There are many changing factors that families are coming to terms with as they remain socially distant for the turkey holiday. Though plenty of people are traveling to see their loved ones, the majority of Americans are staying put, rather than risk getting sick. It's depressing and miserable and if you're feeling really blue about it, nobody will hold it against you.
Something that may help with the feelings of isolation is recreating the feelings associated with this holiday. Whether that's being with your family, or chowing down on delicious food, or (shudder) heading out for Black Friday, there's something you can watch to evoke those same feelings. Or at least close facsimiles thereof. Rather than being sad and watching time slowly tick by, lazily curl up with a bowl of lukewarm mashed potatoes and queue up this list of recommendations of television and movies to watch to get into the Thanksgiving spirit.
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What To Watch If You Miss: Your Family
Onward is a 2020 animation movie by Pixar that is destined to bring some joy and laughter to this melancholy season. It features the voices of Marvel actors Tom Holland and Chris Pratt as two elf brothers who embark on a magical journey to briefly resurrect their deceased father. Their trek is exciting as they come face-to-face with a snappy manticore, a biker gang of pixies, and a dragon that wants to kill them.
Streamable on Disney+, Onward is the best movie to watch while feeling reminiscent of cherished family time. The movie presents an imperfect family who genuinely loves each other and deeply misses their lost one. It is hilarious and heartwarming, and the movie remains lighthearted and enjoyable despite its sensitive topic.
What To Watch If You Miss: Traveling
Premiering this month on Hulu, Eater’s Guide To The World is an exploration of different foods and cultures from all around the world. Narrated by Saturday Night Live's Maya Rudolph, the series is packed with her knee-slapping humor combined with the expertise and script by the credible food publication Eater. In this documentary, camera crews travel the world to bring attention to a diverse range of eateries.
Eater’s Guide To The World starts off in Portland, Oregon as a local food critic, Karen Brooks, shares her favorite places to dine alone— another thing that resonates with this pandemic era. From there, Eater’s shares to-die-for meals in Casablanca, New York City, Costa Rica, Los Angeles (where they introduce the viewers to a “carwash by day, Nashville hot chicken eatery by night” establishment), and more. While this show satisfies the urge to travel by sharing the cultural background and significance of each food place visited, it also makes the future seem more and more enticing as there is destined to be a restaurant, or five, to make note of during this watch.
What To Watch If You Miss: Friendsgiving
After exhausting through countless Friends reruns and the classic A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, tune into the John Hughes comedy Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987). The movie chronicles a series of misadventures, as two strangers struggle to travel home to Chicago from New York City for the Thanksgiving holiday. Although incompatible and agitated, they form an unlikely friendship while they encounter a series of misfortunes that continue to delay their respective trips such as flight layovers, broken trains, and empty car rentals.
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is a warm movie, filled with witty one-liners, unspeakable shenanigans, and found companionship. It is the perfect "buddy picture" to watch and take comfort in during this lonely holiday season.
What To Watch If You Miss: The Food
What’s Cooking? is a 2000 comedy-drama that follows four diverse families and their separate Thanksgiving celebrations. While weaving in and out of familial drama, the movie focuses on the different preparations of the big holiday meal. What’s Cooking? features many traditional delicacies expected to be seen on a typical Thanksgiving plate while also celebrating different cultures and their foods; such as the grueling preparation of tamales.
Starring Alfre Woodard, Kyra Sedgwick (who can recently be found starring in episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine), and ER’s Julianna Margulies, What’s Cooking? is a lighthearted movie about delicious and not-so-delicious food and complicated family dynamics. It serves Thanksgiving dinner with a healthy dose of family fighting, making the viewer feel, strangely, right at home.