Bay Meadows

What better way to get cozy, gather and enjoy the occasional slumber after that leftover turkey sandwich than with a lineup of Thanksgiving movies? They may not all be centered around the proverbial dining table, but these movies do have one thing in common, reminders that we can be thankful for many things — at Thanksgiving or any time of year. From heartwarming classics to laugh-out-loud comedies to historical dramas, we have your viewing needs covered with this list of Must Watch Thanksgiving Movies.

The Classics

Planes, Trains and Automobiles: If you thought family was hard, try having journeyman oaf John Candy as your traveling partner for three days.

National Lampoon’s Thanksgiving Family Reunion: All Mitch Snider wants for his family is a traditional holiday feast with the relatives. What follows is a full-course meal of nonstop laughs when the neurotic suburbanites clash with the hippy hicks from hell in National Lampoon’s most outrageous family misadventure yet.

The Blind Side:  Family, football, and an Oscar-winning performance from Sandra Bullock. Plus, it’s based on a true story…

Scent of a Woman:  Enjoy the film that finally won Al Pacino his Oscar. This drama about the bonding between a blinded, alcoholic Army officer—“hoo-ah!”—and a young prep-school student gets to the very heart of gratitude and relationships.

Rocky: While boxing isn’t necessarily a Thanksgiving tradition, there’s a scene pivotal to the entire series of films that involves a Thanksgiving dinner gone wrong in this classic fight film.

Comedies

Friendsgiving: Two friends think they’re about to have a quiet Thanksgiving dinner, but plans go up in smoke when a chaotic group of friends, lovers and relatives all crash their meal at the same time.

Addams Family Values: A comical Gothic horror-movie-type family tries to rescue their beloved uncle from his gold-digging new love.

Autumn in New York: If you love a romcom tune in to this movie. When a Casanova-type New York chef meets a young woman one fall day in Manhattan, he never expected to fall in love with her…and himself in the process.

Home for the Holidays: Family dysfunction in its finest form! Single mother Claudia Larson travels alone to her childhood home for Thanksgiving and sparks begin to fly in more than one way.

Grumpy Old Men: A lifelong feud between two neighbors since childhood only gets worse when a new female neighbor moves across the street. In the end, true friendship shows itself to be as strong as any family bond.

Holiday Engagement: Afraid to admit she was just dumped, a woman hires an actor to play her lawyer-boyfriend during a 4-day Thanksgiving weekend at her parents’ house.

Dutch: The pairing of a working-class guy taking his girlfriend’s son from a private school in Atlanta home to Chicago for Thanksgiving makes for a journey filled with bickering, mishaps and, eventually, bonding for life.

Kid-Friendly Classics

Turkey Hollow: The Emmerson family heads to the quaint town of Turkey Hollow to visit Aunt Cly. Tim and Annie quickly grow bored without the Internet, and soon try to track the Howling Hoodoo, an elusive monster the locals dismiss as a legend.

Free Birds: In this animated film, two turkeys from opposite sides of the tracks must put aside their differences and team up to travel back in time to change the course of history.

Garfield’s Thanksgiving: Jon harasses veterinarian Liz into being his Turkey Day guest. Trouble is, Jon is clueless about how to cook a big bird; fortunately, starving Garfield has the good sense to call in Jon’s spirited grandmother for a culinary rescue.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving: Peppermint Patty invites herself and her friends over to Charlie Brown’s for Thanksgiving, and with Linus, Snoopy, and Woodstock, he attempts to throw together a Thanksgiving dinner.

Great Holiday Stories

The National Tree: Father and son set out on a road-trip from Oregon to Washington, D.C transporting their own Sitka Spruce tree on a truck to be planted across from the White House on Thanksgiving.

You’ve Got Mail: A 1998 romantic comedy film starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. These neighborhood bookstore rivals unwittingly become e-mail pen pals and fall in love. When he comes to her aid at a crowded grocery store during Thanksgiving, it’s a bit of a tide turn for both of them — he charms; she needs help — and they both see each other in a different light.

What’s Cooking: This movie jumps around to four different Thanksgiving meals, all thrown by families from diverse backgrounds who have a few things in common: stress, food, and stressing over food.

Bundle up and enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Bay Meadows!

 

Come unwind at the San Francisco Peninsula’s newest street-front retail and entertainment destination: Delaware Street – Bay Meadows’ welcoming social street – featuring over 40,000 square feet of Midurban retail space. It’s a special gathering place boasting artisan eateries and unique retail. Delaware Street was carefully designed with angled parking and large landscaped walkways to create a walkable and inviting experience that is highlighted by our large Town Square. Interested in retail leasing at Bay Meadows? Contact RetailWest to learn more >