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5 Thanksgiving movies to make your holiday

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) photo Katie Holmes stars as April Burns in the Peter Hedges comedy 'Pieces of April.'

By Alexis Larsen, Staff Writer Updated 6:39 PM Thursday, November 19, 2009

Looking to relax at home over the holidays? Need a good movie recommendation? Here are our five favorite Thanksgiving movies, out now on DVD, that are worth considering.

1. Home for the Holidays

Jodie Foster directs this laugh-out-loud Thanksgiving Day ode to familial dysfunction. Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr. and Anne Bancroft helm the ensemble cast. We’re not going to spoil this overlooked cinematic gem for you except to say that your family will be looking a whole lot better after watching. And isn’t that the greatest gift of all?

2. Pieces of April

What is it about Thanksgiving Day that brings out the crazy? “Pieces of April” stars Katie Holmes (a.k.a. Mrs. Tom Cruise) as a young woman who attempts to reconnect with her family by inviting them to Thanksgiving dinner at her Lower East Side New York apartment. Another film that will likely have you feeling better about your kin.

3. Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Steve Martin stars as a man desperate to make it back home in time to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family. Weather woes, transportation issues and an annoying (but loveable) shower-curtain-ring salesman, played by the great John Candy, all stand in his way. A 1987 classic with a big heart from the recently departed John Hughes.

4. Miracle on 34th Street

Yes this is a Christmas classic, but the film actually starts out with Susan Walker watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. If you’re looking to get in the spirit of the next big holiday, here’s your chance.

5. Hannah and Her Sisters

This 1986 Woody Allen offering is a more complicated, intense option. The film documents several Thanksgiving celebrations of three unsettled sisters and their families. New York serves as the backdrop to the script, which won Allen an Oscar. If you don’t mind ups and downs and especially Woody Allen, this may be the Thanksgiving Day movie for you.

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don't forget "Dutch" with Ed O'Neil.

The unspoken classic.

Joe Padula
10:31 AM, 11/26/2009

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Planes Trains & Automobiles!

Always a fun movie to watch! Love it when they get pulled over in the rental!
Our speedometer's melted. It's hard to say with any degree of accuracy how fast we were going.
But the radio still works!

sean s
7:47 PM, 11/23/2009

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Miracle on 34th Street is certainly one of my favorites. But I truly love White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Danny Kay. Truly a beautiful story with some of the greatest actors of our time, not to mention one of the greatest crooners of all time. I can't see it enough.

damicosr
11:29 AM, 11/22/2009

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at Thanksgiving I love:
WHAT'S COOKING?
Is a great made for TV movie set in a LA suburban neigborhood that reflects 5 differnt cultural backgrounds and how they make it through Thanksgiving Day!
LOVE this movie!
For Christmas:
I LOVE National Lampoon's CHRISTMAS VACATION!

foodie
12:18 PM, 11/20/2009

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I want a red rider bb gun/air rifle with a compass in the stock! A Christmas story deserves my vote.

cmpw
10:41 AM, 11/20/2009

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