What happens when one woman’s need for a picture-perfect Thanksgiving collides with a family that’s outgrown the house meant to hold it? Writer/director Karl Ryan Erikson’s The Family Recipe dishes up plenty of chaos on the way to figuring that out.
Year after year, Alison Mitchell (Stacey Van Gorder) has been co-lead of Thanksgiving dinner for her family alongside her mom. After her mother passed, Alison is more determined than ever to continue the dinner tradition. Armed with her mother’s sacred recipe book, she is going to prove this is the year she can do it alone. Mind you, it’s not just dinner, but it’s the whole tradition. Every dish has to be and will be perfect. Let’s just say Alison’s focused goal of the perfect Thanksgiving is driving everyone nuts, including her husband Gary (Chris Connell).
As people start to arrive, it’s clear that Alison and Gary’s home isn’t big enough, as Gary’s brothers’ and sisters’ families keep growing with more kids each year. Fortunately, the favorite son, Gene Jr. (Nick Mara), and his family will not be able to attend this year. Soon, Murphy’s Law kicks in: everything that can go wrong will go wrong when Gary inadvertently sets fire to Alison’s mother’s recipe book along with the Thanksgiving brisket. Now add Gary’s sisters, trying to muster the courage to tell Alison that maybe this should be the last family Thanksgiving because there’s no room left and Alison is just too overbearing.
The family reacts in stunned disbelief during a tense moment in The Family Recipe.
“Gary inadvertently sets fire to Alison’s mother’s recipe book along with the Thanksgiving brisket.”
Though Alison’s plight is the main story of The Family Recipe, there are a lot of subplots, including the boys’ scheming to take a peek at their uncle’s adult magazine, brother Theo’s (Merritt Reid) luxury car getting its windows smashed by an errant ball, and Gary and Alison’s daughter Nancy (Caroline Digan), who doesn’t want to participate in family stuff anymore.
Huge credit to writer/director Karl Ryan Erikson, who somehow managed to weave about six separate stories together beautifully. You always run the risk of letting a story with this many threads get away from you. There is a lot of craziness and silliness going on, but again, the heart of the film shines through: the importance of family sticking together.
The Family Recipe is a sweet family story for the whole family. But fair warning. There is quite a bit of swearing in the film, along with the porn mag theme. Look, my personal preference — particularly for family films — is that you don’t need the swearing. Yes. Kids swearing is funny, but you can lose the intended audience if done wrong.
That said, the cast’s great performances are huge, along with the large number of kids. Again, how Karl Ryan Erikson is able to wrangle so many characters just shows how clear his vision is for the final product. I’ve seen this done so wrong in lesser films. I definitely recommend it, especially if the “s” word doesn’t bother you.
Take my advice: The Family Recipe earns its recommendation because Karl Ryan Erikson keeps six different storylines from ever spinning out of control, and the family always stays the actual point. It’s a warm, funny watch overall — just know the swearing and porn mag bit might have you rethinking who’s on the couch next to you.
For screening information, visit the The Family Recipe official website.
"…maybe this should be the last family Thanksgiving."
