by Mark Deming
synopsis
In this drama with comic touches directed by Robert Townsend, a middle-aged drag queen (Ving Rhames) still dealing with the loss of his longtime lover meets a 12-year-old girl (Jessika Reynolds) who has no home. Touched by her plight, the drag queen takes in the girl and her mother (Alfre Woodard), a talented writer who has fallen into a cycle of drug abuse. With his help, the woman and her daughter try to rebuild their lives, but they have trouble breaking their ties with the drug dealer (Mykelti Williamson) who been the mother's supplier and confidante. Holiday Heart is based on the play of the same name by Cheryl West.
characteristics
- Homeless
- Grieving Process
- Inner City Blues
- Mourn
- Writer
- Single Parents
- Bereavement
- Grief
- Drag-queen
- Down On Their Luck
- Girl
- Drug-addiction
- Drug-dealer
- Gender-Bending
- Redemption
