It seems that there’s never any shortage of films about dysfunctional families at holiday gatherings. Cold Turkey is the latest addition to the category, and it doesn’t bring much to the table. An empty, frivolous film, it’s got little in the way of intelligence and nothing in the way of heart
Written and directed by Will Slocombe, the movie centers on the Turner family, led by patriarch “Poppy” (Peter Bogdanovich), a has-been academic. When troubled daughter “Nina” (Alicia Witt) arrives home for Thanksgiving, the entire clan, from sour stepmother “Deborah” (Cheryl Hines) to put-upon sister “Lindsay” (Sonya Wagner), is thrown into crisis.
It feels as though Slocombe fancies himself the next Noah Baumbach, what with the film’s general air of sharp cynicism and bitterness. Unfortunately, his skill doesn’t quite match up to his ambition, resulting in a cold, pretentious script that is neither intellectually nor emotionally satisfying.
As for the actors, none of them really seem to be having any fun. Even Witt, whose Nina is surely intended to be an absolute trainwreck, is curiously subdued, failing to give her character the life and volatility she deserves. Everyone else is similarly uninteresting – even Bogdanovich, who never deviates from Poppy’s restrained moroseness.
All in all, Cold Turkey is a blandly spiteful movie that isn’t worth the scant hour and a half it takes to watch it. Should Slocombe continue writing and directing, I hope that he finds a voice that’s both more original and more affecting.
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