7 Films That Bring In The Thanksgiving Holiday Spirit

As the holiday season approaches and the cool weather moves in, it’s the perfect time to light a candle, make your favorite cup of tea and snuggle up with a blanket while watching a movie. We’ve pulled together seven Thanksgiving-themed movies to add to your “To Watch” list this fall.

Who hasn’t fantasized about reconnecting with your childhood crush while you’re home for the Thanksgiving holiday? Always Be My Maybe is a charming romcom that follows an internationally recognized chef (Ali Wong) who returns home to San Francisco to open up a restaurant after breaking up with her fiancé. She reconnects with her high school crush (Randall Park) and the two embark on a wonderfully hilarious journey.

Major bonus: a very self-aware Keanu Reeves makes a cameo as one of Ali Wong’s character’s dates.

This 2020 comedy packed with familiar funny faces is a great way to start off your 2024 Thanksgiving movie watching. The film follows a group of friends and extras as they collect at a home for a Friendsgiving celebration. The lead, played by Kat Dennings, finds herself not having the quiet holiday with her best friend, played by Malin Akerman, that she anticipated, but instead more and more friends keep showing up after other Thanksgiving Day plans fall through.

The ensemble cast includes comedic giants Wanda Sykes, Margaret Cho and Fortune Feimster as well as Jack Donnelly, Deon Cole, Aisha Tyler, Jane Seymour, Chelsea Peretti, and Ryan Hansen. With a lot of chaos, comedy and character-driven drama, Friendsgiving will get you in the mood for the holiday season – and will make you appreciate your group of friends even more.

A classic for a reason, this 1987 movie stands the test of time because it focuses on the one aspect of Thanksgiving we all dread: travel stress. For the uninitiated, the film follows Steven Martin and John Candy as they desperately try to get home in time for Thanksgiving dinner.

While this movie should be watched and understood through the lens of the culture of 1987, it was an instant classic and remains a favorite kick-off to the holiday season.

Many families face stress when gathering for the holidays, especially if there’s historical conflict or resentment between family members. This Is Where I Leave You follows the chaos of the Altman family’s Thanksgiving holiday as siblings hash out old grievances while sitting shiva for their late father.

A major bonus: the cast is incredible. It features Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Jason Bateman, Corey Stoll and Adam Driver.

This psychological drama is a departure from many feel good holiday films as it tells the story of a family who gather in a rundown New York City apartment on Thanksgiving Day. Tension builds as the family members share their dreams and nightmares, including suffering from nightmares about the trauma of the 9/11 attack.

The cast includes Beanie Feldman, Richard Denkins, Jayne Houdyshell, Amy Schumer, Steven Yeun and June Squibb and is a must-add movie if you’re looking to switch up the vibes.

This classic ensemble cast movie featuring Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr., Claire Danes and Dylan McDermott follows a single mother who flies home to Baltimore for Thanksgiving and is faced with navigating multiple complicated family dynamics.

It’s a classic holiday film: the cast members arrive, argue, eat and leave – which makes it entirely relatable and an easy watch.

While not exclusively about Thanksgiving Day, this widely-acclaimed late-90s dramedy tells the story of a close-knit Chicago family that gets together every Sunday to have dinner, with plenty of soul food to go around.

The movie features Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach, and Gina Ravera. Both Williams and Fox were nominated for Image Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for this film, and the movie itself went on to win a number of awards.