Hunter,Robert Downey Jr.,Anne Bancroft,Charles Durning,Dylan McDermott,Geraldine Chaplin,Steve Guttenberg,Cynthia Stevenson,Claire Danes,Emily Ann Lloyd,Zack Duhame,Austin Pendleton,David Strathairn,Amy Yasbeck,James Lecesne,Angela Paton,Randy Stone,Sam Slovick,Susan Lyall,Shawn Hatosy,Jodie Foster Your Store DVD See All 32 Product Categories Your Account | Cart | Wish List | Help | Advanced Search | Browse Genres | Top Sellers | New & Future Releases | Television Central | Life & Learning | DVD Essentials | Blowout DVDs | Movie Showtimes | Used DVDs Search Amazon.com DVD Web Search Join Amazon Prime and ship Two-Day for free and Overnight for $3.99. Already a member? Sign in . DVD Information Explore this item buying info editorial reviews customer reviews cast and crew fun facts Listmania! Thanksgiving Movies & Spec... : A list by Jakki Add your List Ready to buy? Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering. A9.com users save 1.57% on Amazon. Learn how . MORE BUYING CHOICES 59 used & new from $8.78 Available for in-store pickup now from: $14.99 Price may vary based on availability Enter your ZIP Code Have one to sell? Home for the Holidays (1995) Starring: Holly Hunter , Robert Downey Jr. Director: Jodie Foster Rating: See larger image Share your own customer images List Price: $14.94 Price: $9.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. See details You Save: $4.95 (33%) Availability: Usually ships within 24 hours. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Want it delivered Friday, December 30? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. See details 59 used & new available from $8.78 Edition: Other Versions and Languages Other Versions (VHS Tape) List Price Price Other Offers: VHS Tape Home for the Holidays $19.98 26 used & new from $3.00 VHS Tape Home for the Holidays $9.94 10 used & new from $3.97 Other Versions (Audio CD) Audio CD Home for the Holidays $11.98 15 used & new from $5.95 Better Together Buy this DVD with The Ref DVD ~ Denis Leary today! Total List Price: $24.93 Buy Together Today: $16.98 Customers who bought this DVD also bought The Ref DVD ~ Denis Leary Mixed Nuts DVD ~ Steve Martin National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Special Edition) DVD ~ Chevy Chase Once Around DVD ~ Richard Dreyfuss Explore Similar Items : in DVD , in Music , and in Video Storyline Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance Tagline: On the fourth Thursday in November, 84 million American families will gather together... And wonder why. Plot Synopsis: After losing her job, making out with her soon to be ex-boss, and finding out that her daughter plans to spend Thanksgiving with her boyfriend, Claudia Larson has to face spending the holiday with her family. She wonders if she can survive their crazy antics. Plot Keywords: Dysfunctional Family | Dysfunctional | Christmas | Family | Homosexual | Thanksgiving | Acceptance | Argument | Holiday | Farting Scene | Gay Interest | Mother Daughter Relationship | (Show all 15 plot keywords recommended by customers) Product Details Actors: Holly Hunter , Robert Downey Jr. , Anne Bancroft , Charles Durning , Dylan McDermott , See more Directors: Jodie Foster Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc, Widescreen Anamorphic Region: Region 1 ( U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats. ) Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Number of discs: 1 Rated: Studio: MGM (Video & DVD) DVD Release Date: September 4, 2001 Run Time: 103 minutes Average Customer Review: Based on 85 Reviews DVD Features: Available Subtitles: Spanish, French Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) Audio commentary From IMDb: Quotes & Trivia ASIN: B00005LOKR Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,183 in DVD Theatrical Release Information US Theatrical Release Date: November 3, 1995 MPAA: for thematic material, language and brief drug use. Production Company: Egg Pictures, Paramount Pictures, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment USA Box Office: $18 Million Filming Locations: Baltimore, Maryland, USA| Los Angeles, California, USA Editorial Reviews Amazon.com Holly Hunter plays a Chicago-based single mom who--on the day before Thanksgiving--loses her job and is informed by her daughter of the latter's intention to surrender her virginity while on a weekend-long affair. If that's not enough, Hunter's character then has to fly to Baltimore to join her fractious family for another difficult Thanksgiving. Robert Downey Jr. is terrifically charming as her prankish, gay brother, and Anne Bancroft and Charles Durning show plenty of comic resilience during the predictably interesting Thanksgiving dinner scene. The script by W.D. Richter ( Brubaker ) avoids the usual clichés in family dramas--the deepest, darkest secret revealed here involves the painfully sweet revelation of a 40-year-old crush. Jodie Foster, directing her second feature, focuses instead on the inevitable softening of old grudges and disappointments with time. This is a wise as well as wonderfully fun movie. --Tom Keogh Customers who viewed this DVD also viewed Scrooged DVD ~ Bill Murray A Christmas Story (Full Screen Edition) DVD ~ Yano Anaya Living Out Loud DVD ~ Holly Hunter Pieces of April DVD ~ Katie Holmes Explore Similar Items : in DVD , in Music , and in Video Spotlight Reviews Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers. 22 of 23 people found the following review helpful: Going home again , December 1, 2002 Reviewer: J.A.H. "Poetlinus" (Virginia) - See all my reviews "Home for the Holidays" is a quiet, fun little film that I dust off once or twice a year (usually around Thanksgiving!) and sit back and absolutely enjoy. It's become a comfort film for me, one of honesty, predictability, and enjoyment. It's a wonder more people haven't discovered this mini-classic. Holly Hunter plays Claudia, a forty year old woman forced to endure calamity after calamity on her way to her parent's house for the Thanksgiving holiday. Hunter has her role sewn up from the moment we see her; she encapsulates Claudia and makes her very real as she is conforted with mini-nightmares. These problems plague her, only to define her life as unrealized, possibly misdirected. That Hunter refuses to play her as a sack sad, or someone pitiful, is a testament to her understanding of Claudia. The script avoids usual the "family cliches" by showing us a dysfunctional family that functions quite well. Gay brother Tommy, so perfectly mastered by Robert Downey Jr., always the family clown, removes his "make-up" and shows incredible sensitivity when he rescues his sister from her holiday horror. Dylan McDermott charms his way quietly as Leo Fish, and you believe his sincerity towards Claudia. Cynthnia Stevenson and Steve Guttenberg rock as the high strung power couple so insistent on perfection in their imperfect lives. And the wonderful Charles Durning and Anne Bancroft as the parents, so beleaguered, so joyful, so real. While the performances shine, the script shines even brighter, offering little solutions with much insight. You understand Claudia's trauams, but know that none of them are resolvable within a two hour film, and that's ok. Even the ending, which suggests that even daring to dream is enough, is absolutely perfect for this film. A less experienced screenwriter would have fallen into the cliche trap and wrapped everything up in a neat bow, which this film suggests, is simply not possible. "Home for the Holidays" is a signature piece by Jodie Foster, one that people who enjoy a truly good film won't be there to pass up. I hope Foster follows up by directing more classics such as this; American cinema would be better for it. Was this review helpful to you? ( Report this ) 10 of 11 people found the following review helpful: Home Anyone...........??? , December 8, 2004 Reviewer: V. Marshall (North Fork, CA USA) - See all my reviews Ahhh the holidays....that wonderful time of thankfulness, love and laughter, NOT!!! This movie will have you in stitches each and every holiday season if you suffer from that ever present disease of dysfunctional family syndrome. Claudia Larson (Holly Hunter) is wallowing in self-pity for good reason, she was fired from her job, her daughter is about to have sex for the first time and she is traveling back home for the holidays. What more could a girl ask for, a cold? She arrives to a snowy existence and a family of little understanding. Her father Henry (Charles Durning) and her mother Adele (Anne Bancroft) are seemingly oblivious to all of the turmoil they have created and that now resides within their children. Soon the house is filled with love and lots of arguments! Gay brother Tommy Larson (Robert Downey Jr.) appears to torture the entire clan with mischief and in tow he has a co-worker/friend, Leo Fish (Dylan McDermott). And of course what family would be complete without the crazy aunt (Geraldine Chaplin) and a branch of perfection that breaks off and becomes the norm, sister Joanne (Cynthia Stevenson) and her [...] husband Walter (Steve Guttenberg). So sit back and have a toast with a perfectly normal American family for the holidays but get ready to laugh uncontrollably too! Jodie Foster directed this film about the typical dysfunctional family during the holiday season and she brings both a sensitive understanding and a full blown sense of humor to this holiday table. Holly Hunter is really wonderful as the hopeful but often misunderstood sister in a clan of crazies. Despite his drug induced performance, Robert Downey Jr. is perfectly cast as the troubled brother with secrets to protect from a family that can't accept modern life. Dylan McDermott is the pretty boy of the film but offers much more than a cute mug in his role as the charming outsider. Charles Durning and Anne Bancroft are brilliant as clueless parents who are stuck in the roles they took upon themselves many years ago; both are unknowingly hilarious just like most parents who prefer to keep their eyes closed. Cynthia Stevenson is great as the perfectionist sister that seems to lurk about in every family and marries a nerd so that she can pretend to be happy. But the true scene stealer of this film has to be Geraldine Chaplin as crazy but oblivious Aunt Gladys, you cannot watch her performance and not fall on the floor in hysterics! Overall this is the perfect holiday movie to bring good cheer where little may truly exist.....after all if you can't laugh at yourself what is the point in holiday reunions, isn't that what brings us back home year after year? Was this review helpful to you? ( Report this ) Customer Reviews Average Customer Review: Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers. Home for Thanksgiving , December 20, 2005 Reviewer: Kim Possible Finicatata "Jen" (Grand Blanc,MI) - See all my reviews I also saw this in one of my classes in college.I think it was the 2nd movie we've seen. The 1st was nobody's fool.this was the 2nd. It's about a woman,who gets fired on Thanksgiving Eve,and goes home to her family on Thanksgiving. Was this review helpful to you? ( Report this ) 1 of 3 people found the following review helpful: what's the story? There is no story , November 23, 2005 Reviewer: Rottenberg's rotten book review (nyc) - See all my reviews "Home for the Holidays" is meant to be a post-modern response to years on crudely bogus holiday specials that nobody takes seriously. Somebody must have thought it was high time for a story that actually depicts the mean spiritedness that comes out whenever family gets together, and it's too cold outside to escape. Unfortunately, it's a weird dish of a story that tosses everything at you, but never comes together. Holly Hunter is Claudia, a single mom dragooned by fate to face the weekend with her parents. Forced to sexually service her boss on pain of getting fired, Claudia winds up unemployed nonetheless. Her parents are a compulsively edged-out Anne Bancroft and a terminally mellow Charles Durning - a former airline worker who watches old movies in the basement and keeps a sweet song handy in his head for when scenes get too involved. But Claudia's sibs aren't any help either - with Robert Downey Jr. as Claudia's gay brother and the cute Cynthia Stephenson playing against type as Joanne, Claudia's sister, a button-down, bad-tempered type at odds with her brother's lifestyle. The story traps them all within Durning's house - 5 characters in search of a story. Part of the problem is that the tone is so uneven, you're never sure what kind of story "Home" is meant to be - it could be a bittersweet comedy, but it's never all that funny, and the characters never suggest sufficient depth needed for a decent drama. Some parts are just too cute to be belived - including Dylan Mcdermott as a straight friend of Downey's character who will be drawn to Claudia; Geraldine Chaplin as Claudia's batty aunt Gladys; also David Straithairn as Russ, a boiler repairman having a horrible year. According to IMDB.com legend, Robert Downey Jr. went through the flick hopelessly stoned and, unable to keep him clean & sober, director Jodie Foster just ratcheted up the film's speed to match its star. Claudia's parents are very conventional, but not so much as to be intolerant of their madcap son - if you were gay, you could do worse than Charles Durning's character as your father. On the contrary, it's Joanne with her straitlaced ways that suffers being on the outs with her family and the story, suffering just about every indignity the weekend can throw at her and her dim-witted husband (Steve Guttenberg). What really kills the story is its focus on Claudia who, unemployment aside, is so otherwise normal, it's difficult to understand what she's doing there - she plays little if any part in the weird stuff that goes on that weekend, she's the main character in a story that doesn't much involve her. That said, I'm not going to outright slam the story - it's a holiday story that's watchable as long as you don't think about too much. I first caught this flick on TV around Thanksgiving about 8 years back when I lost my job, so it's a bit of a sentimental fave, and sentimentality means seldom having to ask yourself what you're watching. Was this review helpful to you? ( Report this ) 2 of 3 people found the following review helpful: "What's the point?" "There is no point..." , November 22, 2005 Reviewer: A viewer (NJ) - See all my reviews Ten years after I first saw it in the theatre, I'm about to pull out my DVD for my annual screenings (almost on a continuous loop) beginning a few days before and ending a few days after Thanksgiving. Who needs the Thanksgiving Day Parade when you can watch Home for the Holidays? This is one of my holiday favorites and a staple every year at Thanksgiving. The script is unique, the performances spot-on, and the soundtrack is classic (from Nat King Cole and Tom Jones to Rusted Root's impeccable cover of Evil Ways). The actors deliver spectacular individual performances, all of which are praiseworthy--- my favorite may be Robert Downey Jr's outstanding portrayal of brother Tommy, which may be my favorite role of his in any movie, Chaplin notwithstanding--- right down to the smallest roles of the beleaguered co-passengers in the airport. This movie, above all, makes me feel that our modern American family, however wacky they may be, however much our parents make us nuts, is really just that--- the modern American family. And it's okay to be wacky, because family (however it's defined) is just that. And we love them and they love us. The movie makes a point of asking "What's the point?" several times, only to be told there is none. But the point is that we keep our sense of humor, we love our family, and we accept that we'll probably never understand them-- or they us. Just have fun, have some turkey, and have some love. I love this movie. It makes a great pairing with Love Actually as Thanksgiving ends and Christmas begins, if you want to keep smiling and feel the holiday love. Happy holidays! Was this review helpful to you? ( Report this ) 3 of 4 people found the following review helpful: Enjoying the Humor of family and holidays! , October 17, 2005 Reviewer: M. Alley (Arkansas) - See all my reviews This movie is a must for those that dread the family gatherings. It touches on so many aspects of life it is amazing the movie is not 6 hours long. I recommend this for viewing all year long. Was this review helpful to you? ( Report this ) See all 85 customer reviews... Listmania! Treasured Dysfunctional Thanks... : by Invisible Lizard "ardent reade... Thanksgiving movies : by mijacogeo22 "mijacogeo22" Thanksgiving Movies & Spec... : by Jakki So You'd Like to... Enjoy Reality-based, twisted, dark Holiday Movies : by MontezumesRevenge , Victim of the perfect fantasy media family, sooo ... "See The Films Contributing To My State Of Sloth : Pt 8" : by youngrhi , "Room Filler" Know the Queens of Comedy! : by reelgood , movie critic Fun Facts from IMDb.com: Nominations Click here to see more Nominations GLAAD Media Awards: GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film Young Artist Awards: Young Artist Award for Best Young Leading Actress - Feature Film Trivia Click here to see more Trivia Robert Downey Jr. publicly admitted to using drugs during the making of this film, and to having great difficulty filming his scenes. Jodie Foster tried to intervene but could not. Goofs Click here to see more Goofs The whipped cream on Claudia's father's pie. Movie Connections Click here to see more Movie Connections References: Shaft | Silkwood | Jurassic Park Features: Wheel of Fortune Quotes Click here to see more Quotes Joanne : You're calling me a freak? Tommy : No, I'm calling you a product of baboon lovin'. There's a distinction. Tommy : Well, that was absurd, let's eat dead bird! For more information about "Home for the Holidays" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) Look for similar items by category Browse similar items in: DVD > Actors & Actresses > ( B ) > Bancroft, Anne DVD > Actors & Actresses > ( C ) > Chaplin, Geraldine DVD > Actors & Actresses > ( D ) > Danes, Claire DVD > Actors & Actresses > ( D ) > Downey Jr., Robert DVD > Actors & Actresses > ( D ) > Durning, Charles DVD > Actors & Actresses > ( G ) > Guttenberg, Steve DVD > Actors & Actresses > ( H ) > Hunter, Holly DVD > Actors & Actresses > ( M ) > McDermott, Dylan DVD > Actors & Actresses > ( P ) > Paton, Angela DVD > Actors & Actresses > ( P ) > Pendleton, Austin DVD > Actors & Actresses > ( S ) > Stevenson, Cynthia DVD > Actors & Actresses > ( S ) > Strathairn, David DVD > Actors & Actresses > ( Y ) > Yasbeck, Amy DVD > Directors > ( F ) DVD > Genres > Comedy > By Theme > Family Gatherings DVD > Genres > Comedy > General DVD > Genres > Kids & Family > Holidays & Festivals > Christmas Suggestion Box Your comments can help make our site better for everyone. 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