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The Thanksgiving movie is not this big of a kind. It turns out that watching people pass yams on screen is a poor substitute for sharing an actual meal with family and friends.
But this unusual Thanksgiving season, where many people will break with tradition whether they like it or not, the movies can offer a truly heartwarming taste of normal. Be careful. Search Google for “Thanksgiving Movies” and some results – “The Ice Storm”, “Krisha” – will taste like the gravy thickened with resentment and spite.
The good news is that most Thanksgiving movies, even those with complicated family dynamics, are uplifting entertainment. May the following options – rich in comedy and camaraderie – give your spirits a bounce to compete with a centerpiece of the Jell-O mold.
Gurinder Chadha’s heartwarming ensemble comedy delivers a multicultural snapshot of Thanksgiving through the eyes and stomachs of four families – black, Jewish, Latino and Asian – as they cook and share Thanksgiving dinner. The story is anchored by four moms – played by Lainie Kazan, Alfre Woodard, Mercedes Ruehl and Joan Chen – who try to keep the holidays together despite lingering family tensions and discussions about sexuality and cultural assimilation.
Food is central to all four stories, and the camera lovingly eyes ingredients chopped, spiced and roasted according to the families’ culinary traditions. You better not watch this one on an empty stomach. In his review for The Times, AO Scott called the film “generous and charming” which “breathes new life into its second-hand premise”.
Friends comedy
“ Planes, Trains and Automobiles ” (1987)
Rent it on Amazon, Google Play, and Vudu.
This beloved John Hughes comedy is not a Christmas movie, unlike its cane-colored commercial. It’s actually an attempt to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday that sends tense executive Neal Page (Steve Martin) and yokel salesman Del Griffith (John Candy) making their way through the snow and motel rooms to bed. simple.
Hughes, who died in 2009, had a soft spot for odd pairs of bizarre humans, and here that affinity shines through in his cheerful and pleasant storyline. As an odd couple on an absurd journey through the frigid Midwest, Martin and Candy give hilarious yet touching performances that are master classes in an artistic horse game. If the words “these aren’t pillows” don’t light up your Thanksgiving, you’re a Scrooge.
But it’s incomparable comedic actress Edie McClurg who briefly steals the show as the unruffled car rental agent who delivers one of the funniest (and unprintable) slaps in the movie. It’s safe to assume that without this beautifully secular scene, the film wouldn’t have achieved an R rating.
The animated Romp
‘Free Birds’ (2013)
Stream it on Hulu.
Critics haven’t really gobbled up this computer-animated film about two turkeys (voiced by Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson) who bring back a time machine to the first Thanksgiving in a story-changing quest to prevent the turkey to become the traditional holiday dish. (“Does Hollywood want to turn your little ones into strident vegetarians?” The New York Post freaked out.) The film, directed by Jimmy Hayward, also received mixed reviews for its marketing partnership with Chuck E. Cheese’s and questionable treatment. American Indians. characters.
Despite the reviews, this PETA-approved movie has a soft spot in the hearts of parents who opt for a meatless Thanksgiving and won’t shy away from a bedtime talk about where meat comes from. Like a movie about a killer Santa, “Free Birds” scores points for a rebellious message similar to “Babe” – who needs a turkey for Thanksgiving? – which calls for a sacred holiday tradition with a child-friendly impertinence. It’s an unsuitable movie that’s a great choice for families – carnivores and vegans – who would love, as one reviewer put it, “one of the strangest and most unlikely family entertainments in a long, long time.” .
This touching independent comedy-drama stars Katie Holmes as April, a black punk sheep who invites her distant suburban family to Thanksgiving dinner with her and her boyfriend (Derek Luke) at her rinky-dink apartment in Manhattan. Here’s the thing: April’s cooking skills are better suited to “Nailed!” that “The Great British Baking Show” and, even worse, her mother (Patricia Clarkson) is dying of cancer and could be celebrating her last Thanksgiving.
Written and directed by Peter Hedges, the film has divided reviews for relying too heavily on the Dysfunctional Family Holiday playbook. But the comedy turns sharply from broad and physical to tragic and angry as emotions and misadventures threaten to upend what is meant to be a conciliatory family visit. The strong cast, which also includes Oliver Platt, Alison Pill, and Sean Hayes, effortlessly find real humans inside the gags. The film was shot on a turn-of-the-millennium digital video, giving it a scrappy look that will delight 2000s nostalgia geeks.
The Escapade Ensemble
‘Friendsgiving’ (2020)
Rent it on Amazon, Google Play, and Redbox.
An old-fashioned Thanksgiving dinner calls for turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. What he doesn’t need is family, at least not the one you were born with. That’s the premise of this new comedy, written and directed by Nicol Paone, about an insanely dysfunctional ‘friendship’, a clothes rack that describes a pre-Thanksgiving meal shared by friends, usually before they return home to see them. parents.
Kat Dennings and Malin Akerman take on the roles of bread-breaking girlfriends with a sexually and racially diverse assortment of quirky friends, bewildered newcomers, and revelers. In her review of The Times, Lovia Gyarkye said the film “takes a surprisingly charming and hilarious take on a traditional party.” Watch out for Jane Seymour as a sexpot mum on the prowl, and the cameos of Fortune Feimster, Wanda Sykes and Margaret Cho as ‘fairy gay mothers’.
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