This 1976 best picture Oscar winner stars Syllvester Stallone as the eponymous down-on-his-luck boxer, whose fate begins to change with the meeting of his future wife, Adrian (Talia Shire). “To you, it’s Thanksgiving. To me, it’s Thursday,” Rocky tells Adrian as he whisks her away from a disastrous family feast minutes after her brother Paulie (Burt Young) hurls her turkey into the nearby alley. As fans of the franchise, which has debuted several films over the Thanksgiving holiday, know, their Thanksgiving meet-cute will stand the test of time.
Mistress America
Before Greta Gerwig forced Noah Baumbach to write Barbie with her, there was Mistress America. Written by the real-life couple who helmed the billion dollar blockbuster, this 2015 Sundance favorite centers on the unlikely friendship between Lola Kirke’s Tracy, a first-year college student alone in New York, and Gerwig’s Brooke, the Times Square-living twentysomething who will soon become her stepsister. Conflict between the pair gets resolved on Thanksgiving at New York City’s Veselka, a Ukrainian institution where pierogis stand in for the traditional bird.
Little Women (2019)
Greta Gerwig must really love Thanksgiving. The auteur’s Oscar-nominated take on the Louisa May Alcott classic is brimming with cozy, Thanksgiving-esque vibes. Set largely in the weeks before Christmas, the March sisters (Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Eliza Scanlen, and Florence Pugh) and matriarch (Laura Dern) battle wits, trot through the snow, and stage living room plays in a film that feels reminiscent of many a-family gatherings.
Funny People
“First, let’s give thanks to our families not being here. It’s always easier without the family,” Adam Sandler’s George Simmons, a stand-up comedian who has been newly diagnosed with cancer, says to a group of new friends. In Judd Apatow’s 2009 dramedy, George attempts to revamp his fledgling career in the eleventh hour with the help of aspiring comic Ira Wright (Seth Rogen). At one point, he joins the younger talent’s friendsgiving festivities, where the table is surrounded by stars including Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzmann, Aubrey Plaza, and Bo Burnham.
June Squibb, Amy Schumer, Steven Yeun, Beanie Feldstein, Richard Jenkins, and Jayne Houdyshell in ‘The Humans.’