Top 10 Best Thanksgiving Movies (Yes, They Do Exist!)

Thanksgiving movies are quite a bit different than Christmas and Halloween movies. They're not really dark and not really merry, but rather seem to relish in displaying both the dark and funny sides of dysfunctional families. From the black sheep of the family hosting Thanksgiving dinner to Thanksgiving with Steve Martin, John Candy, and John Hughes, here are ten of the best Thanksgiving movies that might make you a little more thankful for your own family:

Pieces of April - Somewhere between 'Dawson's Creek' and Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes was actually showing audiences that she was a promising upcoming actress in this quirky comedy. Katie Holmes plays an estranged daughter with a funky sense of style who is attempting her first Thanksgiving family meal in an attempt to reunite her family, but it's pretty hard to cook Thanksgiving dinner when your oven is broken. It's probably one of the best Thanksgiving movies for capturing the true spirit of Thanksgiving (being thankful for friends and family), and it proves that the definition of "family" sometimes extends to those that we aren't actually related to.

Alice's Restaurant - It only made sense that one of the best songs about Thanksgiving was turned into one of the best Thanksgiving movies. Arlo Guthrie's extremely long song about a Thanksgiving holiday going terribly (And hilariously) wrong springs to life in this movie based on a true story. It's a movie that really captures the spirit of the 60's, with draft dodging, a disregard for authority, and the giving hippie mentality. If you're looking for Thanksgiving movies that are a little unique, I definitely recommend this different take on the holiday.

Home for the Holidays - This isn't my favorite of the Thanksgiving movies on this list, but it's another that's perfect for dysfunctional families. If your Thanksgiving is more of an argument-filled, insanity-inducing affair, then this film starring the likes of Holly Hunter, Robert Downey, Jr., Claire Danes, and Anne Bancroft is probably the best of the Thanksgiving movies on this list for you.

Hannah and Her Sisters - This is one of Woody Allen's best movies, and one that's loaded with talented actresses (Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest, and Barbara Hershey, to name a few). The movie begins and ends with two different Thanksgiving dinners, and focuses on the lives of the participants and how much they change during this time. There's an affair, plenty of Allen-esque humor, and, of course, Woody Allen plays yet another neurotic, depressed, and comic character (I love the role 'Duck Soup' plays in his search for finding meaning in life). Out of all the Thanksgiving movies here, I'd probably have to say that this is the best.

The Ice Storm - And if you're looking for Thanksgiving movies that are almost uncomfortable and difficult to watch, you might like this one by director Ang Lee. Its highlights include adolescent kids coping with the difficulties of growing up with little guidance from their parents, an awkward key party, a kleptomaniac mother, an affair, and, of course, an ice storm that changes everything. This movie's purpose is obviously to make you thankful for your family, and you might feel just that when you compare yours against those whose faults and fissures are displayed here. And here's a little trivia: this is actually the first of the Thanksgiving movies Katie Holmes starred in, as well as her big-screen debut.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - This is one of the best Thanksgiving movies for fans of 80's comedy, as it features some of the kings of that era in John Candy, Steve Martin, and director John Hughes. Steve Martin's character, an uptight executive trying to get home for Thanksgiving, inadvertently gets hooked up with John Candy's kind but bumbling chatterbox of a shower curtain ring salesman. In true John Hughes' fashion, there's plenty of great comedic moments as the two try to get Steve Martin's character home for the Thanksgiving holidays in light of many mishaps, but there's also one of those feel-good Hughes endings when one of the characters learns something and changes himself for the better. It's a heartwarming film that definitely captures the giving spirit of Thanksgiving, although since the f-word is used 19 times in one scene, it may not be suitable for all family members.

Dutch - This is another of the Thanksgiving movies here about trying to make it home for Thanksgiving dinner, but this one focuses on a man and his girlfriend's son (it was actually written by John Hughes, but not directed by him). Ed O'Neill of 'Married...With Children' fame plays Dutch, the boyfriend of a well-to-do divorcee. He offers to pick up her son Doyle from boarding school in an effort to bond with the boy, but realizes that his hoity-toity attitude isn't going to make it so easy. Of course the two grow closer during the trip and after a series of mishaps, you end up with one of the best Thanksgiving movies about a newly-forming family.

The House of Yes - Like many of the funny Thanksgiving movies on this list, this one features a Thanksgiving holiday marred by some kind of disaster (in this case, a hurricane), and relatives behaving badly (well, at least oddly; one of the characters is a twin sister who does her best to emulate Jackie-O). But this one takes a turn for the dark side when an easygoing, normal bride-to-be meets her future in-laws and discovers a dark family secret. When it comes to Thanksgiving movies about dysfunctional families, you'll be thankful that yours isn't as disturbing as this one, and this one definitely isn't a family-friendly movie.

The War at Home - This is one of the few Thanksgiving movies where there is no comic relief. Emilio Estevez portrays a returning Vietnam War hero who can't adjust to life back home, and the movie's climatic moment occurs over Thanksgiving dinner as he confronts his father who wouldn't help him escape the draft. It's a powerful moment in a powerful movie that will make you thankful that those dark days in our history are over.

What's Cooking - What happens when worlds collide for Thanksgiving dinner? Hilarity and drama ensue, of course. When four ethnically-diverse families come together for Thanksgiving, their many different problems surface and have to be dealt with over dinner. At least it will make you thankful that your own family drama taking place over Thanksgiving dinner isn't quite as crazy and involved.

So whether you're looking to laugh, smile, or simply make yourself thankful for your own family by watching these cope with Thanksgiving dinner and their own drama, there's sure to be some great Thanksgiving movies on this list for you to enjoy while the turkey's cooking.