Thanksgiving Movies
Many films carry a great Thanksgiving scene or moment, yet few films hold the distinction of being a "Thanksgiving Movie."
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- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsAidan QuinnElizabeth PerkinsLeo FuchsA Polish-Jewish family comes to the U.S. at the beginning of the twentieth century. There, the family and their children try to make themselves a better future in the so-called promised land.
- DirectorJohn HughesStarsSteve MartinJohn CandyLaila RobinsA Chicago advertising man must struggle to travel home from New York for Thanksgiving, with a lovable oaf of a shower-curtain-ring salesman as his only companion.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsKevin KlineJoan AllenSigourney WeaverIn suburban New Canaan, Connecticut, 1973, middle-class families experimenting with casual sex and substance abuse find their lives beyond their control.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobbie RobertsonMuddy WatersNeil YoungA film account and presentation of the final concert of The Band.
- DirectorJodie FosterStarsHolly HunterAnne BancroftRobert Downey Jr.After losing her job, making out with her soon-to-be former boss, and finding out that her daughter plans to spend Thanksgiving with her boyfriend, Claudia Larson faces spending the holiday with her family.
- DirectorDonald PetrieStarsJack LemmonWalter MatthauAnn-MargretA lifelong feud between two neighbors since childhood only gets worse when a new female neighbor moves across the street.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsMia FarrowDianne WiestMichael CaineBetween two Thanksgivings two years apart, Hannah's husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her sister Holly.
- DirectorArthur PennStarsArlo GuthriePatricia QuinnJames BroderickA cinematic adaption of Arlo Guthrie's classic story-song.
- DirectorRobert BentonStarsPaul NewmanBruce WillisJessica TandyA stubborn man past his prime reflects on his life of strict independence and seeks more from himself.
- DirectorGreg MottolaStarsHope DavisStanley TucciParker PoseyWhen she discovers a love letter written to her husband by an unknown paramour, the distraught Eliza turns to her tight-knit Long Island family for advice.
- DirectorPeter HedgesStarsKatie HolmesOliver PlattPatricia ClarksonA wayward daughter invites her dying mother and the rest of her estranged family to her apartment for Thanksgiving dinner.
- DirectorMartin BrestStarsAl PacinoChris O'DonnellJames RebhornA prep school student needing money agrees to "babysit" a blind man, but the job is not at all what he anticipated.
- DirectorStephen KaramStarsRichard JenkinsJayne HoudyshellAmy SchumerDuring one evening, the Blake family gathers to celebrate thanksgiving in a broken-down flat newly rented by the daughter and her new man. As the darkness falls, we find that all have less to be thankful about.
- DirectorEmilio EstevezStarsEmilio EstevezKathy BatesMartin SheenHaunted by his experiences in the Vietnam War, a young man returns home and has trouble adjusting back to civilian life, his family and his stern father.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsJoe AlwynGarrett HedlundArturo Castro19-year-old Billy Lynn is brought home for a victory tour after a harrowing Iraq battle. Through flashbacks, the film shows what really happened to his squad - contrasting the realities of war with America's perceptions.
- DirectorTrey Edward ShultsStarsKrisha FairchildAlex DobrenkoRobyn FairchildKrisha returns for Thanksgiving dinner after ten years away from her family, but past demons threaten to ruin the festivities.
- DirectorBart FreundlichStarsJulianne MooreRoy ScheiderNoah WyleA few days spent in close proximity to each other soon leads to family secrets and old resentments being revealed, which threaten to splinter an already dysfunctional family.
- DirectorChristopher GuestStarsCatherine O'HaraHarry ShearerParker PoseyThree actors learn that their respective performances in the film "Home for Purim," a drama set in the mid-1940s American South, are generating award-season buzz.
- DirectorWill SlocombeStarsAlicia WittCheryl HinesSonya WalgerThanksgiving for the eccentric Turner clan turns into a train wreck when "insane" daughter Nina comes home for the first time in 15 years.
- DirectorAdam Newport-BerraStarsMatthew ChastainBenjamin DickinsonSamantha JacoberIt's Thanksgiving, and Amy and Alex are in love. But when a mysterious stranger, introduced as Amy's estranged brother, shows up to dinner, Alex has his suspicions that this man may be someone altogether different.
- DirectorIke BarinholtzStarsIke BarinholtzTiffany HaddishNora DunnIn a politically divided America, a man struggles to make it through the Thanksgiving holiday without destroying his family.
- DirectorPeter FaimanStarsEd O'NeillEthan EmbryJoBeth WilliamsTo get to know his girlfriend's son, a working-class good guy volunteers to pick him up from his prep school, only to learn that he isn't the nicest young man.
- DirectorSteve RashStarsPauly ShoreCarla GuginoLane SmithHaving gotten a taste of college life, a drastically changed farm girl returns home for Thanksgiving break with her best friend, a flamboyant party animal who is clearly a fish out of water in a small farm town.
- DirectorMark WatersStarsParker PoseyJosh HamiltonTori SpellingA mentally unbalanced young woman - who is convinced she is Jackie Kennedy - flies into a murderous rage when her brother returns home to reveal he is engaged.
- DirectorGurinder ChadhaStarsJoan ChenJulianna MarguliesMercedes RuehlFour families in LA of different ethnicity (Latino, Asian/Vietnamese, African and Jewish) gather together for Thanksgiving dinner.
- DirectorRobert Ellis MillerStarsSandy DennisAnthony NewleyTheodore BikelA woman lures emotionally crippled men into affairs, then helps them repair their lives.
- DirectorPat O'ConnorStarsKeanu ReevesCharlize TheronJason IsaacsA workaholic executive, and an unconventional woman agree to a personal relationship for a short period. In this short period she changes his life.
- DirectorA.M. LukasStarsRachel KellerTobin MitnickClaire ChapelliHome for Thanksgiving break after their first semester at college, five friends discover just how much things change (and don't) after high school.
- DirectorAdam WhiteStarsJon HederBarry CorbinSummer BellessaA successful business woman takes her boyfriend home for Thanksgiving only to find her family is scheming to reunite her with her lost love.
- DirectorKirk R. ThatcherStarsMary SteenburgenJay HarringtonGraham VerchereThe Emmerson family heads to the quaint town of Turkey Hollow to visit Aunt Cly. Tim and Annie quickly grow bored without the Internet, and soon try to track the howling hoodoo, an elusive monster the locals dismiss as a legend.
- DirectorGreg CoolidgeStarsRyan HansenMatt JonesAlan RitchsonA 30-something urbanite is pulled back to his rural hometown by his high-school buddies on Thanksgiving to finish The Turkey Bowl, an epic football game against their crosstown rivals that was snowed out 15 years before.
- DirectorNeal IsraelStarsBryan CranstonJudge ReinholdPenelope Ann MillerAll Mitch Snider wants for his family is a traditional holiday feast with the relatives. The problem is that he doesn't have any. That is until he gets an invitation in the mail from his long-lost cousin Woodrow. What follows is a full-course meal of nonstop laughs when the neurotic suburbanites clash with the hippy hicks from hell in National Lampoon's most outrageous family misadventure yet.
- DirectorHenrique CoutoStarsGeoff BurkmanMike CanestaroTara ClarkA family tangled in a web of drama from financial issues and relationships experiences a long, awkward period of silence during Thanksgiving dinner.
- DirectorNicol PaoneStarsMalin AkermanKat DenningsJack DonnellyMolly and Abbey, along with their crew of close friends and acquaintances, host a dysfunctional, comical and chaotic Thanksgiving dinner.
- DirectorGary WinickStarsSigourney WeaverAaron StanfordKate MaraComing-of-age story about a suave 15-year-old prep school student who falls in love with his stepmother. When her best friend responds to his advances, he suddenly finds himself in way over his head.
- DirectorBrett RatnerStarsEddie MurphyBen StillerCasey AffleckWhen a group of hard-working guys find out they've fallen victim to their wealthy employer's Ponzi scheme, they conspire to rob his high-rise residence.
- DirectorLee Toland KriegerStarsAdam ScottBrittany SnowAlex FrostA man tries to warn his brother away from the new girlfriend he brings home during Thanksgiving, but ends up becoming infatuated with her in the process.
- DirectorStefan RuzowitzkyStarsEric BanaOlivia WildeCharlie HunnamTwo siblings decide to fend for themselves in the wake of a botched casino heist and their unlikely reunion during another family's Thanksgiving celebration.
- DirectorPatrick LussierStarsDermot MulroneyDiana SilversTembi LockeKimberly, a teenager suffering from agoraphobia, has not left the house since her mother's unsolved murder. On the eve of Thanksgiving, she begins to suspect that the safe harbor of home and her doting father may be a dangerous mirage.
- DirectorNettie PeñaStarsJake SteinfeldVinessa ShawPeter De PaulaAn escaped mental patient steals a station wagon and makes his way to the Bradleys' Thanksgiving celebration, where he plans to make them a little less thankful...
- DirectorJohn GrissmerStarsLouise LasserMark SoperJulie GordonA boy kills a man and accuses his twin brother of the murder, and the innocent brother ends up institutionalized, while his psychotic twin goes free. 10 years later, the innocent twin escapes, which triggers his brother into killing again.
- DirectorEli RothStarsMark BakunasVendula BednarovaChris BriggsParody of holiday slasher movie trailers.
- DirectorJordan DowneyStarsWanda LustNatasha CordovaLindsey AndersonA homicidal turkey axes off college kids during Thanksgiving break.
- DirectorOlly BlackburnStarsHaley BennettAshley GreeneLucas TillWhen a college girl who is alone on campus over the Thanksgiving break is targeted by a group of outcasts, she must conquer her deepest fears to outwit them and fight back.
- DirectorCasey TeboStarsDevon SawaIvana BaqueroRyan LeeA group of toy store employees must protect each other from a horde of parasite infected shoppers.
- DirectorMarcus DunstanStarsReign EdwardsKerr SmithCourtney HenggelerA woman invites re-enactors to produce an authentic first Thanksgiving for her family and friends. However, things take an unexpected turn when the actors refuse to break character.
- StarsVincent KartheiserKalani QueypoTatanka MeansStory of the Voyage of the Mayflower and the first year of The Pilgrims in America.
- DirectorXavier KollerStarsAdam BeachMandy PatinkinSheldon Peters WolfchildFictional chronicle of Squanto's life prior to and including the arrival of the "Mayflower" in 1620.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsSpencer TracyGene TierneyVan JohnsonTrials and tribulations beset the one hundred odd settlers that journey to Virginia in 1620 including unexpectedly arriving in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsPauline LordW.C. FieldsZasu PittsThe Wiggs family plan to celebrate Thanksgiving in their rundown shack with leftover stew, without Mr. Wiggs, who hasn't been heard from since he wandered off long ago. Do-gooder Miss Lucy brings them a real feast. Her boyfriend Bob arranges to take Wiggs' sick boy to a hospital. Their other boy makes some money peddling kindling and takes the family to a show. Mrs. Wiggs is called to the hospital just in time to see her boy die. Her neighbor Miss Hazy wants to marry Mr. Stubbins, who insists on tasting her cooking. Mrs. Wiggs sneaks her dishes past Stubbins, who agrees to marriage. Mr. Wiggs appears suddenly, in tatters, with just the amount of money ($20) needed to save the family from foreclosure. Miss Lucy and Bob get married.
- DirectorJimmy HaywardStarsWoody HarrelsonOwen WilsonDan FoglerA pair of turkeys discover a time machine and decide to use it to travel to the first Thanksgiving, to take turkeys off the menu forever.
- DirectorBill MelendezPhil RomanStarsTodd BarbeeRobin KohnStephen SheaPeppermint Patty invites herself and her friends over to Charlie Brown's for Thanksgiving, and with Linus, Snoopy, and Woodstock, he attempts to throw together a Thanksgiving dinner.
- DirectorRobert ClampettStarsMel BlancRobert C. BruceThurl RavenscroftThe Pilgrims, led by captain Porky Pig, set sail from Plymouth for America. We get a series of ocean sailing blackout gags, including a running bit between our narrator and the cook, looking for a fish suitable for dinner, a singing trio interrupted by seasickness, flying fish (in airplanes). Then, The Rains Came. A collision with an iceberg is narrowly averted. Land is sighted. The pilgrims are welcomed by Chief Sitting Bull.
- DirectorTex AveryStarsTex AveryFrank GrahamLeone Le DouxA Pilgrim ventures out to procure a turkey for the first Thanksgiving.
- DirectorJules BassArthur Rankin Jr.StarsTennessee Ernie FordEddie AlbertJohn GaryThe Mayflower journey as seen through the experiences of a church mouse.
- DirectorAbe LevitowStarsDaws ButlerBob HoltDon MessickTo add flavor to her rock soup, the Fat Broad commands Wiley, Peter, Thor, etc. to catch a turkey. The problem is that no one knows what a turkey is, except for the turkey himself. In spite of this, the chase is on. Mostly a series of running gags, this animated special did a superb job of capturing the humor of Johnny Hart's B.C. comic strip.
- DirectorPhil RomanGerard BaldwinBob NeslerStarsLorenzo MusicThom HugeGregg BergerJon falls for Garfield's veterinarian--who puts Garfield on a diet--and invites her to Thanksgiving dinner.
- DirectorArthur DavisStarsMel BlancThe patriarch of a family of farming hill billies is fattening a turkey to slaughter for Thanksgiving Day dinner, and he is fattening the fowl by providing him with a veritable feast of roast beef, ham, fruits, vegetables, cakes, and pies. A jealous Daffy Duck, one of the turkey's fellow farm animals, wants to have all the food for himself. So, Daffy pretends to care for the turkey's welfare and warns the turkey off the food, and he urges the turkey to lose weight so that the hill billies won't want to slaughter him. Daffy gorges himself on the food while acting as coach to the turkey, who is frantically and strenuously trying to reduce himself. When Thanksgiving comes, the turkey is toothpick-thin, and the hillbilly father turns his hungry sights on an overweight Daffy!
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsWilliam S. BurroughsAn indictment ballad of all the different political groups in America.
- DirectorJoseph BarberaWilliam HannaStarsKevin CooperJune ForayMarilyn MayneA talking squirrel must save the holiday by rescuing a young Pilgrim boy and a young Native American boy that has gone missing in the woods on Thanksgiving day.
- DirectorGeorge SchaeferStarsAnthony HopkinsRichard CrennaJenny AgutterIn 1620, the Assembly of the Pilgrims decides to emigrate to the young America because of the persecution they suffer by the English crown. This movie tells the adventurous journey of the Pilgrims to an unknown land and future.
- DirectorEli RothStarsPatrick DempseyTy OlssonGina GershonAfter a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts - the birthplace of the infamous holiday.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsChristian BaleSteve ZahnJeremy DaviesA U.S. fighter pilot's epic struggle of survival after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War.
- DirectorMark SandrichRobert AllenStarsBing CrosbyFred AstaireMarjorie ReynoldsAt an inn which is open only on holidays, a crooner and a hoofer vie for the affections of a beautiful up-and-coming performer.
- DirectorNeill FearnleyStarsDaphne ZunigaDan PayneGina HoldenA lawyer trying to make partner is shown the joys of living a more balanced life.
- DirectorPaul BogartStarsJason RobardsMildred NatwickBarnard HughesAddie tries to invite her father's sworn enemy over for Thanksgiving dinner in the hopes of ending their long-standing feud.
- DirectorNoah BaumbachStarsGreta GerwigLola KirkeShana DowdeswellA lonely college freshman's life is turned upside-down by her impetuous, adventurous stepsister-to-be.
- DirectorWill Collazo Jr.Julie Anne PrescottStarsPaul FaggioneNatalie PeriMark C. FullhardtA struggling couple visits a marriage counselor for the holiday as a last resort. Soon after, they realize he has sinister intentions that could make this Thanksgiving their last.
- DirectorQueen NorrisStarsTray ChaneyMarkice MooreDuane FinleyChaos ensues when Harvard student Marlon Scott comes home for Thanksgiving and runs into his troublesome weed-smoking cousins, Tim and Dank.