Many of us have experienced the special brand of drama and trauma that only family holidays can generate. Director Gurinder Chadha (Bhaji on the Beach) has fun with this phenomenon — and so do we — ass he brings familial relationships and conflicts to life through four diverse families who gather in Los Angeles for Thanksgiving.

Julianna Marguiles (ER) and Kyra Sedgwick (Singles) appear as Carla and Rachel, long-time lesbian partners who endure parental disapproval when home for the holidays. But this Thanksgiving proves quite interesting when they drop a bomb during their family gathering. Fearing that her children are sexually active, the matriarch of the Nguyens (Joan Chen) struggles with the conflict between traditional Vietnamese val­ues and those of modern America. The rich and successful Williams family (Alfre Woodard and Dennis Haysbert) won't discuss a secret about their son, and the Avilas (Mercedes Ruehl and Douglas Spain) are expecting an unwelcome visitor at their celebration. Sundance opener What's Cooking? moves smoothly from family to family, interweaving their stories, conflicts, and joys in a com­ pellingly fresh, yet familiar, drama.