As much as we look forward to the holiday season every year, there are parts of it that we don't always love. Getting together with family can be fun, but it can also be stressful … and dramatic. Even though many of our favorite Christmas movies reflect what's good about the holiday season, Thanksgiving movies — and movies with scenes from Turkey Day in general — are a bit more realistic. They show the side of the holidays that makes us wish we could just stay home and eat turkey in bed every year.
Between the stress of cooking all day long — and planning days in advance — for a big group of people, seeing folks we don't see the rest of the year, and old issues and drama bubbling back up to the surface, Thanksgiving isn't always what it's cracked up to be. Fortunately, there are plenty of films out there to prove it.
Read on for the movies that prove that Thanksgiving can definitely be the worst. Don't get us wrong — we love our families, but sometimes, too much togetherness can be a bad thing! Mix that with the pressure of what many people think is the most important meal of the entire year, and it can be recipe for disaster.
'Funny People'
In Funny People, Adam Sandler plays a comedian who receives a terminal diagnosis, so he decides to take a new comedian under his wing as his friend. He even invites him to a big Thanksgiving dinner, and although it's a sweet gesture, it's also a reminder of how limited the time we have to spend with our loved ones really is. Bummer!
'The Oath'
The Oath is all about a family who disagrees about politics on Thanksgiving. (Sound familiar to anyone?) In this movie, Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz play a couple who are grappling with the decision to sign an oath pledging their allegiance to the US government by the day after Thanksgiving or risk harm coming to their family.
… and of course, they all butt heads on Turkey Day.
'Pieces of April'
There's a lot of stress surrounding the holidays — especially when it comes to family that we might not be on good terms with. In Pieces of April, Katie Holmes plays a girl who's estranged from her family and invites them over for Thanksgiving. There's extra pressure put on the meal, being that her mom has cancer and it's probably their last holiday together. Everything that could go wrong does, of course.
'Hannah and Her Sisters'
In this movie — starring Mia Farrow, Carrie Fisher, and Michael Caine — multiple Thanksgiving holidays are featured, and they all include affairs and family secrets. In Hannah and Her Sisters, the stories of a family are all interwoven with Hannah at the center, and it's a reminder of exactly how complicated our family relationships can get.
'You've Got Mail'
OK, so the Thanksgiving part of You've Got Mail, which stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, is such a tiny part of this timeless romantic comedy, but it does point out how much the holiday can suck. In the movie, Joe and Kathleen are in the grocery store shopping, and it's absolutely packed with fellow shoppers buying items to cook their feasts. The holiday rush is the worst!
'The Myth of Fingerprints'
Starring Julianne Moore, Noah Wyle, and Blythe Danner, The Myth of Fingerprints is about what happens when a dysfunctional family gets together for Thanksgiving. With everyone under one roof again, they're forced to confront everything they've been repressing all of these years, which makes for one dramatic weekend.
'Avalon'
Set in the late '40s, Avalon is about a Polish Jewish immigrant family adapting to quickly changing life in America. It features a Thanksgiving scene that is all too familiar for those of us who have had bad Thanksgivings in our time: family drama and arguments. Is it really the holiday season without them?
'Mistress America'
In Mistress America, Lola Kirke plays a college student named Tracy who tries to spend more time with her future stepsister, Brooke (Greta Gerwig), but ends up getting into a lot more trouble than she bargained for. The movie ends on Thanksgiving and a pretty lonely one at that.
'The Vicious Kind'
Ready for a movie about Thanksgiving weekend and a love triangle between a girl and two brothers? That's The Vicious Kind, which stars Adam Scott, Brittany Snow, J.K. Simmons, and Alex Frost. In this movie, Thanksgiving gets a heavy dose of drama when one brother brings his girlfriend home for the holiday and the other ends up with feelings for her.
'The Ice Storm'
In The Ice Storm, Thanksgiving goes awry when two families are snowed in together during the long weekend … especially when there's infidelity involved. This movie features a pretty solid cast, including Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Allen, and Kevin Kline.
'Stepmom'
Stepmom — which stars Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon — is a heartbreaking movie about a mother who has learned she has cancer and must figure out how to tell her kids goodbye during what might be her final year with them. The movie spans the holiday season, including Thanksgiving, and is another bitter reminder of how short life can be.
'Pilgrim'
In need of a horror movie to remind everyone just how terrible Thanksgiving can really be? Pilgrim is about a family who invites a group of pilgrim reenactors to join their Thanksgiving dinner. Ultimately, they end up regretting it when things start to get a little bloody — and a little too realistic when it comes to what the first Thanksgiving might have actually been like.
'Home for the Holidays'
Starring Holly Hunter and Robert Downey Jr., Home for the Holidays is about a woman who is down on her luck and ends up spending Thanksgiving with her family, even though it's not her first choice. It's another story of a dysfunctional family gathering together for the holidays and probably way too relatable for some of us!
'One True Thing'
Looking for an excuse for a good cry? This might be it. In One True Thing, a woman (Renee Zellweger) has to leave her career and come home to take care of her mother (Meryl Streep) after she receives a terminal cancer diagnosis. They spend her last holiday season together, and then, they have to say goodbye.
'What's Cooking?'
What's Cooking? tells the story of four families from different ethnic backgrounds cooking their version of Thanksgiving dinner, and they all have their own problems. In a way, it's comforting to see that all families have their issues. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving is when a lot of those issues must be confronted.
