The film follows Claudia Larson, who after losing her job, kissing her ex-boss, and finding out that her daughter has plans of her own for the holidays, departs Chicago to spend her Thanksgiving with her dysfunctional family.

The film features an ensemble cast, including Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Dylan McDermott, Geraldine Chaplin, Steve Guttenberg, Cynthia Stevenson, Claire Danes, Austin Pendleton, and David Strathairn.

Home for the Holidays was released theatrically on November 3, 1995, by Paramount Pictures in North America and by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment worldwide.

The film received mixed reviews from critics who appreciated Foster's direction, and Hunter's and Downey's performances but criticised the screenplay.

While on the plane, Claudia makes a phone call to Tommy, her younger brother and confidant, whom she believes won't be attending the Thanksgiving dinner, and unloads her problems on his answering machine.

On Thanksgiving Day, eccentric Aunt Gladys (Adele's sister), who is showing signs of dementia, professes her love for Henry.

[3] She struck a deal with Paramount Pictures and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment to handle distribution on the film: Paramount would distribute across all media in North and South America with the exception of North American home video and U.S. pay TV, with PolyGram handling all other rights.

Foster said, "The great challenge was to find a beautiful idea to pull through it, a narrative line that would make the story work.

[6] Working with a $20 million budget,[7] Foster spent ten weeks filming in Baltimore with a two-week rehearsal period.

Foster allowed Robert Downey Jr. to improvise, which got him excited about making films again after a period of time when he became disillusioned with acting.

The site's consensus states: "Much like a real-life visit Home for the Holidays, this Thanksgiving-set dramedy can get a little bumpy – but it also has its share of fondly memorable moments.

[11] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade C+ on scale of A to F.[12] In his three and half star review, Roger Ebert praised Foster's ability to direct "the film with a sure eye for the revealing little natural moment," and Downey's performance that "brings out all the complexities of a character who has used a quick wit to keep the world's hurts at arm's length.

"[16] However, in her review for The Washington Post, Rita Kempley criticized some of the performances: "Downey brings a lot of energy to the role, but his antics can be both tedious and distracting.

It doesn’t really tell a story so much as chronicle a sequence of events, but it captures something ineffable about how going back home to squabble with relatives and eat lots of food can add a nostalgic glow to the chill of late November.