AllMovie

A group of grown Irish-American siblings grapple with their estranged father's request to join them for Christmas dinner 20 years after he walked out on their family in this holiday drama from writer/director Edward Burns (The Brothers McMullen). It's been two decades since Big Jim Fitzgerald (Ed Lauter) left his wife Josie (Anita Gillette) and their seven children. Ever since that day, Josie swore Jim would never set foot in her house again. Things start to get complicated, however, when eldest sibling Gerry (Burns) returns home with word that his absentee father seeks a chance to reconcile with his family during their upcoming Christmas celebrations. For the younger children it would mean a chance to meet the father they've never really known, but for the older siblings and their embittered mother, the scars left by abandonment have never quite healed. When Josie learns of Jim's request despite her children's best efforts to keep it a secret, she erupts due to years of pent up anger and resentment. Meanwhile, as grieving widower Gerry finds his friendship with the nurse (Connie Britton) hired to care for his late wife's mother growing into something much more intimate, the rest of his siblings contend with their own personal crises.