Nov 21, 2018

Feel-Good Thanksgiving Movies

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Cringe-worthy culinary mishaps, treacherous travel follies, and awkward dinner-table conversations are unavoidable on Thanksgiving … at least according to most of the movies set on this classic American holiday. Sure, there’s always turkey and pie, but a heaping helping of drama is usually the main course.

This Thanksgiving, we’re hoping for a little more optimistic take on our favorite day of eating. After we’ve finished watching all the football, we’ll be raising a glass - and our trusty Control Center remote - and giving thanks with a few of these feel-good Thanksgiving movies. (Download the Caavo TV & Movie Guides App to add these selections to your own what-to-watchlist!)

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

Yes, there is plenty of the aforementioned travel drama, but this John Candy/Steve Martin comedy remains one of the best Thanksgiving movies around. “Those aren’t pillows!”

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A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)

No Thanksgiving holiday is complete without a side of Peanuts. This Emmy-winning prime-time TV special, which first aired in 1973, stands the test of time and is a tasty treat.

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The Blind Side (2009)

While Thanksgiving dinner is one small scene in this film, the holiday meal shared by the affluent Tuohy family and seventeen-year-old runaway Michael Oher is an important turning point in this biographical sports drama. Bring tissues.

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The Other Sister (1999)

Speaking of tissues … Garry Marshall’s sentimental love story will warm your heart. Carla Tate, played by Juliette Lewis, wants to make her Thanksgiving an especially memorable one.

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Free Birds (2013)

Can’t go wrong with talking animals. The young children in this family will enjoy this animated family film voiced by Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson.

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She’s Gotta Have It (1986)

Spike Lee’s breakthrough indie romance, which he’s recently reimagined as a Netflix series of the same name, was a spark for the indie film movement of the 1980s. The Thanksgiving scene from the original even made it into the new series, so we’re watching both and comparing notes.

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Son in Law (1993)

Ah 1993. Power Rangers were flying off the shelves, and Pauly Shore was totally a thing. This classic fish-out-of-water tale may not have won any awards for great acting, but it’s sweet and good for a chuckle. Pauly Shore’s karate moves - and his sweater - in the Thanksgiving scene are mighty fierce.

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