The Best Thanksgiving Movies to Watch with Friends and Family
Let's face it: It's prime Thanksgiving movie season already, because Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away (time!), and you know what that means: It's time to start meticulously planning your Thanksgiving Day, minute by minute, so as to minimize the amount of time you have to spend filling in various nebulously related uncles and aunts on what you've achieved this year, and maximize the amount of time you can zone out with a glass of cheap red wine in front of a college basketball game you don't give a shit about. It's the American way.
When the plates are cleared, a Thanksgiving gathering normally disintegrates into one of two desperate final plays: a game, or a movie. Pray no one brought the dice this year, because let's face it, everyone's full of turkey and butter and you just want to shut the hell up and watch something. Here are eight surefire Thanksgiving movies suitable for everything from a mass family reunion to saying "fuck it," saying you're sick, and staying home with a can of Chef Boyardee.
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Where to Watch It: Amazon Prime
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES, Steve Martin, John Candy, 1987, © Paramount/courtesy Everett Collect
Everett CollectionThe "Thanksgiving movie" is, frankly, anything you want it to be. It's not as commercial a pitch as a Christmas movie, and it's far more narrow culturally, which means you don't get a lot of actual films set on actual Thanksgiving. Nonetheless, John Hughes's foray into adult comedy filmmaking, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, fits the bill. Steve Martin and John Candy are the perfect "road trip gone wrong" pair. This thing's a delight, start to finish, with some of the more biting scenes Hughes has written, without sacrificing that big ol' heart of his.
Toy Story 2
Where to Watch It: Disney+
TOY STORY 2, Rex (Wallace Shawn), Slinky Dog (Jim Varney), Hamm (John Ratzenberger), Mr. Potato Hea
Everett CollectionA family-friendly slam dunk, frankly. Show me someone who doesn't want to watch Tory Story 2 at any given moment, and I'll show you a liar. More than any of the other three films in the series, it captures the Toy Story language of separation anxiety, finding your family, and cultural parodies at a better, brisker pace. The perfect movie.
The Children
Where to Watch It: Amazon Prime
THE CHILDREN, from left: Eva Sayer, Jake Hathaway, 2008. ©Ghosthouse Underground/Courtesy Everett Co
Everett CollectionFor people who want to live on the edge a bit more, The Children will satisfy your spooky, gory movie ambitions. Set during Christmas (eh, close enough) in the U.K. (eh, close enough), the movie follows a family gathering that descends into chaos when a mysterious virus causes every child to start behaving violently. It's a blast, and very much not for actual children.
Lady and the Tramp (2019)
Where to Watch It: Disney+
Turns out the secret to a successful live-action Disney remake is being allowed to get as weird as possible. Lady and the Tramp is an utterly joyful, deranged update on the animated classic, with charmingly phoned-in performances and some big dumb jokes that really work. Screw it, I love this movie.
Step Brothers
Where to Watch It: Netflix
STEP BROTHERS, from left: John C. Reilly, Will Ferrell, 2008, © Columbia/courtesy Everett Collection
Everett CollectionShow this to your parents to demonstrate how things could always, always be worse.
Frozen (2010)
Where to Watch It: Amazon Prime
FROZEN, from left: Emma Bell, Kevin Zegers, Shawn Ashmore, 2010, © Anchor Bay Films/courtesy Everett
No, not the Disney one (in the words of Adele Dazeem: Let it go). I'm talking about the vicious thriller in which four friends get trapped on a ski lift overnight on a mountain, and end up having to fight for their lives amid a snowstorm and a pack of wolves lingering below.
The Kid Who Would Be King
Where to Watch It: HBO GO
MCDKIWH FE002
Everett CollectionJoe Cornish's big, fun kid-friendly movie doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it brings a charmingly offbeat tone to a genre all but lost to the '90s: the plucky kid on a noble, wacky quest. This modern-day retelling of the Arthurian legend is imbued with just the right blend of silliness and very good action. What more could you expect from the Attack the Block director?
Snowpiercer
Where to Watch It: Netflix
SNOWPIERCER, from left: Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer, 2013. ©Weinstein
Everett CollectionBong Joon-ho's masterpiece Parasite is blowing up right now. To celebrate, watch his chilly action romp set on a big train in an alternate reality where the entire earth has frozen, and the only remaining life is jammed inside the giant chrome locomotive whizzing endlessly around the world.
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Something you might’ve missed! Something to rediscover! Something to get you ready for Waves!
Here’s what to watch at home this weekend.
Here’s what to watch at home this weekend.
Finished with cartoons and Marvel and Star Wars, and trying to figure out what to watch with your new Disney+ subscription? Look no further.
Originally Appeared on GQ
