Best Thanksgiving Movies to Watch in 2025

2 days ago7 min read3 comments

While the turkey carcass sits picked clean and the final slice of pie vanishes, a different, more cinematic tradition unfolds in living rooms across the nation: the quest for the perfect post-feast film. The annual selection of Thanksgiving movies is less about a single, definitive canon and more about a curated emotional landscape, a thematic companion to the day's unique blend of familial warmth and simmering tension.For 2025, the viewing menu offers a rich tapestry of options that go far beyond the obvious pilgrim-and-turkey fare, reflecting a more nuanced understanding of what the holiday represents. Consider the enduring appeal of 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles,' a film that has ascended from simple comedy to a national ritual not for its depiction of a feast, but for its raw, beautiful portrayal of the arduous journey home itself—the delayed flights, the shared struggles, the unlikely friendships forged in transit, which often hold more emotional weight than the destination.This is the core of the modern Thanksgiving narrative: the tribulation before the gratitude. For those seeking a purer, gentler nostalgia, 'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving' remains a masterclass in minimalism, its janky folding chairs and buttered toast serving as a poignant counterpoint to today's Instagram-perfect tablescapes, reminding us that the spirit of the gathering far outweighs the culinary spread.Then there are the films that use the holiday not as a warm backdrop but as a pressure cooker, films like 'The Ice Storm' or 'Hannah and Her Sisters,' where the ornate dining table becomes a stage for familial fissures, unspoken resentments, and the quiet desperation lurking beneath the surface of polite conversation. These are essential counter-programming, offering catharsis through recognition.The 21st century has expanded the genre further, with films like 'The Holdovers' quickly cementing their status as modern classics by exploring chosen families and the bittersweet beauty of connections made in the absence of traditional ones. Your selection for 2025, therefore, is a Rorschach test.Do you seek the comforting slapstick of 'Home for the Holidays,' the sharp-witted familial combat of 'You've Got Mail's 'Joni would *love* that' scene, or the surreal, generational anxiety of 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' and its 'Boggis, Bunce, and Bean'? The choice is yours, but choose wisely; the right film won't just fill the silence between naps, it will deepen the resonance of the entire holiday, providing either the mirror or the escape we all need after the last bit of stuffing is gone.

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