So you’ve already decided about the turkey and the stuffing and other delightful holiday foods to share with your family on Thanksgiving Day, now is the time to plan on entertaining your holiday guests with some great DVD rentals as an after dinner treat.
Just as people start to get in a panic about cooking a turkey on Thursday, “The Martha Stewart Show” (Hallmark at 10 a.m.) hosts a Thanksgiving hotline special, as Martha answers viewer questions to help with last-minute questions. So after enjoying the Hallmark special and the Thanksgiving Day Parade with your friends and family, there are some after dinner options worth a visit to the DVD store.
Here are some great rentals to enjoy with your friends and family at home after Thanksgiving dinner and football:
“A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” is a safe DVD bet with younger audiences. The main menu allows viewers to select A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving or "The Mayflower Voyages," a 24-minute bonus feature. “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” doesn't achieve the classic status of A Charlie Brown Christmas and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, but it's still a worthwhile DVD for Peanuts fans and a slice of quality Thanksgiving programming.
“Home for the Holidays” is directed by the multi-talented Jodie Foster. Holly Hunter returns to her childhood home to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner with her entire extended family. The excellent cast includes Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Robert Downey Jr., Dylan McDermott, Steve Guttenberg, Claire Danes, Austin Pendleton, David Strathairn, Cynthia Stevenson, and Amy Yasbeck.
“Pieces of April” is an endearing 2003 indie from starring Katie Holmes as an estranged daughter who invites her skeptical family for a Thanksgiving feast at her tiny little apartment. One half of the film sees April's family struggling to make it in time for dinner, and the other half deals with poor frazzled April as she desperately tries to build an edible turkey dinner. In addition to some of Ms. Holmes' very best work, "April" also features fantastic performances from Oliver Platt, Patricia Clarkson, Derek Luke, and Sean Hayes.
“Hannah and Her Sisters” begins and ends with a pair of Thanksgiving dinners. The Woody Allen comedy is still considered one of the director's very best films. Winner of three Oscars (for screenplay and the performances by Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest and a nominee for four more, "Hannah and Her Sisters" is a razor-sharp and hilariously insightful story about one extended family and the non-stop stress the relatives cause one another. Also on board are Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey, Carrie Fisher, Max von Sydow, Julie Kavner, Daniel Stern, Maureen O'Sullivan, Joanna Gleason, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
“Planes, Trains & Automobiles” is a must-see film for anyone who has ever traveled home for the holidays. It is one of the finest comedies about Thanksgiving because it's "about" nothing more than finding a way to make it home for the holidays. Steve Martin and the late, great John Candy star as a pair of astonishingly mismatched traveling partners who'll stop at nothing to make it home in time for some turkey.
These are some holiday favorites you will not want to miss over the long Thanksgiving weekend. Enjoy Staten Island.
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