Robert Downey Jr.’s Underrated Thanksgiving Classic With Holly Hunter Hits Streaming for the Holidays

When it comes to Thanksgiving movies, Home for the Holidays might just be the most relatable one ever made. It’s got it all — a turkey, an eccentric aunt, a gay brother, men playing football in the yard, in-laws who can’t stand each other, and multiple family meltdowns. Just like yours! Directed by Jodie Foster and released 30 years ago, on November 3, 1995, the film has aged into a cult classic. Now, it’s back for the holidays — streaming on Paramount+.

Home for the Holidays stars Holly Hunter as Claudia Larson, a single mom and art restorer who’s just been laid off and reluctantly heads home to Baltimore for Thanksgiving. There, she reunites with her loving but chaotic parents (Anne Bancroft and Charles Durning), her exuberant brother Tommy (Robert Downey Jr.), and her judgmental sister Joanne (Cynthia Stevenson). The extended family gathering includes Dylan McDermott, Geraldine Chaplin, Claire Danes, Steve Guttenberg, and David Strathairn.

What Is ‘Home for the Holidays’ Really About?

On the surface, it’s a comedy about turkey dinners gone wrong, but as Foster put it in a recent interview, the movie was “about that very particular time in your life when you’re 30 and you’re still kind of attached to your parents… You feel infantilized by them, and you’re asking, ‘Did I choose this life? Is this the life I want?’”

Foster also recalled that Robert Downey Jr., then in the throes of addiction, brought an unpredictable energy to the set. “He was 100% present, as far as I was concerned,” she said. “His pain is onscreen. In some ways, it was good for the movie.” Downey Jr.’s improvisations, like the infamous “car monologue” scene, gave Tommy a manic charm that still makes the performance unforgettable.

While it only modestly recouped its budget in 1995, Home for the Holidays has become a yearly favorite for those who crave a more honest, funny, and chaotic look at family life. It’s unsentimental, but it’s still pretty affectionate. It’s a Thanksgiving movie that knows gratitude often comes wrapped in awkwardness and regret.

“I think we always knew it was a perennial,” Foster reflected. “We hoped people would buy it on DVD, and watch it over and over as time went on. So, as far as I’m concerned, that’s great.”

Home for the Holidays is now streaming on Paramount+ — just in time for the annual parade, the turkey, and the inevitable meltdown.