Comedy Movies About Thanksgiving
Turkey, Tradition, and Trouble Play Roles in Holiday Favorites
Nov 10, 2008
When families gather for the holidays, they bring their problems with them - in real life and in the movies.
What’s the biggest difference between real Thanksgiving celebrations and those in the movies? Both have cranky relatives, substance abuse, extramarital affairs, transportation woes, cooking disasters, lack of space, and a multitude of other problems. The difference is that in the movies, all this is funny.
Most winter holiday films concern Christmas and New Year’s Eve, but these five comedies – all of which are available for rental or purchase on DVD – celebrate the best and worst of Turkey Day in America.
The Importance of Food and Family at Thanksgiving
Pieces of April (2003)
- April, the family black-sheep, invites her dysfunctional family over for Thanksgiving dinner even though her stove is broken and her apartment is tiny.
- Starring Katie Holmes, Derek Luke, Oliver Platt, Patricia Clarkson
- Director: Peter Hedges
- Rating: PG-13
- Additional Information: Clarkson was nominated for and the winner of numerous awards for her role as April’s critically ill mother who comes to visit for the holiday.
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
- Three adult sisters, their romantic counterparts, and piles of emotional baggage show up for two consecutive Thanksgiving dinners in this bittersweet romantic comedy about Woody Allen's usual subjects of life, love, sex, and death.
- Starring Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey, Dianne Wiest, Michael Caine
- Director: Woody Allen
- Rating: PG
- Additional Information: Hannah and Her Sisters won many awards, including Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay (Allen), Best Supporting Actor (Caine), and Best Supporting Actress (Wiest).
The Importance of Food and Friends at Thanksgiving
What’s Cooking? (2000)
- Four ethnically diverse households in Los Angeles celebrate Thanksgiving together, each handling a different crisis.
- Starring Mercedes Ruehl, Lainie Kazan, Kyra Sedgwick, Alfre Woodard
- Director: Gurinder Chadha
- Rating: PG-13
- Additional Information: Chadha won British Director of the Year in 2002 from the London Critics Circle Film Awards.
Scent of a Woman (1992)
- A dark comedy in which a blind retired military officer is home alone during Thanksgiving with only a hired student to keep him company during his escapades.
- Starring Al Pacino, Chris O’Donnell, Gabrielle Anwar, Philip Seymour Hoffman
- Director: Martin Brest
- Rating: R
- Additional Information: This film is a remake of the 1975 Italian film Profumo di Donna.
The Importance of Food, Family, and Friends at Thanksgiving
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
- An uptight businessman and a loud-mouthed goof must join forces in an effort to make it home for Thanksgiving when bad weather cancels their flight.
- Starring Steve Martin, John Candy, Edie McClurg, Kevin Bacon
- Director: John Hughes
- Rating: R
- Additional Information: The film alters between hilarious and tragic, and offers fine performances from the two leads.
For more information about holiday movies, read Romantic Comedies for the Holidays.
The copyright of the article Comedy Movies About Thanksgiving in Comic Films is owned by Leslie C. Halpern. Permission to republish Comedy Movies About Thanksgiving in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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