FAVORITE THANKSGIVING MOVIES

I imagine Thanksgiving is going to look very different for most of us this year – at least for those of us who are opting to follow the CDC recommendation that we spend it at home with just those who reside in our household. In our case that would be me, my British husband, and our very spoiled kitty. Of course Thanksgiving isn’t something celebrated in the UK, so he’s not exactly gutted that we’re not doing the usual family celebration centered around a turkey and all the trimmings (which is how Brits spend Christmas day with ‘sprouts the obligatory vegetable and roasted potatoes instead of mash or sweet potatoes like we Yanks usually have). There’s your culture lesson for the day, so now on to the fun stuff! 

Since we should all have a bit more free time these days, you may be looking for more ways to fill the time. Since we also have a lot more darkness, if you’re like me you spend those hours either sleeping or sat in front of the TV, so I’ve decided to share some Thanksgiving movie recommendations. 

No Thanksgiving would be complete without watching the Charles Schultz classic, “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.” I think Snoopy had more fun than anyone helping set up everything in Charlie Brown’s backyard – including a ping-pong table being used as a dining room table and an assortment of chairs dragged out of the garage for all his friends to sit in. Okay, I’ve never sat around a ping-pong table, but who among us hasn’t scrounged up chairs from all corners of the house, garage, or shed to seat everyone. 

Unlike in previous years when it would have been shown on terrestrial TV, Disney Plus has snatched up the rights (and all copies on dvd and Blu-ray I am told), so you need a subscription if you plan to watch it. However, I received an email a few days ago advertising the fact that our local PBS affiliate is showing it Sunday evening. I have my toast, popcorn, and M&Ms (which my husband informed me are supposed to be jelly beans) ready (but am missing the little pretzel sticks). Chow down Charlie Brown!

                               (photo borrowed from internet, not my re-creation)

Once you’re done with that move on over to a little light dark humor in “Addams Family Values.” Thanksgiving comes into play when Wednesday and Pugsley are sent to camp and are forced to participate in a re-creation of the pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving.

Of course chaos ensues when the Addams children’s interpretation (after Wednesday’s speech) of white man’s treatment of the Indians gets a little out of hand. I laughed and laughed. I laughed so hard pumpkin pie came out of my nose! (not really) 

“Son-in-Law” stars 90s icon, Pauly Shore (probably best known for “Encino Man”). The plot of this movie revolves around Shore’s character, “Crawl” coming home for Thanksgiving with college friend, Becca. From here it’s a bit of the fish out of water situation as Crawl is like the city kid suddenly introduced to life down home on the farm. However, unlike other movies or TV programs where the newcomer has difficulty adjusting to the new situation, Crawl seems happy enough to embrace this foreign culture, even if he sticks out like a sore thumb. 

However, Becca’s family eventually warm to him and he imparts a bit of advice to each of them, so that everyone ends up a better, or at least changed (and maybe happier) person in the end. The movie might feel a bit dated, but the humor is timeless.

“What’s Cooking” is a good movie that illustrates no matter what your cultural background is, there are universal problems among all families, because people are still people no matter their ethnic background. 

According to Wikipedia, “What's Cooking? is a 2000 British/American comedy-drama film directed by Gurinder Chadha and starring Mercedes Ruehl, Kyra Sedgwick, Joan Chen, Lainie Kazan, Maury Chaykin, Julianna Margulies, Alfre Woodard, and Dennis Haysbert. On Thanksgiving day, four ethnically diverse families -- Vietnamese, Latino, Jewish, and African American — gather for the traditional meal. Each family has its own distinct way of cooking the traditional holiday meal and its own set of problems.” 

My husband and I saw this movie as part of an international film festival when we were still living in Bath, UK. It has some catchy tunes, so I even purchased the soundtrack.  If you’re looking for something a little different this holiday, you can’t go wrong with “What’s Cooking?” (available to stream for free on Amazon Prime if you’re a subscriber). 

Once the kids are in bed, sit down with a glass of wine (this is a classy film, so beer won’t do it) and set your TV or dvd player to “Tadpole.” Like “What’s Cooking?” my husband and I also saw this in Bath, UK when it first came out and liked it so much I purchased the dvd and have watched it several times throughout the years. 

If you’re a fan of the late John Ritter, Sigourney Weaver, or Bebe Neuwirth (Lilith Crane), you won’t be disappointed by the somewhat saucy plot line involving young “Tadpole” (Oscar) having a serious crush on his step-mom played by Sigourney Weaver. Having failed to subtly attract her attention other ways, he turns to his mom’s bestie, Diane.

Although I’m not sure I approve of her character having intercourse with Oscar since he was a minor and she definitely wasn’t, Diane definitely gets all the best lines in the film like when Oscar tells her he’s a bit afraid of her boyfriend because he’s kind of big, and Diane replies, “Well actually, he’s not that big.” (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). 

I love this movie for so many things – the setting (New York City), the fact that the characters are all smart and scholarly and probably terrible snobs, but certainly different than anybody I know, and the casting (all my favorite actors), and the humor, and that it’s a great blend of all those things. This is definitely worth staying up late for. 

“Pieces of April” is the one movie that might make you feel better if you’re missing your family this Thanksgiving. From what I remember of it, it’s about the black sheep of the family, “April,” played by a much younger, pre-Tom Cruise days, Katie Holmes who decides to host Thanksgiving in her modest NYC apartment (cue the broken stove causing her even more stress). Like “Tadpole,” it also has an all-star line-up including Oliver Platt and Patricia Clarkson who play her parents, and Alison Pill who plays April’s judgmental sister, Beth. 

According to IMDB, “In a very poor zone of New York, April Burns and her boyfriend, the Afro-American Bobby, are preparing to receive April's family for thanksgiving dinner. While Bobby tries to borrow a suit for himself, April realizes that her stove is broken. She tries desperately to find a neighbor that can let her cook the turkey, since she does not want to fail (again) with her family. Meanwhile, in a suburb of Pennsylvania, her dysfunctional family is preparing to travel to New York. While driving, the relationship between the Burns and their black-sheep April is disclosed through the conversations between her father Jim, her resented mother Joy, her brother, her sister and her grandmother.” Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 

                                         (I have/had the same S & P shakers)

This movie is definitely the most realistic of the above mentioned films as lots of families have a black sheep, or a wayward child who does their own thing. My sister and I usually get along better than April and her sister, Beth, but we’ve certainly had our disagreements over the years (though not usually about meal details since my sister is a very good cook). Also, my husband and I have never hosted a family Thanksgiving dinner on this side of the Atlantic, but we have had his parents over for many Thanksgiving meals and never once over-or-under cooked the turkey (though I think we actually had chicken since that was easier to find in England in November). 

These movies are just a few from a selection of lists I browsed listing dozens of top Thanksgiving movies, but at least all the above do feature the holiday and are mostly centered around it. 

Next month I’ll provide my recommendations for best Christmas movies (and it will take me awhile to narrow the list, so I definitely have my work cut out for me).