I'm all for the food on Thanksgiving. Sure, I might get stressed out when someone wrecks all my desserts before they can even be served, or fight with the family over a menu that doesn't consist of boiled vegetables slathered in butter and a roast turkey stuffed with ground beef (small victory: roasted brussels sprouts - yum), but it's mostly an enjoyable experience. It's the tension caused by my dislike of football and a very passive aggressive family that sends me up the wall wishing it was New Years already so I don't have to see anyone till Easter.
But I digress.
There is a wealth of holiday entertainment to distract from forced family bonds and artery clogging meals.
For example, here's one of the most offensive and hilarious Thanksgiving specials ever devised: Strangers with Candy Episode "Trail of Tears," wherein 40-something high school student Jerri Blank discovers she is a Native American. Pay close attention to the man running the Indian heritage camp: his career swiftly went downhill in quality even though people were willing to pay for his awful films for year.
Next is a film that makes me believe my family can't be that horrible: Pieces of April. This Academy Award nominated independent film about a family meeting up for what will probably be their last Thanksgiving together is hillarious and upsetting. Patricia Clarkson and Katie Holmes give standout performances.
It wouldn't realy feel like recs from me if I didn't include some horror. Why not embrace the gorgeous autumnal color scheme of Ginger Snaps? Sure, it's a Halloween horror film, but the leaves on my trees are just about to fall off completely and very few horror films have embraced the sublime of trees reaching their peak color right before going barren. Warm and fuzzy feelings for Thanksgiving.
Wait? No, I'm not linking to Eli Roth's Thanksgiving trailer. What an awful idea. I'd be more likely to link to Simon Pegg's Don't for the freaky family factor or Rob Zombie's Werewolf Women of the SS if they weren't so disturbing they could turn you off your feast.
No. I'll take the high road here.
Addams Family Value - The Play Sequence: It's creepy and it's kooky and somehow manages to top the violent quotient of the Strangers with Candy scalping without seeming too menacing.
Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone.