Thanksgiving get-together for the eccentric Turner clan, presided over by eminent scholar and patriarch, Poppy (Peter Bogdanovich), turns into a disastrous holiday weekend when black sheep daughter Nina (Alicia Witt) pays her first visit home in 15 years. Nina immediately clashes with stepmother, Deborah (Cheryl Hines), and competes with her siblings (Ashton Holmes and Sonya Walger) for Poppy’s affection – and money. Over three days, the family gradually disintegrates over who will get Poppy’s money – only to discover Poppy has his own bad news to share.
The movie Cold Turkey is about what happens when you set a match to a powder keg. It’s about honesty. It’s about love. It’s about trying your best. Ultimately, it’s about the kind of emotional terrorism that only families can inflict upon one another.
Peter Bogdanovich, best known for directing the classic movies Mask (starring Cher, as the mother of Rocky Dennis), and Paper Moon (starring Tatum and Ryan O’Neal) and The Last Picture Show, for which he was nominated for the Best Director Oscar, appears in front of the camera in Cold Turkey.
