‘A FAMILY THANKSGIVING’
SYNOPSIS
Claudia is a high-powered attorney. Work is her top priority, leaving little room for anything
else in her life, including a husband or kids. Before getting to work at the crack of dawn to
prepare for a big meeting, she stops at her usual coffee shop where other customers Bill and
Gina are also waiting in line. Claudia ignores them both, even when Bill tries to make
conversation and offers to buy her a coffee. He seems to admire her from a distance.
When she gets to work, Claudia calls her sister, Jen, a stay-at-home mom with two kids. Jen is
dubious Claudia will come to Thanksgiving dinner—she has cancelled two years in a row.
Claudia views her sister as a simple woman who couldn’t understand the hard work a career
involves. Hanging up, Claudia is startled to see Gina, a transpersonal psychologist hired by the
firm, sitting across from her. Claudia insists she doesn’t have time to meet, and rushes her out
of her office.
The atmosphere at the firm is intense and unfriendly, and Claudia fits right in. At the meeting,
Claudia’s boss tells her they have a new client, the Stross Corporation, a steel manufacturer
that wants to build a factory in a state park. The townspeople are protesting, and Claudia is
just the lawyer who can win the case. If she does, she will be made partner. Claudia takes on
the case with determination—even though the trial is the Friday after Thanksgiving.
On her way out of the office to a meeting at Stross, Claudia dials Jen to tell her she won’t be
coming to Thanksgiving dinner. Jen isn’t surprised, but when Claudia tells her she has to work
on the Stross case, Jen gets very angry, as she’s against the company’s plans to destroy the
park.
As Claudia hurries out to her town car, Gina stops her again, demanding some of her time.
Frustrated, Claudia gives in and invites her to come on the drive with her to her meeting. Gina
tries to discuss Claudia’s personal life, but Claudia defends her career-driven lifestyle, saying
she is perfectly happy and fulfilled. Then, the driver slams on the breaks and Claudia lurches
forward and hits her head, blacking out.
When she wakes up, Claudia is in the suburbs, dressed in a simple tee shirt and jeans, a diaper
bag in place of her designer bag. She walks up to a home, where Bill is walking out, holding
Amy, a three-year-old, while Jake, a seven-year-old, trails behind. He hands Amy to a baffled
Claudia, then leaves for work. Claudia is completely confused, and then stunned when she
walks in the house and realizes Bill is her husband, and Amy and Jake are calling her “Mom.”
As Claudia tries to put the pieces together, she straps the kids into her minivan and takes them
to the firm. When she walks in, she is shocked no one recognizes her. Claudia asks about
Gina, but her former assistant insists there haven’t been any psych evaluations scheduled at the
firm. Completely defeated, she leaves with Amy and Jake in tow.
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At a traffic light, Gina pulls up next to Claudia’s van. Claudia demands answers, but Gina only
tells her she will return back to her old life when she is ready. Claudia speeds to her sister’s
house, in desperate need of help. When she arrives, Jen is friendly, used to seeing Claudia and
her kids every day. Claudia’s eyes well up when she hears how close their families are.
Jen and Claudia spend the afternoon together. Claudia finds out Jen is an activist, and has put
together the protest against Stross to save the park. Claudia is impressed, and cherishes the
time with her sister, bonding with her like they never have before.
The next morning, after a restless night of avoiding Bill’s advances and trying to will herself
back to her former life, Claudia realizes Bill thinks she is throwing him a surprise birthday party
that night. Claudia plays along—she shops and bakes all day, even finding herself becoming
maternal toward the kids, calling herself “Mommy,” and feeling good about it.
That night at the party, Claudia finds out more about her new family by talking to the guests.
Bill, a furniture maker, was passed over for a promotion at work, Jake is failing math, and Amy
will have to postpone preschool another year if she can’t be potty trained in time. Claudia
starts to feel like a failure of a mom, but then thinks it’s part of Gina’s test—if she can fix her
family, maybe she will return back to her former life.
Becoming super-mom, Claudia takes on the family’s problems as if it were a case going to trial.
She calls a family meeting and hands out strategy packets. She starts preparing Amy to attend
private preschool, and gives Bill books on successfully climbing the corporate ladder. But,
Jake’s grades still aren’t improving, and Bill is becoming annoyed.
Claudia complains to Jen about not making any progress with her family. She expects more out
of them, and out of her own life, and admits to thinking she has settled for less. This upsets
Jen, who thinks Claudia is putting down the life they both share. Bill confronts Claudia next,
revealing to her that she once chose the family over her career as a lawyer when the kids were
born, but now she has changed and he doesn’t like it.
Giving up as a mom, Claudia goes to the firm, where she pretends to apply for a job. With her
knowledge of the firm, the boss is impressed, but worries when she tells him she stopped
practicing law because she started a family. He warns her the hours are long and leave little
time for family—and Claudia suddenly realizes that doesn’t sound so appealing anymore.
She jumps in a cab to find Bill and apologize. To make up with Jen, Claudia agrees to go to a
meeting of townspeople who want to save the park. At the meeting, Claudia puts her lawyer
skills to work, but still worries about her relationship with Bill. Jen offers to watch the kids so
they can have a night out.
Over dinner, Bill tells her the story of how they met. He recalls he used to see her everyday at
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the same coffee shop, and finally got up the nerve to ask her out. Claudia kisses him, finally
falling in love, and starts happily settling in to her family life.
On Thanksgiving, Claudia tells her family how thankful she is for them; how they have
completed her life. The next day, a town car waits for Claudia to take her to represent the
town in the Stross trial. When Claudia climbs in, Gina is the driver. Gina tells her it is time for
her to go back to her former life. Claudia begs to stay, now completely fulfilled as a mom and
wife. Gina suddenly stomps on the brakes, and Claudia lurches forward, hitting her head.
Claudia wakes up, back to her old self at the firm. Amy and Jake don’t exist, and Jen is distant
and angry. Claudia returns to meetings about the case, halfheartedly. But at the trial, with Jen
watching, Claudia surprises everyone when she argues in favor of the townspeople, and the
judge rules against the Stross plant. Claudia gets fired from the firm, but doesn’t care.
Walking out of the courtroom, Claudia finds Jen and apologizes for everything. She asks to
come over and spend time with Jen and her kids, and Jen, surprised, agrees. Early the next
day, Claudia gets to the coffee shop and waits for Bill to show up. When he walks in, she
fearlessly walks up to him and asks him out. Flattered and attracted, Bill agrees to dinner that
night, and the two walk arm in arm out of the shop, the future in front of them.
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