Pick Six: Thanksgiving Movies

Hello, hello, one and all it is me, The Vern from The Vern's Videovangaurd and co host of The As You Watch podcast. Yes, yes I know it is pretty exciting to see me on here. Please hold down your applause. I for one am very glad that head honcho Nick has asked me to be a contributor to his site, and I really hope that all of you enjoy this and any other article I post here.

When Halloween approaches there are tons of movies and television programs to watch. Same thing goes for Christmas, Easter, and Valentines Day. Hell even April Fools Day have their own damn flick, but do you know the one holiday that doesn't get much film love? That's right, Thanksgiving. Well here are a few flicks that I think are worth your time and effort to seek out.

*Note: Keep in mind dear readers that is is not a countdown list. I'm not good at ranking movies, and I'm not about to start now.

Planes Trains and Automobiles, 1987

Neal Page (Steve Martin) is on his way to back home to visit his family for Thanksgiving when he accidentally  meets up with a obnoxious shower ring salesman Del Griffth (John Candy). I love this movies because it is extremely funny and the chemistry between Candy and Martin are incredible. It's kind of sad that both director John Hughes and Mr. Candy had to pass away because I would have loved to see more movies from these two. The one thing I love about this flick is that it teaches us to look past the surfaces of people and judge them on who they are inside.

Pieces of April, 2003

Remember how god damn adorable Katie Holmes was before she got caught up in the whole Tom Cruise love fest. Pieces of April was her last good performance in a movie that I can think of. In it, she plays the black sheep daughter who tries to do right by having her family over for Thanksgiving. Nothing goes right for her during this day, but all the problems seem very real and the jokes are genuine instead of generic slapstick prats. Oliver Platt and Patricia Clarkson portray her parents and have some wonderful moments  together.

Home for the Holidays, 1995

Jodie Foster directed this tale of Claudia Larson's(Holly Hunter) trip back home to spend the holidays with her crazy family. Miss Foster made quite a splash with her first feature Little Man Tate, but this one feels really flat. It has some good performances from Robert Downey Jr. (who admitted to using heroin while filming) and Claire Danes, but I never found it to be memorable.

The House of Yes, 1997

If I were to tell you that there was a movie with Tori Spelling, Freddie Prinze Jr, and it was good. You would probably think that I am about crazy as the character Parker Posey plays in this dark comedy. In it, Marty(Josh Hamilton) and his fiance Lesly (Spelling) go to the home of his family where his sister Jackie (Posey) has just been released from a mental hospital. This is very much a filmed version of a stage play, but the performances all around are great and each character is flushed out very well. This is from director Mark Waters who is best known for Mean Girls and the remake of Freaky Friday.  I'm sure he never wants to make a movie like this again because it does goes into some dark territories. Even though everything is discussed and nothing is ever shown.

Hannah and her Sisters, 1986

In this dramedy from director Woody Allen. Hannah's (Mia Farrow) husband (Michael Caine) falls in love with her sister Lee (Barbara Hershey). Meanwhile hypochondriac Mickey(Allen) believes that he has cancer and tries to find the right religion to belong too. Mr. Caine won a best supporting actor award for his work in this. I'll admit that him and the rest of the cast are just fine and that it does have some funny moments. I just never had much interest in this movie over all. I wanted to very much like it, because I do love most of Woody's other movies. I just don't have love for this one. None of the characters evoke any sympathy at all from me.

Thanksgiving- Fake Trailer from Grindhouse, 2007

Eli Roth directed this fake trailer for use in the double feature Grindhouse that was placed between both movies. This slasher flick is about a killer pilgrim, and it looks so much like the ones that were made in the late 70's that it becomes almost authentic. The voice of the narrator is what freaks me out the most about this ad.

Let me know what you thought of the feature below, and leave me some feedback on what you thought was a great Thanksgiving movie.