It’s the time of year to stuff our faces with all manner of delicious food, give thanks for all we have, and otherwise do little of anything else. Thanksgiving is a perfect day to vegetate and enjoy some classic movies from days of yore.
Laugh, cry, sing, dance, and be thankful for friends, family, and most of all gravity, an atmosphere, and oxygen. Unbuckle your belt, let the turkey guy loose, and sit down to enjoy these five movies on Thanksgiving Day.
Planes, Trains, And Automobiles – 1987
Comedy legends Steve Martin and John Candy combine forces with 80s teen angst comedy director John Hughes for a comedy about unlikely friends. Neal (Martin) is an advertising exec trying to get home to his family for Turkey Day. Del (Candy), is a goofy shower curtain salesman trying to help. Disastrous hilarity ensues.
Dutch – 1991
An often overlooked comedy, Dutch was written by John Hughes and stars Ed O’Neil and Ethan Embry. O’Neil plays Dutch, a working class guy who’s trying to score brownie points with his girlfriend (JoBeth Williams) by getting close to her son, Doyle (Embry). Dutch is a Thanksgiving road comedy with a lot of heart that gives thanks to our inner child.
Addams’ Family Values – 1993
Say what you will about the movie as a whole, but it’s a Thanksgiving must due to one hilarious sequence with Wednesday Addams (Christina Ricci) keeping it all too real. No more needs to be said about it. Click play below and enjoy the chaos.
Home For The Holidays – 1995
Claudia Larson (Holly Hunter) comes home for Thanksgiving to a family she doesn’t like being around. The only relative Claudia likes is her gay and mischievous brother, Tommy Larson, played by Tony “Robert Downey, Jr.” Stark. Jodie Foster directs this smart, funny, down-to-earth family comedy.
The Ice Storm – 1997
Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, Elijah Wood, Katie Holmes, and Sigourney Weaver form a superb ensemble cast in Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm. It’s Thanksgiving 1973; two families use sex, drugs, and worse to escape the shocking social changes occurring during the “me” decade.
Honorable Mention: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving – 1973
No Thanksgiving Day list would be right without A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. It’s easy to overlook the simple things in life, the little things that get you by or got you to the here and now, reading my post. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is a reset button for the soul.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aMJq04FPds
And, one last bonus, simply because I LOVE horror movies (NSFW): “White meat, dark meat, all will be carved!”
Thanksgiving thanks to ClipArt Kid for the cute owl in the featured imaged.
