As a holiday, Thanksgiving gets a bad rap. I’ll never condemn a holiday that pretty much guarantees you a good meal, some football, and some enforced reflection and hopefully gratitude onto others.
As a holiday, Thanksgiving gets a bad rap. I’ll never condemn a holiday that pretty much guarantees you a good meal, some football, and some enforced reflection and hopefully gratitude onto others. But it’s also a holiday known for forcing you to spend time with your family, making traffic even worse, and reminding you of how genocide may have played a big part in the founding of our wonderful nation.
What’s more, the movies about said holiday tend to stink.
But worry not, because I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time pulling together a guide to the best in this wacky holiday’s niche genre of movies showing the importance of Thanksgiving. [even if we are a few days late – BK]
Addams Family Values (1993)
Usually the Addams Family movies are associated with Halloween, and that totally makes sense considering the gothic horror-based fun the movies typically personify. But with the second movie, they expanded to Thanksgiving with a sequel that actually captures the true spirit of the holiday by honoring the first Thanksgiving. It’s a perfect excuse for you watch this movie series well into November, and spend some quality time with your favorite morbid family.
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Ever been sitting around the Thanksgiving table and thought, “Boy, this would be great if Woody Allen was here, talking and interacting with my family”? Well then, we kind of have the movie for you. Hannah and Her Sisters is pretty much typical Woody Allen–but with a nice, warm, neurotic Thanksgiving glaze that only Allen can provide. If your husband falling in love with your sister doesn’t really sound like a lot of fun, or perhaps Woody Allen never even comes to mind during the holidays, maybe skip this one.
Home For The Holidays (1995)
A hidden 90’s gem for sure, Home For The Holidays stars Holly Hunter as a single mother who loses her job right before fleeing back to her rather eccentric family. All the while, Hunter’s daughter has maturely decided she will sleep with her boyfriend and skip Thanksgiving altogether, much to Hunter’s chagrin. Are you stressed yet? The film boasts not only the great Hunter, but also Robert Downey Jr, Claire Danes, Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, and even Steve Gutenburg. Jodie Foster actually directed this kind of dark movie that a lot of people have never seen.
The Ice Storm (1997)
If the holiday season doesn’t already depress you, this movie will probably help. Directed by Ang Lee, the film chooses two dysfunctional, WASPy families who spend a lot of their time being miserable despite having swinger parties, coping with adultery, and drinking–all while Nixon was in office. The film has an amazing cast and is one of the best movies of the 90s that you’ve most likely never seen. Also it reminds you that your own family probably isn’t so bad.
Pieces of April (2004)
A lot rougher around the edges, Pieces of April stars Katie Holmes, pre-Tom Cruise but post-Dawson’s Creek, as a troubled-20 something who just wants to make dinner for her family who doesn’t seem to like her all that much. A lot of problems arise when her oven goes out and she has to resort to borrowing her neighbors who all have their quirks. It’s a surprisingly charming little movie with grit that probably will stunt your appetite. [Great pick. Love this movie so much.-AN]
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987)
The granddaddy of them all. Honestly, if you haven’t seen this movie yet, please do so regardless of holiday. It’s an odd-couple situation when Steve Martin and John Candy seemingly keep running into each other while trying to make it home for Thanksgiving. The movie is written, produced, and even directed by John Hughes, and is pretty much the perfect mix of that warm, gooey, holiday pie feeling inside you one minute, and hating somebody’s guts the next. Also it has a Kevin Bacon cameo. This is essential.
The Vicious Kind (2009)
Adam Scott is simply amazing in this movie. I would recommend just watching it unfold, as the less you know about the plot, really, the better. The movie does center on a bearded, chain-smoking Adam Scott, who becomes infatuated with his little brother’s girlfriend while giving them a ride home for Thanksgiving. While we all love him on Parks and Rec, it was this film that made me an Adam Scott believer. Also he can rock a beard and cry on command–not an easy feat.
What’s Cooking (2000)
Built around the Thanksgiving of four L.A. families from different backgrounds who are strangely connected, What’s Cooking is probably the film on this list with the most actual food porn. It’s certainly mouth-watering to see the different families create their own dishes, even if the movie is full of melodrama and PEOPLE YELLING AT EACH OTHER AND CRYING. Infidelity, closeted lesbians, well-meaning racism, the Allstate guy, and even George Costanza’s mother make for an appetizing film.
