Looking for a distraction from your family's political dinner table arguments? Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the movies you can’t help but associate with crisp fall air, turkey dinners, and, for better or worse, time spent with your family.
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00:00It's a holiday.
00:00Yeah, we never have turkey the rest of the year, but now we have to eat it.
00:04It's a funny holiday, if you ask me. It makes no sense.
00:08Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the movies
00:12you can't help but associate with crisp fall air,
00:15turkey dinners, and for better or worse, time spent with your family.
00:21Sorry I'm late, it's a jungle out there.
00:22I had to beat an old lady with a stick to get these crampons.
00:27Number 10, Knives Out.
00:29We're ready for you now. We'd like to see you one at a time.
00:32All right, I'll go first.
00:34I'm assuming this will all be wrapped up before the memorial tonight.
00:39We'll do our best, ma'am.
00:40While not explicitly a Thanksgiving movie, it's set at a family patriarch's 85th birthday,
00:45Knives Out captures the exquisite fall vibes that make the holiday special.
00:49Think about it, you've got a tense, awkward family reunion,
00:53Chris Evans' iconic cable knit sweater, and a murder-most vowel.
00:56Okay, hopefully your Thanksgiving dinner doesn't contain that last part,
01:00but it's definitely what gives Knives Out its nail-biting atmosphere.
01:03I observe the facts without biases of the head or heart.
01:07I determine the arc's path, stroll leisurely to its terminus, and the truth falls at my feet.
01:14Released over Thanksgiving weekend in 2019, the film was a colossal hit,
01:19making over $300 million on its $40 million budget.
01:23And hey, it's a murder mystery, but it's rated PG-13,
01:27so no awkward nude scenes to watch with your parents.
01:30I think you're very perceptive and very capable of telling me
01:35what you saw the night of your son's party.
01:38Number nine, she's gotta have it.
01:40Lord, thank you for the food we're about to receive,
01:43for the nourishment of our bodies, for Christ's sake, amen.
01:46Amen.
01:47Spike Lee's directorial debut immediately let audiences know
01:50what the budding, often incendiary filmmaker would have in store.
01:54She's Gotta Have It, a romantic comedy as only future Oscar winner Lee could do it,
01:59follows the dating misadventures of Nola Darling, a Brooklyn-based graphic artist.
02:03Before we enjoy this meal, I'd like to know whose brilliant idea this was.
02:10Who invited you?
02:11And who invited you?
02:13I invited all you fools.
02:14You were gonna meet sooner or later, so why let it be an accident?
02:17In one highly memorable scene,
02:19Nola invites her top three male suitors to an intensely awkward,
02:23increasingly heated Thanksgiving dinner at which she intends to compare them,
02:27ranking them in terms of dating potential.
02:30So basically just as awkward as any other Thanksgiving dinner?
02:34Even if the scene is deeply cringeworthy,
02:37be sure to watch out for Lee's hilarious performance as the iconic Mars Blackman.
02:41Thank God we all have a lot to be thankful for.
02:44Like what?
02:45Well, our health and our careers.
02:48Our careers? Greer, I haven't had a job in two years.
02:52Number 8. Thanksgiving
02:53The store shouldn't even be open. It's Thanksgiving.
02:57I know, Mary, but let's face it. Black Friday starts on a Thursday now.
03:01Even in Plymouth.
03:03Admittedly, Thanksgiving slasher movie based on a fake trailer
03:06doesn't sound like the most promising concept.
03:09Your concerns may be eased when you learn that Thanksgiving
03:12was directed by horror mainstay Eli Roth,
03:14who elevates what could easily have been B-movie material
03:17with his quirky, over-the-top sensibilities.
03:19We got the killer on security cam
03:21and you're not gonna believe what he's wearing.
03:25Cameras at Reichbart caught the same guy
03:27lowering her legs onto the sign from the roof.
03:30Just like you said, Sheriff. Everyone in town's wearing them.
03:33An inspired send-up of slasher movies
03:35that serves as a tongue-in-cheek love letter to the genre,
03:38Thanksgiving focuses on a group of teens in small town Massachusetts
03:41being terrorized by a killer who, rather fittingly,
03:44wears a John Carver mask.
03:46For context, Carver was a British pilgrim
03:48who came to America on the fateful Mayflower voyage.
03:51Thanks for the history lesson, Eli.
03:53I'm live outside the Plymouth Sheriff's Department
03:56where outraged citizens are demanding answers
03:59after a performer was murdered in broad daylight
04:02at the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
04:06Had to be back here in nine hours.
04:08Remember that time you danced on that bar in Times Square?
04:12I almost fainted.
04:13That's a drunken dream you had six years ago.
04:15You was shaking your ass up there like Tina Turner.
04:18If you're tired of sickly sweet Thanksgiving sentimentality,
04:22we'd recommend firing up
04:23the Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy action comedy Tower Heist.
04:26No feasts or fireplaces to be found here.
04:29Instead, you've got a group of disgruntled apartment complex employees
04:32aiming to take revenge on a disgraced billionaire.
04:35So you're saying you want to rob $20 million from Arthur Shaw,
04:38which you think he's hidden in a secret wall safe
04:41inside his penthouse apartment,
04:42an apartment which he's not allowed to leave
04:44and is guarded by three FBI agents 24 hours a day?
04:47Two.
04:47With a plot that still feels fresh today,
04:49hilarious interplay between its cast members
04:52and old-school Ocean's Eleven-esque thrills,
04:54Tower Heist earns its turkey movie title
04:56by taking place during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade,
04:59a box office bomb at the time of its release.
05:02You can play a part in giving Tower Heist
05:04its well-deserved cult status this Thanksgiving.
05:06I do remember you.
05:08You the little seizure boy that was having them seizures all the time.
05:10No, I never had any seizures.
05:11They were minor spasms of the throat.
05:13I remember you would start foaming up in the mouth
05:14and your eyes would go crooked.
05:15No, no.
05:15It was very scary.
05:16Number six, Hannah and her sisters.
05:19This is the last time, I promise, and I'm keeping strict accounts.
05:21Oh, please, don't insult me.
05:23Someday I'll pay it all back.
05:25How much do you need?
05:26$2,000.
05:28I know it's a lot, but my friend April and I,
05:30we have this catering idea I think's gonna be great.
05:32Director Woody Allen's controversial personal life aside,
05:35Hannah and Her Sisters is a funny,
05:37bittersweet,
05:38heartbreaking,
05:39uplifting dramedy that endures.
05:41Allen's film features a star-studded ensemble cast
05:44that includes such legends of the screen as Michael Caine,
05:47Mia Farrow,
05:48Carrie Fisher,
05:49Diane Wiest,
05:50and more still.
05:51Incidentally, I always have clients who are furnishing places.
05:54Some of them might be interested in buying art.
05:58Shall I call you?
05:59Yeah, sure.
06:00No, you know, Fred would really be grateful for a sale.
06:02Bookended by Thanksgiving dinners,
06:04the holiday serves as the story's frame,
06:06planting the seeds of conflict that the movie brings to light
06:09in Allen's characteristically tightly wound manner.
06:12At one point, the director's highest grossing project,
06:15Hannah and Her Sisters won Allen his second Oscar
06:18for Best Original Screenplay,
06:20while also winning Best Supporting Actor and Actress
06:23for Caine and Wiest's performances respectively.
06:25And we all congratulate her on her wonderful accomplishment
06:29during this last year,
06:31her great success in a doll's house.
06:40And as their leader in the secondary
06:42but still compellingly written role of Pocahontas,
06:46guess who we have in mind?
06:48Our own little brunette outcast,
06:52Wednesday Adams.
06:54Looking to add a pinch of goth seasoning
07:01to your Thanksgiving meal?
07:02Look no further than director Barry Sonnenfeld's
07:04wildly inspired sequel
07:06to his 1991 Addams Family film adaptation.
07:09The vanishingly rare sequel
07:11that accomplishes the remarkable feat
07:13of surpassing its predecessor,
07:14Values lands a spot on our list
07:16for its unique take on Thanksgiving.
07:19Welcome to our table, our new primitive friend.
07:23Thank you, Sarah Miller.
07:25You're the most beautiful person I've ever seen.
07:27Your hair is the color of the sun.
07:29Your skin is like fresh milk.
07:32And everyone loves you.
07:33In the film,
07:34Christina Ricci's devious, rebellious Wednesday Adams
07:37leads the charge against the snooty bullies
07:39at Camp Chippewa.
07:40In doing so,
07:41we get a surprisingly progressive deconstruction
07:43of Thanksgiving as a whole.
07:45As Eater's Ezra Aroll wrote,
07:47the film serves as quote,
07:49a reminder that America's first Thanksgiving
07:51isn't really the heartfelt celebration
07:53our textbooks and children's books
07:54made it out to seem.
07:55You have taken the land which is rightfully ours.
08:01Years from now,
08:02my people will be forced to live in mobile homes
08:04on reservations.
08:06Your people will wear cardigans
08:08and drink highballs.
08:09Number four,
08:10Scent of a Woman.
08:11Sophia, measure up Charlie here, pronto.
08:15We got a date for Thanksgiving.
08:18We got a date?
08:19My brother's place.
08:21W.R. Slade.
08:22Hoo-ah!
08:24It's easy to forget that the film
08:25that finally won Al Pacino an Oscar
08:27is a stealth Thanksgiving movie.
08:29That's right,
08:30despite being released at Christmastime 1992,
08:33the events of Scent of a Woman
08:34take place over Thanksgiving weekend.
08:37Colonel,
08:38I can't go with you to your brother's place.
08:39I mean,
08:41I should be getting back to school.
08:45But you gotta have Thanksgiving somewhere.
08:48Prep school student Charlie,
08:50played by Chris O'Donnell,
08:51takes on a job babysitting
08:52a curmudgeonly Vietnam war vet,
08:54Pacino,
08:55and almost gets way more than he bargained for.
08:58While it's served with a hearty helping of 90s cheese,
09:01it's undeniable that Scent of a Woman
09:03is just as stirring and heartfelt as you remember it,
09:06and may even be worth watching for Pacino alone.
09:09He doesn't need to be labeled
09:11still worthy of being a bad man.
09:13What the hell is that?
09:15What is your motto here?
09:18Boys,
09:18inform on your classmates,
09:21save your hide.
09:35Move over, diehard.
09:36There's a new holiday movie in town
09:38for people to argue over
09:39whether or not it's actually a holiday movie.
09:41Hear us out.
09:42Sam Raimi's superhero classic
09:44not only features a pivotal scene
09:46set at a Thanksgiving dinner,
09:48but also features the hilariously named
09:50World Unity Festival,
09:51clearly intended to allude to the iconic
09:54Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
09:55That is, without stepping on any toes.
09:58Copyright infringement.
10:00Oh, Max, please.
10:02Norman, the board is unanimous.
10:06We're announcing the sale
10:08after the World Unity Festival.
10:11I'm sorry.
10:11Even diehard didn't have that much
10:13actual Christmas stuff in it.
10:14Having said all of that,
10:16Spider-Man is a certified crowd pleaser,
10:18featuring enough thrills, chills,
10:20and web spills for the whole family.
10:22I missed him a lot today.
10:27I know.
10:30I miss him too.
10:32Number two,
10:33You've Got Mail.
10:34I think you'd discover a lot of things
10:35if you really knew me.
10:36If I really knew you,
10:37I know what I would find
10:38instead of a brain, a cash register,
10:40instead of a heart, a bottom line.
10:42Beloved writer-director Nora Ephron
10:44had a unique gift for making her
10:46romantic comedies feel warm,
10:47lush, lived-in, and above all, real.
10:51That gift is no more apparent
10:53than in You've Got Mail,
10:54which in a stroke of genius,
10:56reunited sleepless in Seattle stars
10:58Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
11:00The pair's chemistry radiates off the screen
11:02like a Thanksgiving roast.
11:04Okay, sorry, we had to.
11:05So you're fine.
11:08Hi.
11:08Happy Thanksgiving.
11:09Henry, happy Thanksgiving.
11:11In all seriousness,
11:12You've Got Mail may not be
11:13exclusively a Thanksgiving movie,
11:15but it exemplifies all of the best qualities
11:18the holiday has to offer.
11:19And since it's Nora Ephron we're talking about,
11:22be sure to take a second
11:23to enjoy the film's depiction
11:25of autumn in New York City.
11:26A handkerchief is a Kleenex
11:28that you don't throw away, see?
11:30My mother embroidered this for me.
11:32My initials and a daisy
11:34because daisies are my favorite flower.
11:37May I ask who you are?
11:39Before we unveil our top pick,
11:41here are some honorable mentions.
11:43Alice's Restaurant
11:44Arlo Guthrie, son of Woody,
11:46stars as himself in this comedy
11:48based on his own song.
11:50It says here,
11:50do you know of any reason
11:52why you might not qualify for military service?
11:54Not your father, not your grandmother.
11:57I could get it.
11:58But you don't have it now.
12:02No.
12:02The Last Waltz
12:04Martin Scorsese's legendary concert film
12:06features the band playing on Thanksgiving 1976.
12:14Where have you gone?
12:17Home for the Holidays
12:19A sweet, well-acted palette cleanser
12:21directed by Oscar winner Jodie Foster.
12:23Hey, gosh, speaking of coats,
12:26isn't yours in danger?
12:27This? Yes.
12:29But I mean, you know, it wasn't,
12:31it wasn't when I bought it.
12:34Well then, I guess you did your part, huh?
12:37Pieces of April
12:38Patricia Clarkson was Oscar nominated
12:40for her role in this emotional dramedy.
12:42You have, you know you have.
12:45Apart from your weight problems,
12:46we're practically the same person.
12:48So why am I so hard on you?
12:50I mean, forget the fact that you're
12:52making the same mistakes I made
12:53and I wish you'd make your own.
12:54For your consideration,
12:56this underrated Christopher Guest picture
12:58brilliantly skewers Hollywood culture.
13:00Tell me a little about the movie.
13:02It's about Thanksgiving,
13:04which I believe is probably
13:05our most elegant holiday.
13:07Don't you think so?
13:09I do now.
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13:26Number one,
13:27planes, trains and automobiles.
13:29I never did introduce myself.
13:31Del Griffith, American Light and Fixture,
13:33director of sales,
13:34shower curtain ring division.
13:39I sell shower curtain rings.
13:41Best in the world.
13:42Yeah, you probably saw this one coming,
13:45but can you blame us?
13:46Possibly writer-director
13:47John Hughes's finest comedic hour,
13:50excluding semi-dramatic fare
13:51like The Breakfast Club,
13:52planes, trains and automobiles
13:54benefits tremendously
13:55from its superbly matched leads,
13:57played by comedians Steve Martin
13:58and John Candy in career-defining roles.
14:01I had no idea those beer cans
14:03were going to blow like that.
14:05You left them on a vibrating bed.
14:06What did you think was going to happen?
14:08In case you haven't seen
14:09this classic of Thanksgiving cinema,
14:12uptight Chicago ad executive Neil
14:13desperately attempts to return home
14:15from New York to spend the holiday
14:16with his family.
14:18His efforts are upended at every turn
14:20by his new friend Del,
14:21a sweet but obnoxious
14:23and over-eager salesman.
14:25Planes holds up to this day,
14:27mostly due to the secondhand relief
14:29you'll feel at not being the guys
14:31in this movie.
14:32You have any idea how fast
14:33you were going?
14:34Funnily enough,
14:35I was just talking to my friend about that.
14:36Our speedometers melted
14:37and as a result,
14:38it's very hard to say
14:39with any degree of accuracy
14:40exactly how fast we were going.
14:4378 miles an hour.
14:45What's your favorite
14:45Thanksgiving movie?
14:46Be sure to let us know
14:48in the comments below.
14:49The gods of my tribe have spoken.
14:51They have said,
14:52do not trust the pilgrims,
14:54especially Sarah Miller.
14:56Did you enjoy this video?
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