[Nerdspresso] Movies to Soothe Your Turkey Day Food Coma

This Thanksgiving, we will all get to a time following the big family meal when we stare across the desecrated battlefield that was our Thanksgiving dinner and wonder what’s next. The turkey’s been picked over, you’re stuffed with stuffing, the empty bowl of mashed potatoes is mocking you and we’re not even going to talk about what happened to the pumpkin pie.

You look across the table at the assembled masses as you slip into the initial stages of your food coma. The parade is but a distant memory, no one can agree on what football game to watch, the kids are getting antsy and if you don’t come up with something soon, your Uncle Phil is going to start talking about politics. It’s the annual holiday quandary: what movie to watch after Thanksgiving. At least it is in my house.

You folks know that I’m a bonafide movie nerd so every milestone in life is marked by cinema. Good day at work: movie. Bad day at work: movie. Wedding anniversary: movie. Halloween: scary movie. Steve Buscemi’s birthday? Time to watch Reservoir Dogs again. Every Thanksgiving, my family sits down for a marathon screening until we all slip into a collective nap’s warm embrace. But what movies to watch? You’ve got to find something to satisfy every cinephile on your list or at the very least pacify them.

I’ve compiled a list below of some cherished favorites for just such an occasion. Some have been chosen due to their pedigree, some for their seasonal relevance, and some just because they’re long and will lull you into a cozy state of semi-consciousness so the carbs can do their job. Regardless, you’ll have happy viewing until it’s time to break out the leftovers. I hope you find these choices helpful for your post-turkey film festival.

TURKEY TOPICS

These flicks are somewhat related to Thanksgiving in the sense that the holiday figures into the plot in some way, shape or form. These movies are for those folks who need to have a theme. They’re the same people that make their family dress in matching sweaters for holiday photos. These flicks are intended for families with older or adult kids, meaning they have some cussing and there are no animated forest creatures to keep the little ones engaged.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Perhaps the ultimate Thanksgiving movie even though the big meal doesn’t happen until right before the closing credits. If you haven’t seen this classic in a while, this holiday is a great time to check it out again. This flick doesn’t get old. Probably John Hughes’s best movie (Sorry, Breakfast Club fans). Steve Martin and John Candy play two complete opposites forced together as they battle the transit insanity trying to get home for Thanksgiving. If you’ve never seen this one before, it will have you laughing out loud. Both leads are at the top of their game and you’ll never look at shower curtain rings or two pillows the same way again.

Pieces of April

Katie Holmes (Tom Cruise’s third ex-wife who also acted on TV’s Dawson’s Creek) delivers a career-best performance in this little indie that no one saw. She plays a boho misfit living in a tiny apartment in NYC who invites her suburban family to the city for Thanksgiving. Written and directed by Peter Hedges, who also did Dan in Real Life and wrote What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, this dysfunctional family comedy-drama features a strong supporting cast (Oliver Platt, Patricia Clarkson, and Sean Hayes) and delivers some humorous relatable moments. Remember those days when you were trying to show your parents you were a capable adult and almost pulled it off? This is the movie for you. And Katie Holmes won’t make you cringe even once.

HOLIDAY MOOD

These movies are for those people that put up their Christmas tree right after Halloween. If you were putting lights on your house before all your kid’s candy was gone, then pull up these flicks on the Roku, pop in the Blu-Ray or go old school and go old school and slap in the DVDs. Here’s a couple of classics to get you to put a little jingle in your jangle. Slip on your Santa hat and tell everyone to put on their footed jammies. These flicks are definitely for all ages. They are like a cinematic mug of cocoa on a cold winter’s day. You’ve seen these movies, but nostalgia is comforting so just shut up and watch it again.

Elf

There are a ton of Christmas movies out there, but very few Christmas classics. No, those Hallmark movies don’t count. I find Santa Claus much more believable than a big-city gal falling in love with some small-town blacksmith as they discover the meaning of Christmas while finding a home for the oldest dog in town. Christmas classics are a short list.

And modern Christmas classics even shorter. Yes, there’s Die Hard (don’t fight me on this one) and there’s Elf. Will Farrell is delightful as Buddy, the human raised by Santa’s elves, who comes to NYC to find his long, lost papa, played by James Caan. See? Much more believable than a Hallmark Christmas movie. Those smell like beef and cheese. Plus, it’s intentionally funny. Director Jon Favreau strikes an amazing balance between sincerity and snark in a movie that will have you smiling like it’s your favorite.

A Christmas Story

I think it’s a law in at least 27 states that you must watch A Christmas Story after Thanksgiving dinner. They might shoot your eye out if you disobey. The story of little Ralphie and his quest for a Red Ryder BB gun (“With a compass in the stock and a thing that tells time!”) resonates with everyone on your Christmas list. Grandparents love it, parents love it, kids love it. I’m even sure that the family pets dig it.

I remember watching the Parker family’s yuletide misadventures back on HBO when you had to wait a day or two to see it again and then I got hooked when TBS started playing it non-stop on Christmas Eve. Now I get my fix by pulling it up on Max, watching it, and then immediately starting it over. It’s just that comforting. which makes A Christmas Story ideal post-Thanksgiving viewing and a great way to kick off the holiday season.

MARATHON VIEWING

Now if you are serious about your post-meal movies then sit back and couch your way through an entire trilogy. These movies will ease you into hibernation like those bears that sell toilet paper on TV. Their stories work best as part of a complete story and their combined running time will most likely take you into Black Friday. They are for the serious cinephiles in your family or if you want to keep everyone sedentary until it’s time to serve the pumpkin pie.

Lord of The Rings Trilogy

The Hobbits are super Thanksgiving companions, what with second breakfast, elevensies, and all that, and Peter Jackson’s epic storytelling guarantees that you’re in it for the long haul. I find this trilogy a nice match for newbies and veterans alike. Some will debate the differences between the books and the films and others will just get lost in the world building.

I may have to turn in my nerd card for writing this next part, but I went into the Lord of the Rings trilogy without having read the books. I feel Jackson nailed it, totally taking me on a ride all the way from Hobbiton to Mount Doom. If you’re going to travel for Thanksgiving, you could do way worse than Middle Earth. And if you’re not into all the elves and orcs and stuff, then you’ll get a nice long nap while the Hobbits are doing all that walking.

Star Wars Trilogy (OG Version)

In my opinion, Thanksgiving is a good time to visit that galaxy far, far away, especially with that Ewok party at the end of Return of the Jedi putting everyone in a festive mood. If you’re a Star Wars fan, feasting on the Holy Trilogy is a wonderful way for your body to chill while it digests all those delicious carbs bobbing around your belly like the Millennium Falcon in that asteroid field in The Empire Strikes Back. And if you’re not a fan, then why are you reading this? Go back and read the bit I wrote about Pieces of April. It’s good stuff.

Now that Star Wars is closing in on the half-century mark, it’s got a multi-generational appeal. Some of your tribe remember seeing these flicks in the theater while others discovered them on DVDs or streaming and watching them in gasp chapter order with their sibling trilogies. Slip on your Jedi jammies, snuggle under that giant Death Star blankie, and travel back to a time long, long ago before unnecessary sequels, pointless streamers, and endless merch. Just let that image of that ginormous spaceship at the beginning of the first flick (Episode IV for you philistines) blow your mind like it did for audiences in 1977. Nostalgia can be an awesome digestive agent. May the Force be with you.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Okay, gang. That wraps up my list of recommendations for a Turkey Day Cinefeast. Hope you find something to enjoy as much as that third slice of pumpkin pie. If you’re like me, there’s nothing better than collapsing on the sofa and sharing a beloved classic with your loved ones. With your brain cruising on a tryptophan boost, let these stories embrace you like a warm hug and disappear for a little while. Longer, if you nod off and wake up alone and disoriented like that guy in 28 Days Later.

Don’t mock. It could happen.