What follows are what critics consider the very best of the best when it comes to movies centered around the Thanksgiving holiday. What are the criteria for “best of the best”? A “Certified Fresh” rating matters but was not the deciding factor. Instead, these movies all hold at least a 70% on the review aggregator site. This means some films that are still worth watching, e.g. Jodie Foster’s Home for the Holidays (64% on Rotten Tomatoes) and the kooky horror comedy Black Friday (65%), missed the cut-off.
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Note that some other excluding factors applied. Short films were not considered, so no Charlie Brown and Snoopy here. Also excised from consideration were films that focus on both Thanksgiving and Christmas, but with a skew toward the latter. In other words, no The Santa Clause or Miracle on 34th Street. Finally, the film must have been a theatrical release, either limited or wide. Also, there must have been something of a Thanksgiving or family dynamic-focused throughline, not just a single, brief scene that happens to take place on Thanksgiving.
Addams Family Values (1993) – 75%
It may not have been as financially successful as the original film, but Addams Family Values is one of the few sequels that manages to outdo its predecessor in just about every department imaginable. It’s also willing to embrace the darkness prevalent in its The New Yorker cartoon origins without going too over-the-top, like both the TV series adaptation and the original film. But what really sold the critics was the sequel’s greater attention to character.
The first film was criticized for an abundance of madcap set pieces, but it was praised for both the set design and the casting. Those elements remain firmly in place in Addams Family Values, but with the addition of a tighter script and the addition of a fun villainess performance from Joan Cusack. The highlight of it all is again Christina Ricci as Wednesday Addams, who is even more comfortable in her role than she was the first go-round.
Tadpole (2002) – 77%
This low-budget indie follows Oscar Grubman (Aaron Stanford, Pyro in Deadpool & Wolverine), a 15-year-old boy who finds himself uninterested in his female peers. He prefers women decades his senior, as they’re more likely to appreciate his fluency in French and proclivity for the works of Voltaire. In fact, he has his eyes set on one particular woman decades his senior: his stepmother (Sigourney Weaver). And now that it’s Thanksgiving break, he’s going to pursue her.
Problematic plot aside (though it helps that Stanford was 23 at the time, not 15, not to mention the fact he does not win the romantic love of his stepmother), critics found the film’s audacity charming. The work by Stanford was also widely praised, as was the supporting performance from Bebe Neuwirth. However, some did criticize its length at just 77 minutes.
Prisoners (2013) – 81%
Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners is the diametric opposite of a feel-good Thanksgiving flick. But it’s also gut-wrenching, well-paced, and features career-best work from Hugh Jackman. The narrative follows the parents of two kidnapped young girls in Pennsylvania, particularly Jackman’s Keller Dover, who has himself kidnapped the man who he believes took the two girls.
While praise was heaped upon many aspects of the film, from the score to the cinematography, the lion’s share went to Jackman. And rightly so, considering the audience fully believes every heartbreaking moment he’s on the screen. Praise also went to his co-lead, Jake Gyllenhaal, who contributes a performance as Detective Loki that’s nearly as brilliant and equally disturbed (though in a different way).
Instant Family (2018) – 82%
Instant Family follows the Wagner couple, Pete (Mark Wahlberg) and Ellie (Rose Byrne), as they tire of hearing questions about procreation from family members and begin to consider adoption. They meet Lizzie (Isabela Merced) and feel a connection, but then come to realize she’s a package deal. Now, Pete and Ellie find themselves simultaneously getting to know and raising not one, but three kids.
Movies like Instant Family don’t seem to come from big studios all that often. It wears its heart on its sleeve, but not to a saccharine extent. Instead, it’s warm and organic in equal measure, and managed to bolster the profile of Merced, who gave a critically lauded performance here and in Sicario: Day of the Soldado within the very same calendar year.
Thanksgiving (2023) – 84%
Back when the Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez-directed Grindhouse hit theaters, those who actually saw it were given the treat of some faux teaser trailers. And that was a year before Tropic Thunder did the same to similarly humorous effect. While Rob Zombie has yet to craft Werewolf Women of the S.S. as a feature film, Rodriguez has directed not one but two Machete movies. He’s not the only one who ended up turning a passion-piece fake trailer into a passion-piece real movie as Eli Roth finally got his Thanksgiving to slice up the big screen.
Slightly less of a comedy than Machete but just as bloody, Roth’s old-fashioned slasher managed to please genre aficionados and critics in equal measure. That’s no small feat, considering the subgenre has long been receiving the brunt of many a critics’ ire. They found themselves appreciating its tongue-in-cheek approach as well as its gory scares, with many predicting that it would, indeed, become a staple of the holiday for years to come.
[Related: Why Aren’t There More Thanksgiving Horror Movies?]
Pieces of April (2003) – 84%
Pieces of April follows April Burns, a 20-something Manhattanite who comes from a dysfunctional family. However, now that her mother is dying from breast cancer, she invites them to come to her house for Thanksgiving dinner and meet her boyfriend. En route to her home, the audience learns about all the various reasons she and her family have parted ways over the years.
The film functions as a race-against-time, with April scrambling to prepare the meal for her family while also juggling the anxiety she feels about seeing them again. Many critics pointed at the film’s distinctly human nature and sweetness, with praise going towards the cast as well. This is especially true of Katie Holmes, who holds it all together in the lead, and Patricia Clarkson, who received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her work as April’s mother, Joy.
Scent of a Woman (1992) – 85%
Scent of a Woman is the very definition of a Sunday afternoon feel-good movie one might find on cable playing throughout the 2000s. The narrative follows Chris O’Donnell’s Charlie Simms as he leaves his prep school for Thanksgiving break and takes a short-term job as a companion to a visually impaired retired Army lieutenant colonel. That Lt. Col. would be Frank Slade (Al Pacino), who at first intimidates Charlie before ultimately teaching him some lessons about life he would do well to learn.
While not all critics felt the drama needed to be two-and-a-half hours long, most found much to love about it. In particular, Pacino’s work was universally adored, and the role was the one that finally netted him the Academy Award for Best Actor. He’s magnetic in the role, and his work is enough to make up for the film’s shortcomings in the narrative department.
Spider-Man (2002) – 90%
Certainly the highest-grossing Thanksgiving movie ever made, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man was as much a hit with general audiences as it was with critics. As much a trendsetter as Richard Donner’s Superman and Tim Burton’s Batman, Spider-Man was and remains an important entry in the superhero cinema subgenre. And, as far as tense family meal scenes go, this one has a doozy.
Critics appreciated just about everything in the film, from its action sequences (including one set during a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade-type festival) to the heart provided by the script and cast. Raimi’s direction was also universally praised as was the casting, with particular props going to Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, and J.K. Simmons. Not to mention, plenty of critics cited the now-iconic upside-down kiss scene.
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) – 91%
Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters takes place over three consecutive Thanksgivings, with particular emphasis on the first and third. Mia Farrow’s Hannah has her husband, Elliot, (Michael Caine) fall in love with her sister, Lee (Barbara Hershey). Furthermore, her ex-husband Mickey (Allen) has begun to connect with her other sister, Holly (Dianne Wiest).
Pretty much universally deemed one of Allen’s best movies, Hannah and Her Sisters received equal praise for its intelligence and its humor. It was ultimately nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture as was Allen for Best Director; it won for Best Screenplay. In 1990, when listing the 10 best movies of the ’80s, Roger Ebert called it the best comedy film of the decade.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) – 92%
The barely R-rated Planes, Trains and Automobiles was and remains the definitive Thanksgiving movie, comedy or otherwise. Starring Steve Martin and the late John Candy as a pair of strangers taking a setback-laden journey to Chicago so Martin’s Neal can spend Thanksgiving with his family. Candy’s Del gets under Neal’s skin to an increasing degree, but ultimately Neal learns both to not judge a book by its cover and to truly appreciate what he has.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles was seen as something of a departure for director John Hughes, given his fairly consistent output of teen comedies, but the heartfelt DNA of his previous films is very much intact. In fact, Planes, Trains is essentially the most tender and sweet-natured movie he ever made, and it without a doubt has aged better than the remainder of his catalogue. Its ace in the hole is the casting of Martin and Candy, who deliver note-perfect performances and bounce off one another in a way that doesn’t grow tiresome and, by film’s end, feels like a dynamic well worth sticking with.
