Why Isn’t the ‘Thanksgiving Movie’ a Thing?

What Should One Watch on Thanksgiving?

I think about the perfect Thanksgiving movie every year. Since my friends and I have a tradition of watching VHS tapes each night during Thanksgiving week, we start planning and debating our options as early as September.

You know, as a movie fan, I’ve always wondered why there aren’t more great Thanksgiving movies. And I think it’s because Thanksgiving is actually a really unique holiday – it doesn’t really need a big plot. It’s not built around a specific story beyond the historical one. It’s for everyone, it’s basically five days focused on one amazing meal, and it rolls right into Black Friday and the whole weekend. Unlike Christmas, where the movies stop after the 25th, Thanksgiving feels like the end of an entire cozy autumn season. A couple of days later, you’re still enjoying leftovers, but you’re not unwrapping Christmas gifts! Honestly, for a lot of us – especially as kids – Thanksgiving day itself is pretty low-key. You just hang out, maybe watch your parents cook and watch TV, and wait for the food. It’s not exactly a blockbuster waiting to happen, is it?

The Thanksgiving movies you’re thinking of generally focus on two things: the stress of travel and dealing with family. Unlike Christmas movies, which often feel magical and full of meaning, Thanksgiving films don’t usually have a strong emotional core. Planes, Trains and Automobiles is so definitive in its portrayal of the Thanksgiving travel experience that it’s almost impossible to make another movie on the same topic that could measure up – it’s like Jurassic Park and dinosaur films. Similarly, films like Pieces of April and Home for the Holidays are more memorable than lesser-known attempts at the same story, like The Myth of Fingerprints. Even Dutch, though not a classic, explores this same idea from a child’s perspective.

It’s understandable why Christmas movies often offer an escape from family troubles – dealing with your own difficult family, or even just watching others struggle, doesn’t sound appealing. That’s why the cheerful fantasy of films like Home Alone and Arthur Christmas doesn’t really fit with the Thanksgiving experience. Nobody wants to brave travel headaches just to arrive home to a stressed-out family and then see similar drama play out on screen.

The most important thing about Thanksgiving movie releases is that they proved movies of all kinds – action, animation, comedy, thrillers – could successfully come out around the holiday. Looking back, you’ll find many popular films, especially those starring Denzel Washington, were released in November. So, instead of asking if a movie is about Thanksgiving, the question is whether it feels like something you could have seen in theaters on any Thanksgiving weekend in the 1990s.

My friends and I have identified a specific type of movie that’s perfect for Thanksgiving. It’s usually a feel-good film – often set in winter, funny or gently heartwarming, with some action that feels realistic. These movies typically showcase strong female characters across different generations and were originally released in the fall. And, for the best experience, they should be watched on VHS by the fireplace! I can’t fully explain why these elements combine to create ‘The Thanksgiving Film,’ but hopefully, these characteristics make sense.

Here’s a list of films: Grumpy Old Men, Trapped in Paradise, Nobody’s Fool, Courage Under Fire, The Siege, The Pelican Brief, Avalon, The Devil’s Advocate, One True Thing, How to Make an American Quilt, Quiz Show, Analyze This, Parenthood, Snow Falling on Cedars, and A Civil Action.