The Pasciaks are a blue-collar, Polish-Catholic family living in Chicago. The parents feel their six children have rebelled against their expectations as well as ethnic and religious tradition. Gary, 21, returns home from Los Angeles where he is pursuing an acting career. The Pasciaks express their mixed feelings about Gary's career choice, and celebrate Christmas Eve. Closes with the family responding to the film.

The Georges are an upwardly mobile black family from Queens, New York. Robert is a policeman in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of New York, and his wife, Peggy, is an office worker in a Manhattan insurance firm. Closes with the family responding to their portrayal on film.