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These holiday flicks will satisfy as much as dinner will
We all know there’s no place like home for the holidays — but thanks to a little Grinch known as coronavirus, many of us won’t be traveling far this year, if at all.
If the idea of celebrating Thanksgiving and the rest of the season in smaller-than-usual gatherings has you down, we suggest checking out some holiday films that will remind you of all the family drama you won’t miss while curled up in your PJs on your very own couch.
Yes, it’s great to have a crowded, food-filled affair every year — but a Thanksgiving spent watching these films will at least let you enjoy the fun in family dysfunction, without having to suffer through it yourself.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
An oldie but a goodie. If you’re a fan of Steve Martin and physical comedy punctuated with juvenile jokes, relive the tortured trek Neal, played by Martin, makes to get to his home in Chicago from New York City one Thanksgiving.
The late great funnyman John Candy plays Del Griffith, Neal’s irritating but warm accidental travel partner.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
If you’re not with your family this holiday, at least you can spend time with the Griswolds. Add a cheapskate boss, age-addled relatives, snooty neighbors and Christmas lights — lots and lots of Christmas lights — and you have Chevy Chase doing what he does best: bumbling and stumbling through a warm-hearted tale of family schmaltz.
And it’s got the delightfully loopy Randy Quaid as Eddie. Admit it, there is an Eddie in your family.
Home for the Holidays (1995)
Part of the fun in this classic Thanksgiving comedy: watching Robert Downey Jr. and Holly Hunter a quarter-century ago.
Hunter plays Claudia Larson, a single mom who heads home to her eccentric family after losing her job and learning that her daughter intends to spend Thanksgiving with her boyfriend. The film flashes a humorous and sometimes bittersweet spotlight on the ups and downs of family time at the holidays.
Free Birds (2013)
If you’re looking for a real escape from reality, join these time-traveling animated turkeys (voiced by Amy Poehler, Woody Harrelson and others) as they try to return to the very first Thanksgiving feast and permanently alter the traditional menu. Plenty of gobble-gobbles, er... chuckles. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) OK, it’s a Christmas movie first and foremost, but “Miracle on 34th Street” begins by fixing its sights on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan.
With the fabulous annual parade this year becoming a crowdfree version, the 73-year-old movie promises to pack a powerful punch of nostalgia, reminding you why you believed in Santa, and why you want to again. Start your holiday season off right with a classic.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)
This half-hour, Emmy Award-winning masterpiece remains mandatory viewing for many year after year. Part and parcel of the holiday like turkey and mashed potatoes, “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” includes a pinch of football, a memorable slapdash meal prepared by Charlie and Snoopy of toast, pretzels and jelly beans, and that oh-sogood soundtrack.
And of course, it’s only the appetizer for the main dish: “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” That 1965 classic set a standard, and still warms the most cynical hearts.
Die Hard (1988)
It sparks endless debate: Is it a holiday movie or not? Decide for yourself and watch Bruce Willis, bare-footed and practically bare-chested, take out the maniacal terrorist played by Alan Rickman as his team tries to pull off a massive robbery on Christmas Eve. Yippee-ki-yay, Turkey Lovers.