A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
This 25-minute animated classic follows the Turkey Day traditions and festivities of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts crew. You might think it's just for the kids, but good luck resisting its charms.
You've Got Mail
When booksellers Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) and Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) meet in an anonymous chat room, they quickly fall into an e-romance. Little do they know they actually know each other—as business rivals, no less. Join in on both Kathleen and Joe's Thanksgiving celebrations, both of which feature a little song and dance, in this classic rom-com. WATCH NOW
Tower Heist
Nothing like a little humor and action to lull you out of a tryptophan coma. Enter: Rush Hour’s Brett Ratner, who directs this New York City-set heist flick starring Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, Gabourey Sidibe, and Alan Alda. The gist: Alda plays a Ponzi crook whose victims, rounded up by Stiller’s character, get even on the very same day families dedicate to watching oversize parade balloons and eating way too much turkey.
Alice's Restaurant
Based on the song of the same name by Arlo Guthrie, the film follows the melee that ensues when Guthrie (playing himself) and his friends are arrested for littering after Thanksgiving dinner.
Knives Out
The perfect fall movie that celebrates Turkey Day’s favorite pastime—a.k.a. carving stuff up—this gleefully dark whodunit pivots around one of the most despicable families to ever disgrace the screen. Not to mention, the toxic Thrombey-Drysdale clan are played by grade-A meat: Christopher Plummer, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Jamie Lee Curtis, among many others. And even though Rian Johnson’s autumnal setting is really the only tie to the holiday here, there’s just no better film to combat inevitable tryptophan lethargy.
Lez Bomb
Jenna Laurenzo, who went from waiting tables to directing queer cinema, writes, directs, and stars in Lez Bomb, a suburbia comedy about a Brooklyn woman who comes out to her family over Thanksgiving weekend in Jersey. Spilling her big news, of course, doesn’t go as planned. But it does make for a raucous fun time. Comic actors Cloris Leachman and Bruce Dern star, along with Steve Guttenberg, Caitlin Mehner, and Brandon Michael Hall.
Soul Food
Admittedly, Soul Food is a film that has nothing to do with actual Thanksgiving. As for the fruits of the November holiday, however, the George Tillman Jr. classic is a cornucopia. Brimming from beginning to end with family, food, and tradition, the film revolves around matriarch Mama Joe, who hosts Sunday dinners for her Chicago family. Then, when she’s hospitalized, cracks in the family become exposed. Starring Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, and more familiar faces, this one’s a crowd-pleaser.
The Myth of Fingerprints
Before The Family Stone, there was another WASP-y, dysfunctional crew making drama in New England. A 1997 Sundance indie, The Myth of Fingerprints stars Blythe Danner, Julianne Moore, Hope Davis, and Noah Wyle, who all converge over the course of Thanksgiving weekend at their family’s home base for familiar tale of love, pain, and good old-fashioned climaxing. Because apparently, you can’t return to your hometown, and not have a lot of sex.
The Blind Side
Faith, family, football: Sounds like the trappings of a sincere Thanksgiving flick to us. But Disney’s retelling of the real-life story led by stalwart matriarch Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) as she assumes guardianship of Michael Oher, who goes from homeless teenager to first-round draft pick, does actually include a sentimental Thanksgiving scene. So, yes, it’s a Thanksgiving movie.
Addams Family Values
Dare we say the second chapter in the story of the creepy, kooky, and spooky brood is better than the first? We dare, and we do. And it’s thanks in no small part to Wednesday Addams’s stone-cold performance in a school production. In a departure from the script, she rewrites the history of what really happened on the day we now know as Thanksgiving.
For Your Consideration
Admittedly, a Christopher Guest production is an acquired taste. But the mockumentary maestro (Dog Show, A Mighty Wind) takes a genius meta approach in For Your Consideration that we’d like you to, well, consider. The film stars pseudo-documentary alums Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, and Parker Posey as actors in a film that changes its title from Home for Purim to Home for Thanksgiving after rumors swirl of Oscar buzz. Shoulder-shaking hilarity ensues.
The Oath
The Mindy Project’s Ike Barinholtz brings his bonkers, politically charged comedy to the big screen with a directorial debut that stars himself alongside It comic Tiffany Haddish. With a tax oath deadline looming for the day after Thanksgiving, the two play a married couple who are just trying make it through dinner and the night alive. To give anything else away would be doing you a disservice.
What’s Cooking?
No two Thanksgiving feasts are the same in this culturally rich holiday comedy from 2000. Set in the Los Angeles Fairfax District, it stars Mercedes Ruehl (Big), Joan Chen (Lust, Caution), Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer), and Alfre Woodard (See) in completely unrelated Thanksgiving tales, each as diverse in their menus and traditions as they are hilarious in their comedies of manners.
The Daytrippers
Greg Mattola, director of cult comedies like Superbad, Paul, and Adventureland, got his directorial start riding shotgun in a Buick Estate wagon on a daytrip into New York City. His film—which begins the day after Thanksgiving with a wife finding a love note written by her husband for someone else—is a comedic odyssey through affairs of the heart. Stanley Tucci, Hope Davis, and Parker Posey costar.
Garfield’s Thanksgiving
The orange cat you love more than he loves lasagna hosts a Thanksgiving special that not only tugs on the nostalgic heartstrings, but also offers the kids a distraction as you set the table. The classic toon begins with a trip to the vet and ends with Grandma doctoring a Thanksgiving feast that, in the end, is perfect.
Avalon
No stranger to great cinema, director Barry Levinson, who helmed Rain Man, Wag the Dog, and Diner, crafts yet another crowd-pleaser with Avalon. The story belongs to a Polish-Jewish family who immigrate to United States in the 20th century in hopes of living the American dream in Baltimore. But what scores this one a place on our list is its Thanksgiving scene, complete with sibling rivalry, dysfunction, and a kids’ table. It’s something every family can relate to.
Dan in Real Life
Though it’s not your typical Turkey Day movie, Peter Hedges’ gem oozes with festive spirit: familial drama and dysfunction, merriment in an idyllic New England setting, and, of course, rousing games of touch football. Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche star, with a surprise appearance by Emily Blunt.
She’s Gotta Have It
This isn’t your typical heartwarming holiday fare, however, Spike Lee’s 1986 joint about a woman whose sexual freedom cannot be tamed, is definitely something to be thankful for. Plus, it hosts one of the most iconic Thanksgiving scenes known to film: Nola Darling commands the head of the table, while all three of her needy lovers share in her holiday feast. Conversation, machismo, and hurt feelings ensue. But who Nola spends the night with? We’ll leave that to you to find out.
Son-in-Law
Don’t act like you’re above a Pauly Shore rom-com. Here, the ‘90s stoner embraces covering his perm with a cowboy hat and his derriere with assless chaps as he spends the Thanksgiving holiday with his pal, Becca, at her family’s South Dakota farm. It’s metro meet moo cow in the best way.
Krisha
Set aside any warm, fuzzy feelings associated with the holiday and just marinate in the simmering tension served up in Trey Edward Shults’ critically-acclaimed thriller. Set over the course of that special Thursday, it’s about a woman trying to regain the trust of a family she abandoned for addiction.
Mistress America
She likely won’t know how to roast a 10-pound turkey, but she can definitely Google how to DIY Thanksgiving like a pro. We’re referring to Greta Gerwig as the autodidactic who'll make you laugh and cringe simultaneously in this Noah Baumbach comedy. The Thanksgiving part? That’s a culmination best served with wit and drama—you’ll see.
The Object of My Affection
What’s more suited to a Friendsgiving watch party than a movie starring one of everyone’s favorite Friends? Jennifer Aniston stars as a woman desperate for a romantic relationship with her gay best friend (Paul Rudd), which leaves her “the only practicing heterosexual” at the Thanksgiving table.
One True Thing
Get ready to laugh, cry, and scream through Carl Franklin’s holiday drama that feels like a ‘90s answer to Steel Magnolias. Meryl Streep and Renee Zellweger ride the waves of their mother/daughter relationship through what might their last Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas together.
Prisoners
We give thanks every day for filmmakers like Denis Villeneuve. The French-Canadian director is masterful at constructing films with cyclical narratives and twist endings (i.e., the best kind). In Prisoners, tensions come full circle as Hugh Jackman’s Keller looks for his missing daughter, who was snatched on Thanksgiving Day.
The Vicious Kind
You haven’t seen Brittany Snow like this: sullen, capable of making only bad choices, and totally not feeling aca-awesome. Same goes for Adam Scott, who gives one of his best performances as the black sheep of a family who gets together for the holiday—but experiences no real joy. Oh, but it’s a comedy.
North by Northwest
Hitchcock’s classic has nothing to do with the celebratory festivities that go along with Thanksgiving—except that there’s a shot of a newspaper detailing the film’s action, which clearly goes down over the course of Thanksgiving. Plus, like pumpkin pie, we’re always in the mood for Cary Grant.
Rocky
Another classic perfect for post-meal relaxing with the family, the first installment in the Rocky Balboa saga features a Thanksgiving date night for Rocky and Adrian.
The House of Yes
Based on a play by Wendy MacLeod, this absurdist dark comedy follows a young man who brings his new fiancée home for Thanksgiving to introduce her to his family, including his mentally ill, Jackie Kennedy-obsessed younger sister with a jealous streak. It's decidedly not dinner table fodder.
Miracle on 34th Street
Although it tops most classic Christmas movie lists, Miracle on 34th Street actually opens at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. When Kris Kringle must stand in for an inebriated Santa Claus in the annual extravaganza, he finds a newfound career as New York's most popular holiday icon—until his sanity comes into question when he starts claiming he really is Santa.
The Big Chill
When a disparate group of friends reunite at the funeral of one of their close college friends, they reminisce about old times—including a Thanksgiving feast—and deal with feelings of regret, insecurity and disillusionment.
Hannah and Her Sisters
Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey and Dianne Wiest star as Hannah and her younger sisters Lee and Holly, all of whom come together (along with a lot of emotional baggage) for three Thanksgivings in a row.
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
On his trip home to Chicago for Thanksgiving, Neal Page (Steve Martin) is rerouted through rural Kansas due to a surprise snowstorm. When he's forced to seek refuge with Del Griffith (John Candy), the two weather the holiday travel madness together.
Dutch
When Dutch (Ed O'Neill) offers to drive his girlfriend's pretentious son (Ethan Embry) from his Atlanta prep school to Chicago for Thanksgiving, a curious friendship is born.
Grumpy Old Men
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau star as neighbors and former friends who harbor a long-standing rivalry. When a woman (Ann-Margaret) arrives in the neighborhood during the holidays and catches both men's eyes, they continue their competition—this time for her hand.
Scent of a Woman
When Charlie (Chris O'Donnell) agrees to look after Frank (Al Pacino), a blind, hardheaded, retired Army colonel, over Thanksgiving, he's whisked away to New York City for a weekend of extravagance. Pacino earned the Oscar for Best Actor for this drama.
The Ice Storm
There's drama in the Hood family: Ben (Kevin Kline) is cheating on Elena (Joan Allen) with their neighbor, Janey (Sigourney Weaver); Elena's dissatisfied with her career; daughter Wendy (Christina Ricci) is experimenting with sex with Janey's sons (Elijah Wood and Adam Hann-Byrd), and son Paul (Tobey Maguire) is in love with a classmate at boarding school. In this Ang Lee film, both families come together under one roof when a storm snows them in over Thanksgiving weekend.
Home For The Holidays
When Claudia Larson (Holly Hunter) returns to her hometown for Thanksgiving, her quirky family quickly reminds her why she left in the first place. Robert Downey Jr. and Anne Bancroft also star in this Jodie Foster-directed comedy.
Tadpole
Oscar Grubman is the ultimate ladies' man—he can quote classic literature, speaks French, and can woo any woman—despite the fact that he's, well, 15 years old and on Thanksgiving break from his prep school.
WATCH NOW
Pieces of April
When April Burns (Katie Holmes) learns her mother (Patricia Clarkson) has breast cancer, she and her boyfriend invite her estranged family into their New York apartment for Thanksgiving. When the rest of the family has travel delays, April must prepare the meal and festivities with the help of her neighbor.
Funny People
When George Simmons (Adam Sandler), a retired and wealthy standup comedian, is diagnosed with leukemia, he decides to mentor an up-and-coming comic (Seth Rogen). Don't miss George's Thanksgiving toast in this Judd Apatow comedy.
Big Night
This is another foodie film that doesn’t necessarily have November’s MVP in its narrative, but does serve its traditions up on a silver platter. Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci star as Italian brothers Primo and Secondo, respectively, who plot to save their failing restaurant with a night-long, *chef’s kiss* feast for the ages. Not only will you salivate over the epicurean delights on display, but this comedy co-directed by Tucci and Campbell Scott will have you yearning for next month’s Feast of the Seven Fishes.
Hollidaysburg
Former high school buddies return home after their first semester in college for Thanksgiving break and fall in love. We know it sounds gimmicky, almost saccharine enough to make pumpkin pie taste savory, but Anna Martemucci’s underseen 2014 gem is so much more than its cheesy synopsis. Trust us. Its cast, led by Rachel Keller, who plays Tori, and Tobin Mitnick, who plays Scott, is so good with the material that—just like the film—they’re undiscovered talent hiding out in a small Pennsylvania town.
Sweet November
It’s taken decades for this writer to appreciate this gooey, terminal love story. But here we are. Dream team Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron tug at the tear ducts as Nelson and Sara, a workaholic and the cancer-stricken woman who changes his life over the course of one sweet November. The premise, albeit a little silly (let’s agree to fall in love for a month, eh?), goes down easy upon repeat viewings. So if this is your first go at watching Pat O’Connor’s early-aughts romance, just know that it get betters with time.
Jim Henson’s Turkey Hallow
Who would've thought that a bunch of fuzzy puppetry—minus Kermit but plus a narrating Ludacris—would add up to such a good time? That’s exactly what happens in Jim Henson’s Turkey Hallow, a made-for-Lifetime movie that stars Mary Steenburgen as Aunt Cly, the hollow’s kooky old lady who’s being blamed for the small town’s turkey-related criminal activity (just go with it). Enter: her tween-age niece and nephew, who, with the help of mini sasquatch hoodoo monsters, plot to save the day.
Pilgrim
If you’ll remember back in 2018 when Hulu tapped Blumhouse for a 12-movie anthology series with a holiday bent called Into the Dark, Pilgrim is its Thanksgiving installment. A bat-shit horror feat that’s steeped in sordid historical truth, this one comes from the twisted minds of torture porn including Saw IV through VII, The Collector, and Feast, and is about one family’s run-in with sinister Pilgrim reenactors. Scare up a few friends before hitting play on this one.
Posted on 10/31/2022 at 11:30 AM
