Plot

After being fired, making out with her soon-to-be ex-boss, and discovering that her daughter plans to spend Thanksgiving with her boyfriend, Claudia Larson faces the unenviable task of spending the holiday with her exceedingly dull family.

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.—Cyndi Kessler <ckessler@ix.netcom.com>

Forty-year-old single Chicagoan Claudia Larson gets a lot of bad news just before Thanksgiving, putting her in an even worse mood in preparation for her visit with her family in Baltimore at the home of her overbearing parents, Henry and Adele Larson. Others coming for Thanksgiving dinner are Adele's crazy sister, Glady; Claudia's humorless sister Joanne Wedman and her equally humorless family, Joanne who acts as the primary care-giver for their parents; (unexpectedly) Claudia's younger mischievous gay brother, Tommy Larson, and his new "boyfriend", Leo Fish; and Russell Terziak, Claudia's sad old "friend" who Adele is trying to reintroduce to Claudia. Beyond the disasters and potential disasters Claudia is anticipating as well as the unexpected ones that do ultimately occur at dinner, Claudia is most concerned about what happened between Tommy and his long term boyfriend, Jack Gordon, and what her own teen-aged daughter, Kitt, is doing at home without her.—Huggo

This story is a real imbroglio with a lot of character development and complicated relationships between diverse adult family members at the annual big dinner event. We learn about the family member and their numerous frailties and conflicts and wonder can they ever get along or will disaster ensue. will Holly Hunter have romance with her gay bros friend? There is the usual family football game in yard. Many things go awry. Secrets revealed. People get upset. People grow.