'pieces of april' . 'eulogy'

been sitting through recent dysfunctional family dramas on movie channels on my day off at home -‘pieces of april’ where a dying mother and the ‘good’ part of the family is one their way to see a wayward daughter in new york city for thanksgiving; and ‘eulogy’ where the funeral of a patriarch brings a warped family together. Saw both of them half way through- but I don’t think it made too much difference as they were totally predictable belonging to genres that they merely rehashed. The first a road movie and the second a , well, dysfunctional-family-reunion-that-ends-in-sentimentality movie.

the first film was better because it at least was not trying so hard to present the eccentricities of the characters as unique selling points. the acting was also better. the second one was truly awful. the very premise of a festival / event being the only thing that binds a family together itself constitutes enough black humor- i don’t think it needed the other clichés to work.