Thankful for Cinema

Yes the holidays are knocking on the door and shortly Christmas Carols will be the muzak in all shopping establishments. Of course there are Christmas films galore (which will be an upcoming blog entry) but before we get there, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving with friends and family. What Thanksgiving films should you watch to get you in a thankful mood?? Try some of these:

Pieces of April: This is my absolute favorite Thanksgiving film. Before Katie Holmes became the other half of “TomKat”, she made this delightful and touching film. April (Katie Holmes) lives in a poor neighborhood of New York City with her African-American boy friend (Derek Luke). Although she has strained relations with her suburb-dwelling family, she wants to make amends with her mother who is dying of cancer (played by the fantastic Patricia Clarkson). Therefore, she invites them all to her apartment for Thanksgiving dinner. Discovering that her oven doesn’t work is just the beginning of her problems.

Planes, Trains, Automobiles: All that Neal Page (Steve Martin) wants to do is to get home for Thanksgiving. His flight has been cancelled due to bad weather, so he decides on other means of transport. He unfortunately gets stuck with the obnoxious Del Griffith (John Candy), shower curtain ring salesman. Therein lies the tale…

Hannah and her Sisters: This film spans two years and begins and ends at family Thanksgiving dinners where we get to meet Hannah and her dysfunctional family. Because it is Woody Allen, it is bitingly humorous and full of well written characters.

Home for the Holidays: Directed by Jodie Foster, an unemployed divorced mom (Holly Hunter) flies home to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with her non-traditional family. She arrives home to fist-fights on the lawn, a dropped turkey and finds herself flirting with her brother’s friend (Dylan McDermott).

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving: One for all the family! Who wouldn’t want to watch a Charlie Brown holiday special! This one has Charlie Brown trying to make a Thanksgiving dinner for Peppermint Patty, Linus, Lucy, Snoopy and the rest of the gang.