MovieChat Forums > Home for the Holidays (1995) Discussion > Felt sorry for Joanne

Felt sorry for Joanne

posted 15 years ago by gollygopher
27 replies | jump to latest

In a way I felt sorry for Joanne..It's like her mom called Claudia her smarter older daughter..Tommy was mean to her and picked on her, and Claudia seemed to smirk at her all the time.

I think really Joanne was the black sheep of the family. She had her own demons, yes, but her siblings and even parents didn't do anything to make her feel more welcome or anything. I thought it was mean how Tommy started in on her right when she arrived.

I also thought you can't fight with your siblings husband then go on like nothing happened. So the fact they took a lot of the fighting in stride was kinda strange to me.

[–] dichotomymom 15 years ago

I get where you're coming from but she's just not nice. If she had some redeemable quality I think her family would be more inclined to try and understand her better. Her parents aren't cruel or unloving to her and Tommy just likes to tease (he didn't start the nastiness until she got out of control w/the drama). Joanne takes far more digs at her brother and sister than either of them do to her. As for fighting, I suppose anything can be taken in stride if it becomes the norm after a while. Joanne is obviously unhappy w/herself and needs to take it out on her family to feel better.

[–] mabel84 15 years ago

Well, I don't, she was a complete bitch with everyone, mostly with Claudia, I mean, how can you tell your own sister that if she was a complete stranger and she gives you her phone number, you'd throw it away? that line was the most disrespectful coming from her mouth. I just think that Joanne is acting like she has to do everything for everyone, well in the movie situation, her parents, and because of that she doesn't have a life of her own. It's her own fault if she believes she can't.

You gotta be kiddin' me. All this time, that's what I been missin'?

[–] AND77 15 years ago

Joanne IS a pitiable character in a lot of ways. She creates her own unhappiness, though. And when people refuse to face the fact that THEY are the ones who have to make an effort once in a while, there is nothing you can do. You're absolutely right to point out that Tommy aggressively starts in on her...there is no love lost between the 2 of them. But Claudia only ever wants to get along with Joanne, coming close to defending her when Tommy attacks her at the dinner table. She probably would have ACTUALLY defended her if Joanne hadn't gone off on her homophobic rant about Tommy and his friends "prancing" all over the beach. By remaining silent, or simply gathering her family to leave, she would have shown the family that she is the bigger person. Instead, she matches Tommy taunt for taunt.
I would disagree that Claudia smirks at her the whole time - she only briefly does at the dinner table with Fish, and this is mostly directed at Joanne's husband and his profession; Claudia and Fish never say anything personal about him.
Joanne's rant to Claudia in the basement is cruel and totally undeserved. Joanne is a reverse-snob; by making it appear as though SHE is the one her siblings look down on for being "suburban," she makes it clear that she thinks they are freaks. And by adding "Would you mind? This is the only thing I do all day that I like." we see the true, awful depths of Joanne's unhappy life.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] rock_out54 15 years ago

Joanne is a classic narcissist. She makes everything about her, plays the victim, blames everyone around her and points out everyone's flaws while maintaining her own perfection. I have no sympathy for narcissists. They should be in therapy and having several narcissistic family members myself, I'd say the constant ribbing of Joanne is more of a survival tactic to deal with her than done out of cruelty.

[–] warmislandsun 14 years ago

Joanne annoys me so much that whenver I see the actress, I automatically hate her character.

[–] hunterofserenity-2 14 years ago

IMO Joanne and her husband thought they were above everyone else. Walter really was very serious in this movie, a little too serious. He could have at least tried to be kind to everyone and at least act like he was interested in how everyone else was doing. His high and mighty Cash is King speech really made me roll my eyes.

[–] sherylheartjude 14 years ago

I just thought she needed a sense of humor. She reminds me of one of my sisters...takes herself too seriously.

http://www.pinkpowderroom.dk/2009/09/08/ahh-jude/

[–] brmatt 14 years ago

The character of Joanne was more believable than Tommy or Claudia. I think Claudia did act superior to Joanne, and Tommy is so self-absorbed that he thinks everyone likes to have a rude, hyperactive, overgown toddler jumping in their faces and spewing insults at them. I wouldn't want to be around any family gathering with that guy--gay or straight, he's annoying.

Joanne also had a point, just because people are siblings doesn't mean they have to like each other, or pretend to (like Claudia). If they don't get along, then stay away from each other. Some families never see this and so they stay connected and inflict damage on each other, instead of just going their separate ways and being happy (in the ending we see everyone happy in their own lives).

This is about the only thing I have seen Holly Hunter in that I didn't want to turn off immediately. She one of those people who is always clearly acting., but in this movie that fit with her character, who is also acting all the time.

[–] moviemaker928 14 years ago

I didn't really feel sorry for her, Tommy annoys her simply because he knows she hates it, he's a typical younger sibling. He doesn't really tease Claudia, they were obviously a lot closer when they were younger like we saw in the end montage.

I think in a way Joanne is a little jealous that her siblings got out of their town and she's stuck at home with the parents.

[–] AND77 14 years ago

I never saw Claudia act superior to Joanne once, and given the fact that she was just fired from her job, handled Joanne's constant self-victimization and pettiness like a champ. If Claudia did anything wrong in regards to Joanne from the very beginning (which I don't think she did), it was that she was very absorbed in her own struggles. She is clearly attempting to patch things up when she brings the storage containers back in the end, and Joanne totally rejects her. That is more than simply "not pretending" that they have a relationship - she rejects her not just as a sister, but as a human being, without really knowing her at all.
I also didn't think Claudia was pretending to like Joanne at all - she was just holding out an olive branch of truce by swallowing back her anger at the things Joanne says to her ("Well i know this is a dress YOU would never be caught dead in, Claudia, but I like it.") Even if you dislike someone, you do not have to be openly hostile to them.
Joanne and Tommy certainly have issues, however, and given the way he behaves from the second she and her family drive up, I do give her a pass at her anger towards him. I got the feeling that Joanne's passive aggression at Claudia had more to do with the fact that she is close to Tommy than anything she has actually done to Joanne.

[–] ctp1222 13 years ago

I wanted to bitch-slap Joanne when she told Claudia "If I didn't know you...if I just met you on the street and you gave me your number, I'd throw it away." What a creep! She did realize how much she hurt Claudia, after she left, but then she shut herself off and resumed her exercise routine.

[–] AND77 13 years ago

Yes. By continuing the cycle of dysfunction, Joanne also continues her own unhappiness. Even the parents, in all their oddities, seem comfortable and secure in who they are. The father plays the organ, washes cars at grossly inappropriate times, and was happy in his job as a pilot. The mother isn't thrilled about aging, but isn't ashamed of her wigs, greasy cooking, and is proud of her children's accomplishments.
Tommy clearly doesn't behave so childishly with his "real" family (as he calls them on the phone). He's kind and sweet to his husband on the phone, and they appear to either work at or volunteer at a charitable organization. He spends his time helping people.
The family appears to communicate fairly well (as most families go - Claudia calls her brother when she's hit bottom, and eventually spills the beans about losing her job to the whole family), except for Joanne. She is superior, snotty, insecure, and in the end, unnecessarily nasty. Claudia offers her an olive branch even when she's done absolutely nothing wrong. Joanne basically spits in her face.