Thanksgiving can be a nice opportunity to catch up with your family and spend some quality time together, while enjoying a delicious meal. However, most of the time, these dinners end up being quite the anxiety-inducing and chaotic event, where everybody is so stressed out about everything turning out perfectly that you end up not enjoying anything. Or is that just me? I don’t think so, if you’re here it’s because you feel somehow similarly.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the holiday. I mean, it’s a long weekend with delicious food and the perfect weather to just stay in bed with a cozy blanket. What’s not to like? In fact, for many people out there, the perfect Thanksgiving involves enjoying the long weekend without doing anything, eating everything that comes your way, and hours of movie watching and series bingeing. If that sounds like heaven, here are my ultimate seven classic movies I watch every year on this day.
Addams Family Values (1993) Dir. Barry Sonnenfeld
Sure, there are some scenes that would be considered inappropriate and politically incorrect these days, but it’s a classic film that I always enjoy watching. The part where the whole camp is staging the classic Thanksgiving story, and Wednesday deliberately decides to tell a more accurate version of it, exposing some racist attitudes from her campmates and their parents, is simply flawless.
This might be interesting too: Here’s The True And Bloody Story Behind The Origins Of Thanksgiving
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The House of Yes (1997) Dir. Mark Waters
Jackie is a woman obsessed with Jackie O, waiting anxiously to see her twin brother for Thanksgiving. However, it all goes horribly wrong when his brother decides to bring his fiancée to introduce her to the family. In real life, it’s always difficult and stressful to meet your partner’s family, but in this story, it will all be even more difficult. Though a bit tense, it’s actually quite an enjoyable film full of dark humor.
Avalon (1990) Dir. Barry Levinson
My favorite kind of movie marathon must have emotional highs and lows to keep me going. So, I always like including this heartwarming and moving film about a big, Jewish, immigrant family, and how each generation adapts to their new home. As in any family, there are always problems, but this particular family knows a lot about endurance and resiliency, which makes them value the good times, like getting together for Thanksgiving. It’s a classic tearjerker that makes you feel really good afterward.
For Your Consideration (2006) Dir. Christopher Guest
A film about the Jewish celebrations of Purim is on the works with a legendary actress and a veteran actor best known for some kosher hot dog ads. During production, the studios decide to make some changes, saying it’s “too Jewish” and won’t appeal to a larger audience, and re-naming it Home for Thanksgiving. The film shows us the process of making the film with really funny and irreverent moments that will make you laugh really hard.
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987) Dir. John Hughes
This eighties classic (that got a bad remake recently) tells the story of a resourceful man who wants to get home to his family for Thanksgiving. The problem is that life doesn’t seem to want that to happen, and it keeps preventing him from achieving his task. To do so, he has to travel with a very clumsy and annoying stranger who only complicates things. This is a seriously classic comedy and a film you can’t miss.
Funny People (2009) Dir. Judd Apatow
For a more modern Thanksgiving comedy, there’s Funny People, delivered to you by Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, and many other hilarious actors. It tells the story of a movie star who wants to go back to his roots and create a stand-up comedy show, but then finds out he has leukemia. As the project goes on and he starts touring the country, he reconnects with people from his past and meets new people he would’ve never had hung out with before. The Thanksgiving celebration is a really moving and yet hilarious moment in the film you can’t miss.
Scent of a Woman (1992) Dir. Martin Brest
A good Thanksgiving marathon always ends with this classic film with the one and only Al Pacino. He plays a blind, retired Army colonel who is anything but a tired, old man; he’s a reckless alcoholic. Charlie Simms, a prep school student with a scholarship wants to earn some money to visit his family over the holidays, so he accepts to take care of Frank during the Thanksgiving weekend. With some hilarious and some really dramatic moments, this movie will really leave you on the edge of your seat.
These classic movies are set on Thanksgiving, but they give us something more entertaining than just the cheesy excuse of the celebration. You’ll just need a nice blanket, your favorite couch, and some delicious leftovers to have a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving weekend.
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Here are other movies you can binge-watch was well:
6 Romantic Movies From The 2010s We Can Say Are Already Classics
10 Movies And Series You Can Watch On Netflix If Avengers Left You Superhero Obsessed
6 Movies That Will Inspire You To Have A Fresh Beginning
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