BEST Underrated Thanksgiving Movies List
The most American genre of films: Thanksgiving movies. There are precious few of these “Day of Thanks” cinematic gems, but the scant smattering we do have access to represent a diverse selection exploring comfort food, family dynamics, multicultural traditions, American history, and the nuances of modern life. It can be fun to take in a some seasonally appropriate entertainment in-between all of the moments we spend planning, shopping, decorating, and cooking for our big American autumn holiday. Let New England Innkeeper help you surface an eclectic batch of these often hidden celluloid treasures with our annual list of the BEST Underrated Thanksgiving Movies.
27 of the BEST Underrated Thanksgiving Movies!
During this pre-Thanksgiving time of year, the Hallmark and Lifetime channels are already broadcasting sugar-plum-sweet Christmas merriment around the clock and at the full speed of Santaās sleigh!Ā
With the blizzard of colorfully-holly-jolly (but grinchly-predictable) Lacey Chabert, Candace Cameron Bure, and Danica McKellar made-for-TV Christmas miracles accumulating quickly on 4K UHD flatscreens across the country, it can be easy to forget that there are some wildly entertaining Thanksgiving movie experiences to be had before the turkey hits the table!
Thanksgiving is one of those quintessential American holidays that has carved out itās own niche in our nationās cinematic story ā but, oftentimes, the movies depicting Turkey Day happenings tend to be quieter, indie-film affairs. Sometimes the best underrated Thanksgiving movies fall under the radar. You may need to seek them out.
The closest things we have to Hollywood blockbusters celebrating our festival of plenty are the same few names we often see repeated on the handful of Thanksgiving movie lists that make their way across the Internet each and every year. Hannah and Her Sisters. Addams Family Values. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
Those are all certainly holiday classics and well worthy of an annual watch.
But What About the Best Underrated Thanksgiving Movies?
Thanksgiving movie-watchers willing to do a little digging and head a little further afield will be treated to a wide variety of the best underrated Thanksgiving movies capable of reflecting (and sometimes exaggerating to great comedic/dramatic effect) some of the various essences of what passes for our modern-day harvest festival.
These are films that shine a light on the kaleidoscope of multicultural approaches to preparing traditional Thanksgiving cuisine. They place an emphasis on the joys and challenges that family members, who may not see each other too often, face when they reunite for a few days to celebrate the seasonal tradition. Thereās laughter. Thereās warmth. Thereās also, usually, a heaping helping of delicious dysfunction.
These are movies that expose how the hopes, dreams, relationships, and other minutiae of our modern lives look to us when weāre forced to see them through the eyes of our loved ones. They are likely to open discussions about generational and cultural political differences.
And many of these films on our list of the best underrated Thanksgiving movies accomplish what they do against a backdrop of seasonally appropriate cinematography and engaging musical soundtracks.
In the end, we all have our personal stories. No matter who we are, we all bring a little of ourselves to the food (and conversation) we share around our Thanksgiving tables. We all need to process the waves of nostalgia that surface when we lay our eyes, once again, on our hometown streets, family members, and old friends. We talk about the old memories. We create some new ones along the way.
And while some aspects of Thanksgiving gatherings may test our fortitude ā we know it isnāt all bad, because we always get together again just one month later to celebrate Christmas!
Here Is Our List Of 27 of the BEST Underrated Thanksgiving Movies
27. Legally Tender (aka The Thanksgiving House) (2013)
Letās start our list of the best underrated Thanksgiving movies out with some Hallmark Channel, Thanksgiving-flavored, junk food for the brain! This movie is pure cartoonish-guilty-pleasure viewing with absolutely zero basis in reality ā but that doesnāt stop it from being a fun time-waster on a lazy autumn afternoon!
SUMMARY: When Boston lawyer Mary Ross (Emily Rose) inherits a house in Plymouth, Massachusetts from her late aunt, she has no idea she may have inherited a historical treasure. Maryās initial desire to sell the house is supported by her slick boyfriend, Rick (Adam Kaufman), but she is shocked to discover local historian Everett Mather (Justin Bruening) has evidence that her house is located on the site of the first Thanksgiving! Once the “Inquisitive Pilgrim” gets involved, there’s no telling how this underrated Thanksgiving movie could unfold.
26. The Oranges (2012)
Thanksgiving fills our houses and neighborhoods with lots of people who usually arenāt there! Some are the friends. Some are the aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents who live elsewhere. And some are the children who used to live here, but went away to grow up a little ā and now theyāre back. Somewhere between the football, and the casseroles, and the turkey, and the pumpkin pie; once the first waves of dysfunction start to roll in, no one is safe. Sometimes the reverberating T-Day ripples hold the potential to change friendships and families forever. The question: Is that, ultimately, a bad thing?
SUMMARY: The enduring friendship between the Walling and Ostroff families is tested when Nina, the prodigal Ostroff daughter (Leighton Meester), returns home for Thanksgiving after a five-year absence and enters into an affair with David, head of the Walling family (Hugh Laurie).
25. Friendsgiving (2020)
Abby is looking forward to a laid-back Thanksgiving with her best friend Molly. But the friendsā plans for a quiet turkey dinner go up in smoke when theyāre joined by Mollyās new boyfriend and her flamboyant mother. Throw in some party crashers including Mollyās old flame, a wannabe shaman, and a trio of Fairy Gay Mothers, and itās a recipe for a comically chaotic holiday no one will ever forget-even if they wanted to.
SUMMARY: An entertaining hop on the merry-go-round of modern-day Thanksgiving problems. Itās an amusing indie-flick ā even if the (often) less-than-family-friendly style humor might not be for everyone. Letās face it ā weāre not watching Citizen Kane, here; but those seeking a few crude and quirky Turkey-day laughs will likely find themselves in a holiday mood by the time the credits roll and the hilarious outtakes begin.
24. Mistress America (2015)
Quirky. Sophisticated. Exceedingly well-written. A New York story. A coming-of-age drama. A screwball comedy. An American Dream allegory. Set, in an understated way, during the Thanksgiving season. Baumbachās film āseems to be a film of low stakes and minor ambition, yet its execution is far more satisfying. With almost endlessly quotable dialogue, two truly winning lead performances and an energetic score, Mistress America is yet another comedic triumph from the creative partnership of Baumbach and Gerwig.ā
SUMMARY:Ā In MISTRESS AMERICA, Tracy (Lola Kirke) is a lonely college freshman in New York, having neither the exciting university experience nor the glamorous metropolitan lifestyle she envisioned. But when she is taken in by her soon-to-be stepsister, Brooke (Greta Gerwig) ā the resident of Times Square + adventuresome achievement-oriented motor-mouth 30-year-old daughter of the geologist her mom plans on marrying on Thanksgiving ā she is rescued from her disappointment and seduced by Brookeās alluringly mad schemes. When the two hook up together they go on a series of misadventures, which in the end takes them to the wealthy community of Greenwich, Connecticut, for the filmās centerpiece sketch.
23. Arlo Guthrie: Aliceās Restaurant 50th Anniversary Concert (2015)
Itās an annual tradition. Letās face it. For some people, itās just not Thanksgiving until theyāve heard Arlo Guthrie strum out the full 18 minutes and 34 seconds of his 1967 holiday opus, theĀ āAliceās Restaurant Massacreeā. And the 1969 film version of āAliceās Restaurantā finds its way onto many a Thanksgiving movie list. But if weāre speaking honestly, that uneven movie is of middling quality, at best. We think youāll find this PBS concert documentary by Director Jim Brown much more palatable! Morale of the story: Be careful with your Thanksgiving Day garbage, otherwise you might find yourself on the Group W bench!
SUMMARY: Arlo Guthrie celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the events that snowballed into the Aliceās Restaurant Massacree, his iconic talking blues narrative that has become an established part of the Thanksgiving tradition, with an unprecedented show. Backed by his band of friends, Arlo regales the audience with the Massacree in its entirety, along with many of his best-loved classics.
22. The Oath (2018)
If, after the recent Presidential election cycle, you still donāt feel as if youāve had your fill of partisan politics for this year ā then youāll absolutely LOVE āThe Oathā. A word of warning: this oneās not for timid viewers. Just when you think itās gotten as crazy as a movie can get, you begin to realize theyāve only just begun to turn up the ridiculousness. It can be cathartic to watch a movie that makes you understand that no matter how bad the political disagreements are at your familyās Thanksgiving dinner are ā they can always be worse!
SUMMARY: Chris (Ike Barinholtz) and Kai (Tiffany Haddish) agree not to sign an oath of loyalty to the United States for tax incentives. The deadline is Black Friday and a politically-charged Chris focuses on getting through the holiday with his family while he pours over the news regarding The Oath. The day after Thanksgiving, he and his family are surprised when agents show up to interrogate him. The Oath draws on hyper-partisan modern politics for a pointedly funny satire that hits its targets hard and often enough to more than achieve its desired discomfort.
21. The Daytrippers (1996)
āIt all started the morning after Thanksgiving, after my sisterās husband Louis left for work, she found a note and it looked like a love letterā¦ā Underrated and under-seen, but a true gem of a dark comedy set against the backdrop of a Thanksgiving, after the holiday has passed but while the family is still together. This movie really rings with that special, cozy feeling that so many mid-90s era independent films managed to capture (but for some reason became lost to us once the new millennium hit). Hell of a cast. Parker Posey is a standout in this one, as always.
SUMMARY:Ā With its droll humor and bittersweet emotional heft, the feature debut of writer-director Greg Mottola announced the arrival of an unassumingly sharp-witted new talent on the 1990s indie film scene. When she discovers a love letter written to her husband (Stanley Tucci) by an unknown paramour, the distraught Eliza (Hope Davis) turns to her tight-knit Long Island family for advice. Soon the entire clanāstrong-willed mom (Anne Meara), taciturn dad (Pat McNamara), and jaded sister (Parker Posey) with pretentious boyfriend (Liev Schreiber) in towāhas squeezed into a station wagon and headed into Manhattan to find out the truth, kicking off a one-crazy-day odyssey full of unexpected detours and life-changing revelations. Performed with deadpan virtuosity by a top-flight ensemble cast, THE DAYTRIPPERS is a wry and piercing look at family bonds stretched to the breaking point.
20. One Special Night (1999)
A Thanksgiving classic. A wintry atmosphere. An empty cabin. An old-fashioned love story. Grab some mulled cider to sip with the one you love, turn down the lights, turn on the movie, and lose yourself in this timeless holiday taleā¦
SUMMARY:Ā Originally aired on CBS, the made-for-TV holiday romance One Special Night brings together James Garner and Julie Andrews for their third feature together. Robert (Garner) visits his wife in the hospital, who is suffering from Alzheimerās disease. There he meets the stern Catherine (Andrews), a widowed pediatrician who spends her downtime visiting the room in the hospital where her husband died a year ago. In the middle of a raging snowstorm on Thanksgiving, Catherine offers Robert a ride and they get stuck in the snow. Taking refuge in an empty cabin, the couple get over their initial personality conflicts to engage in a meaningful dialogue.
19. Hollidaysburg (2014)
āHollidaysburgā is one (of two) movies developed from the same screenplay as part of the Starz TV networkās filmmaker competition series, āThe Chair.ā The story is a familiar one: College freshmen return home for Thanksgiving and realize some things have changed ā while others have stayed exactly the same. While this film may feel derivative of āGarden Stateā at times, there are still more than enough reasons to give it some screen time!
SUMMARY:Ā Arriving home at (the quaint, but otherwise unremarkable) Hollidaysburg, Pa for Thanksgiving break after their first semester at college, we follow a group of recent high school grads as they reconnect ā or attempt to ā over the course of one quick, pivotal weekend. Think romance, friendship, families, parties, pumpkin pie-making, and more ā as life lessons are learned along the way.
18. American Movie (1999)
OK. So āAmerican Movieā isnāt necessarily a full blown Thanksgiving movie ā but a good portion of the events take place around the dreary-weather holiday ā and there are a few memorable, alcohol-soaked scenes that focus on turkey preparation and family/friend relationships during a decidedly low-key Thanksgiving dinner. But there’s definitely enough T-day flavor to earn this title a coveted spot on our best underrated Thanksgiving movies list. This is a highly-rated and attention-worthy documentary about a regular guy with a movie camera in his hand, continuing to chase the American dream at all costs ā no matter how far (or often) that dream continues to slip away. āYouāll get to see Americans, and American dreams, and you wonāt walk away depressed after seeing this!ā
SUMMARY: Documentary about an aspiring filmmakerās attempts to finance his dream project by finally completing the low-budget horror film he abandoned years before.
17. The House of Yes (1997)
A mentally unbalanced young woman ā who is convinced she is Jackie Kennedy ā flies into a murderous rage when her twin brother returns home for Thanksgiving to reveal he is engaged.
SUMMARY: Apparently, 1997 was a HUGE year for Thanksgiving film releases ā and this rapid-fire-fast-talking, head-scratchingly dark and subversive work is one among the bumper crop bounty of holiday movies harvested back in that exceedingly fertile year. The House of Yes takes family dysfunction to surprisingly outlandish levels ā even for a Thanksgiving movie. It truly is the Parker Posey show ā and watching her work is as delightful as always! I did read one review of this movie with a smile: āItās not as tasteless as it might sound.ā Is it twisted? Is it perverted? Is it mad? Whatever it IS, if you watch The House of Yes, you very likely wonāt forget about it anytime soon thereafter.
16. The Vicious Kind (2009)
Fathers and sons with unresolved issues. Brothers. Girlfriends. A return home for the Thanksgiving holiday. What is the right thing to do? Following where the heart leads versus honoring family obligations. Imagine āDan In Real Lifeā, but quite a bit darker, with deeply troubled characters, secrets, and sexual tension PLUS a touch of disturbingly crass humor alongside the holiday trappings. āSometimes, people know what they are doing is wrong but they do it anyway, because doing the right thing is painful.ā
SUMMARY: A 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
15. The Humans (2021)
Itās Richard Jenkins. Itās Amy Schumer. Itās dark. Itās creepy. Itās bleak. Itās artsy. Itās slow moving. Itās not a horror movie. Itās a family drama from A24. Something different for our best underrated Thanskgiving movies list. āIn theory, itās about a family gathering for a Thanksgiving lunch, the sort of event that can usually be expected to bring about the phased disclosure of all the charactersā individual secrets and micro-tragedies. This feels more serious. These people look like the last group of humans left alive after some apocalyptic catastrophe, the remnants of homo sapiens being watched and examined at a distance by aliens. The grimly damp and undecorated duplex in which they have assembled could almost be a mass hallucination, triggered by a trauma worse than anything theyāre talking about.ā As the darkness falls, we find that all have less to be thankful about.
SUMMARY: Based on the Tony Award-winning play. Erik Blake has gathered three generations of his Pennsylvania family to celebrate Thanksgiving at his daughterās apartment in lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the groupās deepest fears are laid bare. Amidst the warmth and humor of the holiday, the tight-knit family tries to hold together in the face of an anxious and uncertain future.
14. Scent of a Woman (1992)
āScent of a Woman, starring Al Pacino and Chris OāDonnell, tells the story of a young prep school student, Charlie Simms (a fresh-faced Chris OāDonnell), who needs to make some cash for the holidays and agrees to be a caretaker to a blind, retired veteran, Lt. Col. Frank Slade (Al Pacino, who won an Oscar for his performance).ā
SUMMARY: Scent of a Woman is a real over-performer for a Thanksgiving-themed film. It grossed more than $134,095,253 worldwide. Pacino won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance and the film was nominated for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published. The film also won three major awards at the Golden Globe Awards: Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Motion Picture ā Drama. All this PLUS: a young Philip Seymour Hoffman? Pass the gravy!
13. Lez Bomb (2018)
A throwback Thanksgiving family comedy with a lesbian twist. āLez Bomb may traffic in cliches, but it delivers its messages of love, tolerance and acceptance in such light-hearted, warm fashion that the missteps are easy to overlook.ā
SUMMARY: Lauren is a young woman living in Jersey City who travels back to her hometown of Ramsey, New Jersey for the Thanksgiving holiday. Lauren has a secret: she is a closeted lesbian who has not yet come out to her dysfunctional and conservative family, finally deciding to do so by inviting her lover, Hailey, over to meet at her parentsā house. However, things take a turn when Laurenās male roommate, Austin, shows up and Laurenās parents mistake him for her boyfriend. That leads Lauren to persuade Austin to go along with the charade until she has the courage to tell her family the truth about who she is.
12. Avalon (1990)
āYou cut the turkey without me?!ā This is the sentence that Roger Ebert called āthe greatest line of dialogue in a Thanksgiving movie.ā This epic film, on our list of the best underrated Thanksgiving movies, primarily set in 1950ās Baltimore, follows a group of first and second generation Jewish-Americans as they experience first-hand the birth of the suburban middle class ā and all of the changes in family, life, and culture (both good and bad) that occur as a result of the progress.
SUMMARY: A 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.
11. Holidate (2020)
Fed up with being single on holidays, two strangers agree to be each otherās platonic plus-ones all year long, only to catch real feelings along the way.
SUMMARY: This multi-holiday film (Christmas, New Yearās Eve, Valentineās Day, St Patrickās Day, Easter, Cinco De Mayo, Motherās Day, Fourth of July, Halloween, AND Thanksgiving) directed by John Whitesell stars Emma Roberts, Luke Bracey, Jake Manley, Jessica Capshaw, Andrew Bachelor, Frances Fisher, Manish Dayal and Kristin Chenoweth. Youthful (and even slightly edgy at times), this movie delivers plenty of feel-good moments along the way. Originally released on Netflix, this is one of those slick + modern rom-coms that almost feels as if it was produced by an AI streaming-era algorithm custom-programmed to please the maximum number of viewers in their targeted demographic.
10. The War At Home (2013)
This is one of those rare movies that, despite good ratings, doesnāt seem to have found its way to any of the major streaming platforms, yet. So youāll need to go all old-school and physical media for this viewing experience. We love the opportunity to use our best underrated Thanksgiving movies list to resurface films at risk of being lost to the media-streaming era.
SUMMARY:Ā This highly acclaimed motion picture stars Emilio Estevez, Kathy Bates, and Martin Sheen. Estevez (who also directed) plays a returning Vietnam War hero whose haunting experiences leave him unable to adjust to the quiet realities of small town life. At odds with his domineering father (Sheen), his desperately cheerful mother (Bates), and free-spirited younger sister (Kimberly Williams) ā tensions at home soon escalate, finally reaching the breaking point one fateful Thanksgiving Day.
9. Whatās Cooking (2000)
This braided narrative of a movie about four melting pot families in Los Angeles as they gather for the holiday and navigate their way through love, problems, and acceptance issuesĀ ā also just happens to have one of the best Thanksgiving food preparation montages ever to hit the big screen! Definitely deserving of a spot on our list of the best underrated Thanksgiving movies!
SUMMARY: A funny, mouth-watering and deeply moving vision of 21st century diversity and the future of the American family.
8. The Ice Storm (1997)
While Richard Nixonās āI am not a crookā speech drones from the TV, the Hood and Carver families try to navigate a Thanksgiving break simmering with unspoken resentment, sexual tension, and cultural confusion. With clarity, subtlety, and a dose of wicked humor, Academy Awardāwinning director Ang Lee (Life of Pi) renders Rick Moodyās acclaimed novel of upper-middle-class American malaise as a trenchant, tragic cinematic portrait of lost souls. Featuring a tremendous cast of established actors (Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver) and rising stars (Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, Elijah Wood, Katie Holmes) THE ICE STORM is among the finest films of the 1990s.
SUMMARY: In suburban New Canaan Connecticut (circa 1973), middle class families experimenting with casual sex, drink and drugs find their lives out of control. When a self-centered husbandās relationship with his wife and mistress grow cold, it takes a wife-swapping ākey partyā and a freak ice storm to clear the air and change their lives forever. Itās a captivating piece of film-based artwork ā and it weaves a captivating spell ā but you may want to save one of the more cheery movies on this list to help lift your mood in the aftermath.
7. Hannah and her Sisters (1986)
āConsidered by many to be Woody Allenās best film, even over Annie Hall. Hannah and Her Sisters follows a multitude of characters: Hannah (Mia Farrow), who plays den mother to her extended family; her sister Lee (Barbara Hershey), emotional and a bit of a flake, whoās involved with a much older artist (Max Von Sydow), who treats her like a child; and Hannahās other sister, Holly (Dianne Wiest), a neurotic who feels incapable of managing her life. Hannahās husband Elliot (Michael Caine) falls in love with Lee, which sets off a series of upheavals. Allen gives one of his best performances as Hannahās ex-husband Mickey, whoāmuch like Allen himselfāis obsessed with death and unhappiness. But a simple summary doesnāt begin to capture the warmth and intimacy of this movie; though the story follows a capsizing family, the outcome is surprising, joyous, and richly human.ā
SUMMARY: Hannah and her Sisters is a Thanksgiving classic, for certain! The story is told in three main arcs, with most of it occurring during a 24-month period beginning and ending at Thanksgiving parties. From the ensemble cast, to the cinematography of the handsome NYC settings, through the meandering (and very human) dialogue PLUS delightful Thanksgiving bookends ā if you havenāt seen it, this one should be on your list!
6. Pieces of April (2003)
A young girl in her first NYC apartment desperately wants to show her slightly estranged family (including a mother with terminal cancer) sheās successfully adulting by inviting them to visit her, introducing them to her, and cooking them a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Nothing goes as planned ā forcing her to finally interact with neighbors in her building (who sheās never met before). Itās a quirky and enjoyable movie with excellent performances accented by moments of authentic humor meshed up against meaningful human insight.
SUMMARY:Ā Katie Holmes is terrific as the quirky black sheep of her family in this delightful comedy-drama that āsparkles with acerbic wit, original characters and genuine heartā. Academy Award nominee* Patricia Clarkson gives āa career-making performanceā, and āthe entire cast is inspiredā in this āmoving, hilarious comedyā. Rebellious daughter April Burns (Holmes) has offered to host an elaborate Thanksgiving dinner for her suburban clan in her grubby Lower East Side apartment. But her attempts to create an unforgettable feast go awry when she discovers that her oven doesnāt work. Now, as her weary family makes its way to the city, April must rely on the kindness of strangers to pull off the perfect meal and the perfect memory.
5. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987)
A 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.
SUMMARY: Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a 1987 American comedy film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It stars Steve Martin as Neal Page, a high-strung marketing executive, and John Candy as Del Griffith, a goodhearted but annoying shower curtain ring salesman. They share a three-day odyssey of misadventures trying to get Neal home to Chicago in time for Thanksgiving with his family. The film received critical acclaim, with many critics praising it for Hughes branching out from teen comedies, and for the performances of Candy and Martin. Thereās humor, heart, and more in this hilarious holiday classic!
4. Saints and Strangers (2015)
A Thanksgiving MUST-WATCH for the history-minded. Absolutely one of the best underrated Thanksgiving movies. A fresh (2 episode) look at the Mayflower journey and the founding of Plimoth Plantation; brought to the screen by National Geographic with very high āperiod pieceā production values. The harsh climate. The personalities. The cultural divide. The first Thanksgiving. Even some of the ugly events. This story is more fully told by alternating back and forth between the perspectives of Governor Bradford AND the major Native American historical figures (Tisquantum, Massasoit, and Hobbamock). The Indigenous characters in the miniseries even speak Western Abenaki, a language similar to but distinct from that which would have been spoken by the Wampanoag of the time.
SUMMARY:Ā Vincent Kartheiser (Mad Men), Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect) and Ron Livingston (Office Space) star in the acclaimed miniseries event Saints & Strangers, which dramatizes the Pilgrimsā harrowing voyage and arrival to America. Loyalties are tested and hard-fought alliances become strained when the Pilgrims suspect a traitor in their midst.
3. The Myth of Fingerprints (1997)
The stark Maine setting. The emotionally distant father. The son, home from the city. The relationship he left behind. āThe Myth of Fingerprintsā is about a character returning home to spend time with the people he has outgrown. This is a hidden gem of a character-based slow burner. Thereās some humor along the way but, be advised, thereās no cotton candy or Hollywood ending. Still, there’s definitely enough of a solid dose of dysfunctional family nostalgia and New England scenery coziness to earn The Myth of Fingerprints a coveted spot on our list of the best underrated Thanksgiving movies.
SUMMARY: The adult children of a conservative New England family return home for Thanksgiving weekend and find themselves forced to come to grips with their familyās dysfunction. The prime difficulty comes from the fact that their parents, particularly their already taciturn and enigmatic father, are rapidly distancing themselves from their children.
2. Home for the Holidays (1995)
Siblings all decide to live their lives in their own ways. Some stay close to home. Others are called to venture out and see what the world has in store for them. Thereās no right or wrong, but when everyone gets back together for the holiday, these types of life choices (and the far-flung implications surrounding them) can sometimes make for memorable Thanksgiving Dinner experiences! Sure, thereās plenty of family drama here, but itās all handled in a warm and nostalgia-drenched style. This is a perfect film to watch on Thanksgiving evening. When the meal is over, the dishes are done, the leftovers are all packed up, and inevitable Christmas is firmly on the horizon.
SUMMARY: At the end of her rope with her career and teenage daughter, a woman reluctantly heads home for her chaotic family Thanksgiving. Directed by Jodie Foster.
1. Cold Turkey (2013)
Isnāt it great to have the family all back together under one roof? Just ask white-wine-wasted family patriarch Poppy (played by Peter Bogdanovich), who has his three grown children visiting his Pasadena home for Thanksgiving ā as all of them hope to get their father alone for a few moments to ask him for a much-needed infusion of cash. After all, modern lives are complicated, and often require a little outside funding. Greed. Politics. Family dysfunction. An unforgettable Thanksgiving dinner. This one has them all! At New England Innkeeper, this one has been near the top of our list of the best underrated Thanksgiving movies since it was first released.
SUMMARY: Thanksgiving for the eccentric Turner clan goes from bad to worse when estranged daughter Nina (Alicia Witt, Friday Night Lights) makes a surprise visit home for the first time in 15 years. She clashes with her stepmother Deborah (Cheryl Hines, Curb Your Enthusiasm), while half-brother Jacob (Ashton Holmes, Revenge) tries to keep a massive gambling debt a secret. A film festival favorite.
BONUS: āReason For The Seasonā MOVIE | American Experience: The Pilgrims (2015)
This excellent, in-depth, and often surprising PBS documentary focuses primarily (though not solely) on William Bradford and what we know of the history of the Pilgrims through Bradfordās book āOf Plymouth Plantationā. Roger Rees, in his authentic turn as an aged and pensive Governor Bradford, offers ample reason for us to include this title on our best underrated Thanksgiving movies list. Commentary provided by a variety of well-informed and passionate historians (Nathaniel Philbrick, Nick Bunker, Sue Allan, John Demos, and more) serves to add context, while remaining respectful and accurate to the history of both the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. Lots of eye-opening stuff here! Truly a must-watch for anyone who desires to dive significantly deeper on the origins of our national Thanksgiving holiday PLUS all of the important occurrences āOf Plymouth Plantationā.
SUMMARY: A documentary film by award-winning director Ric Burns, The Pilgrims chronicles the deep history, origins, and critical first decade of the first permanent English colony in New England.
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