From Shane Conto

Why does Thanksgiving get so little respect? Halloween certainly gets plenty of attention with the whole month of October centered around it as well as a whole genre of film that connects perfectly with it (horror). So many people are quick to leap right over Thanksgiving and go full blown Christmas mode. The Mariah Carey memes are great but there is just so much disrespect on Thanksgiving. There are endless films that center on Christmas and other holidays in the early winter season but there are some Thanksgiving ones to appreciate as well. So let’s show them some love. 

We do have to start with the most beloved one of all, right? Charles Schulz certainly did not forget Thanksgiving with his beloved Peanuts gang. There are plenty of iconic holiday editions of Charlie Brown but A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving stands tall with the rest of them. This beloved crew of children help us appreciate the holiday and what we are thankful for. I am sure watching this animated short film is a fixture of many people’s holiday and I know it will be part of mine moving forward (thanks Apple TV+). 

But what is the most beloved big screen representation of what this holiday is all about? Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. It is about the journey, right? There are plenty of films about getting home for the holidays but most of them focus on Christmas. Beloved filmmaker John Hughes did society a great service and decided to make his about getting home for Thanksgiving instead. This odd couple road trip film soars on the wings of Hughes filmmaking and the incredible starring duo of Steve Martin and John Candy. Forget the R-rating (which is only there because of Martin’s downright hilarious and uncomfortable relatable meltdown at a rental car counter). This is a film to be enjoyed by the whole family! The antics are hilarious but it is the heart and togetherness that make it a classic. This film has some surprising turns of events but most importantly it captures the true meaning behind this holiday famous for its food and football. 

Can this holiday steal away some love from Halloween and its horror pairing? There are a few fun horror-themed Thanksgiving flicks to provide some scares this holiday season. This is extreme recency bias…but Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving is destined to be a beloved holiday classic moving forward. Endlessly entertaining and deeply rooted in the holiday itself, this slasher flick has all the campy, buckets of blood, and thrills you need for Thanksgiving. That crazy day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, gets some love not only in Thanksgiving but the titular Black Friday as well. This crazy thrill ride with alien parasites and infected shoppers rides high on Bruce Campbell and offers some pulpy fun for the holiday as well. Let’s not forget the macabre and horror-adjacent family fun of The Addams Family Values as well. This brilliant sequel balances the creepiness of the titular family with some fun holiday antics (look no further than Wednesday’s Thanksgiving performance at camp). 

Do you want a film that perfectly captures the awkwardness and family tensions of the real thing? A24’s The Humans is another recent recommendation here but this play-turned-film is so perfectly constructed and written. This excellent cast including Richard Jenkins, Amy Schumer, Steven Yeun, Beanie Feldstein, and others help create such an authentic and engrossing gathering that takes place in an apartment that has just as much personality as this dysfunctional family. There are so many layers to the drama as each character has connections and conflicts with each other. Maybe it is too realistic and that makes it such a challenging watch…but it is so worth it. 

What about some tangentially related flicks? There are plenty of films that have smaller connections to this holiday season. Prisoners (the incredible dread-drenched drama from Denis Villenueve) takes place on Thanksgiving to start and that is when the integral abduction occurs. One of the greatest concert films of all time, The Last Waltz, does not necessarily highlight its Thanksgiving connection but The Band’s curtain call did occur on Thanksgiving day back in 1976. Scent of a Woman delivers a story that takes place over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and has one heck of an awkward feast (hoo-hah!). Hannah and Her Sisters keep circling around this holiday to deliver some awkward and funny Thanksgiving highlights as only Woody Allen can. Even the beloved sports drama Rocky has an incredibly uncomfortable Thanksgiving sequence that delivers some of the most intense drama of the whole film. 

What is the moral of the story here? Embrace Thanksgiving and the opportunity to enjoy some great holiday films this season. It might not have the repertoire of Halloween and Christmas but there are some great films to enjoy this season with a good mix of classics and newer releases as well as across the genre spectrum. Some of them even just capture the vibe like Fantastic Mr. Fox and Knives Out. It is all about gathering with family and food along with being thankful for what we have. So add these holiday flicks to that list this year.

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