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sublimecatgalaxy · 3 years ago

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Truth or Dare- Part 7

Pairing: Elliot (Euphoria) x Reader

Summary: The reader joins a game of truth or dare with the trio, still shaken from what happened at home. Elliot keeps a keen, worried eye on her the whole night. Jules gets put in her place in a pretty brutal way and the sleepover turns to a trip down memory lane, Elliot and the reader staying up late to talk.

Song: "Little More" by Catie Turner

Warnings: Swearing, angst, overall happy ending.

Word Count: 3.1k

A/N: I really loved writing this part even though I liked cranked this out. THIS CHAPTER IS TENSE FOR THE MOST PART. I tried to stay focused and not side track since I have a SHIT ton to do today.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4* Part 5 Part 6

I sit in Elliot’s lap, his arms protectively around me as I sniffle, the sleeves of his sweatshirt rising to wipe my eyes. Jules and Rue look between the two of us with skeptical eyes, wondering why I’m crying and what caused the sudden shift between the boy and I, not understanding why we’re so close all of a sudden. Elliot directs their attention elsewhere, the truth or dare game that’s continued on for the last few hours keeping my eyes open and my mind alert.

I wanted nothing more than to just lay in Elliot’s arms, to close my eyes and fall asleep safely. He was worried about me, I could tell from his wandering eyes and concerned questions. He had to have asked me eleven times within the first twenty minutes being here if I was alright or not. I just couldn’t stop reeling over my dad's words, his text, if my brother was okay, where he was.

I had a million thoughts going through my head at once. Like, what was my mother doing right now? Was she awake, crying and mourning for her marriage? For her kids? Or was she sound asleep knowing that this incident was bound to happen either way. I felt a bit betrayed by her but I know that this was hardest on her of all people. It’s obvious that my father blamed her for getting pregnant with Aaron. If she would’ve never gotten pregnant, maybe my dad would be with a man and be happy. But that would mean that Nate and I wouldn’t even exist.

Would it have been better?

“Y/n, truth or dare?” Rue asks, sliding the sunglasses low on her face as she spins around in the chair, a small, doped out smile on her lips. I think for a moment, taking a deep breath as Elliot’s fingers gently play with the sleeve of my shirt.

“Truth.” My voice is meek as it comes out, it being the first word that I've spoken since I got that text from my dad. Rue watches me intently, looking between Elliot and I with a concentrated look.

“Are you fucking Elliot?” She asks, Jules’ head whipping to look at her girlfriend with wide eyes. I can understand why they’d think that. The proximity, the worry, the way he looked at me. We were obvious that there was a bit more than friendship to our relationship.

“No, Rue. We’re not fucking.” Elliot responds simply, his chin resting on the top of my head as I huff, my knees folding to my chest. Rue gives us an unconvinced look, her head shaking with a scoff.

“See, you guys forget that I’m like a fucking genius.” Rue chuckles, sitting up straighter in her chair as Jules pouts in the corner. My eyes rake over her, my eyebrows pulled together in confusion at her pathetic exterior. Is she really pouting? Now? Suck it up, you cunt. “You’re all touchy feely a-and Elliot, this is the most serious I’ve ever seen you. Like what the fuck is going on.” Rue asks, her hands flying as she speaks, a soft tired laugh leaving my lips.

“She’s had a rough night, RuRu. I told you not to fucking pry.” Elliot grits, a smile on my lips as he stands up for me, obviously not caring what people think. Rue backs down, her hands raising in surrender with a shrug.

“I’m just saying. There’s something you guys aren’t telling us.” Rue huffs, flopping back into the chair as we all look at Jules, her silence pissing me off at this point.

“I’m sure there’s a lot of things not shared in this room right now.” I snap, my gaze set on Jules as Rue’s eyebrows pull together, wondering what exactIy I mean by that. Jules’ eyes flicker up to me, her face falling pitifully as her gaze shifts to the man behind me. The weight in the room shifts to a tense anxiety, the need to stand up to Jules, to shove it down her throat that I’m the one in Elliot’s arms tempting me.

“There seems like a lot to unpack there.” Rue laughs, oblivious to the tense gaze that Jules and I share. She obviously didn’t tell Rue about the kiss that Jules and Elliot shared- or should I say, the time that Jules shoved her tongue down Elliot’s throat without his permission. She also didn’t tell Rue about the fact that I slapped her in front of a room full of people. Something that I’m still proud of to this day.

“It’s my turn.” I huff, shifting the attention back to the game. But if Jules kept up this tough, pitiful exterior, I was not going to hold back. Rue didn’t deserve a partner who was obviously cheating on her. Emotionally and physically. It made me sick. I get that Rue is by no means the perfect girlfriend, her ongoing drug issue being hidden from her blonde partner. They both had secrets. But one was not my business and the other involved the man that I’m in love with. That was personal. “Jules,” I pause, Elliot tensing behind me as her eyes widen, looking up at me with a scared look, “who was the last person you kissed?” I ask, tilting my head at her as I watch her body shake, Rue looking between us with a confused look.

“Uh, Rue, obviously.” She chuckles nervously, looking at her girlfriend with a soft smile. Mhm, bullshit. Elliot’s hands rest on my stomach, a small laugh rumbling in his chest at my pettiness. I feel his lips against the shell of my ear, a shiver running down my spine.

“Behave.” He whispers, pinching my side as I giggle, rolling my eyes in defiance. Jules huffs as she sits up, her eyes locked on Elliot behind me. I applaud her ballsiness for even looking at him with me in the same room. With her girlfriend in the same room. She has cartoon heart eyes for the handsome boy, but his eyes were not on her, nope, they were on me.

As they should be.

“Elliot, truth or dare.” She asks with a smug smile, my eyes rolling as I rest my head against Elliot’s shoulder, closing my eyes. Can I slap her again?

“Truth.” He sighs, playing it safe. He knows her, he knows that she wanted every reason in the book to kiss him again, to prove me wrong that he wanted to kiss her. She obviously knew of my feelings for him but she just didn’t care. Where’s girl code when you need it? Elliot’s chest is hard behind me, his breathing stuttering as he waits, knowing that if Jules asks the wrong thing that I would flip and she would not like it. I had put up with enough shit today between my family and now her. I could handle her though, put her in her place in a moment's notice.

“Who would you kiss in the room right now if you could?” She asks, her eyes flickering to me as my eyebrows tick up. She knew that I knew about them kissing. She knows that he told me, that he told me everything. Why was she proud of that? Why was she proud about cheating on Rue? Was it fun for her, did she just like the rush and chase? The secrecy? Before I can reply, Elliot gives me a gentle squeeze. He lets out an aggravated sigh as he shakes his head.

“Obviously Y/n since she’s the only single one in this room. And among other reasons.” Elliot chuckles and my cheeks heat up, my head rolling to look away from Rue’s prying, intrigued eyes. She knows that there’s something going on with us and the fact that she’s so excited about it is so cute. She deserves better. “Jules, can I ask why the fuck you’re so interested in my lips and who they kiss?” Elliot asks, Jules stuttering a bit as she fumbles through her brain for an answer. “Like seriously, it’s genuinely fucking weird. If you wanna kiss someone so badly, kiss your girlfriend.” I smile proudly as Jules gets up, marching out of the room, her eyes filled with tears. I hear the bathroom door slam as I scoff, Rue looking back at the bathroom door with a sigh. “Rue, I think your girlfriend has some things that she’s not telling you.” Elliot adds, my heart pounding in my chest as I look up at him, his face stoic and jaw tight.

“I don’t think she meant it when she said she wasn’t interested in men anymore, hun. Unless Elliot is that exception.” I explain, the sunglasses falling off her nose as her expression drops, a small pout on her lips as she nods.

“Yeah…” Rue trails off, her reaction taking me off guard. Did she know or suspect something already? “I was excited that you guys were getting closer cuz maybe she’d drop whatever she feels for you, Elly.” Rue frowns sadly, her feet dropping to the floor as she bites the inside of her cheek. “Thanks for letting me know.” She smiles sadly at us, both of our heads nodding as she turns. “Just tell her I went home. Kick her the fuck out for all I care.” Rue mutters as she walks away, leaving the room as I frown. I turn back to Elliot quickly as I pout, suddenly feeling terrible that she knew and we solidified the knowledge that her girlfriend was cheating on her. Fuck. Elliot reaches up, cupping my cheeks as he notices my dismay.

“She knew. You didn’t do anything wrong.” He whispers, gently pressing a kiss between my eyebrows as I nod. “You wanna kick Jules out or you want me to handle it?” He asks with a deep breath, anger bubbling in my belly at the mention of the blonde who opens the bathroom door behind me. I turn to her with a frown, my head tilting at her. She looks around the room, her face falling as she sees that Rue left. I watch as multiple emotions pass through her face, betrayal, guilt, sadness.

“You can leave now.” I add, her eyes widening as she looks at Elliot, shaking her head with a dropped jaw.

“It’s not even your house, Y/n-” She scoffs, waiting for Elliot to confirm but he simply shrugs, cutting her off.

“You can leave now, Jules.” He repeats, her eyes blinking rapidly as she stares at the two of us, shocked. “I’m not the group boyfriend. And I’m not gonna help you cheat on your girlfriend just cuz you’re confused.” Elliot explains as Jules gathers her things with loud sniffles, my heart pounding against my chest as I find the words I’ve wanted to say for weeks.

“Also, find someone else if you wanna ruin your relationship. Elliot’s too busy for that shit now.” I hiss, Jules not sparing a glance at me as she stomps out of the room, his bedroom door slamming as she makes her way out of Elliot’s house.

Relief falls on my shoulders as I let out a sigh, happy to just have her gone and happy that Rue knows. That they both know that Elliot and I were kind of together though we haven’t exactly specified that yet.

Silence falls around us as my back stays firmly pressed against Elliot’s chest, his cheek resting on the top of my head. I rub circles into his forearm that rests around my waist, a small smile on my lips as I listen to him breathe.

“That was like a really hot, vague way to tell her I’m taken.” He snorts suddenly, a laugh leaving my lips as I shake my head playfully. He spins me around in his arms, his hands resting on my lower back. I shift so I can wrap my legs around his waist, a small huff leaving my lips.

“Are you taken?” I ask quietly, my fingers playing with the strings on his sweatpants. He watches me with soft eyes, his hands rubbing up and down my back as he hums gently.

“I don’t know, am I?” He asks in return, a shy smile on my face as my cheeks warm, suddenly feeling exposed under his gaze. He nudges his nose against mine as I giggle, my head bobbing in a nod. “Wow, I didn’t even know that, it’s so crazy that I’m taken- oh my god, should I change my status on social med-” I shove him with a playful giggle, our backs hitting the bed as I curl up in a ball beside him. He watches me with soft eyes, his fingers intertwining with mine in between us. “I’m okay with being taken. Are you?” He quizzes playfully, my bottom lip tucked between my teeth as I huge the ridiculous grin that wants to seep through.

“Yeah, that’s cool with me.” I whisper, watching as he rolls over onto his side, his hand splaying against my thigh between us. My breath gets caught in my throat at the proximity, the weight that’s been on my chest finally brushing off as I relax into his sheets. “I missed having sleepovers with you.” I whisper, my fingers playing with his.

“Yeah? What did you miss?” He asks with an enamored gaze, his eyes flickering over my face as if he wanted to memorize everything about me. “You miss me stealing blankets, uh, or the fact that I’d wake up with you literally smothering me?” He teases, my eyes rolling as I think back a few years.

“I just liked when you’d come to sleepover at my house and we’d wake up super late and my mom would make us breakfast.” I whisper with a shrug, the mention of my family making me sad. “I just missed everything about you for all those years. I felt like a legit piece of me was missing.” I huff, my eyes avoiding his as he scoots closer to me. He wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him as my chin cranes up to look up at him.

“No matter how mad I was at you, or how mad I seemed, it was all because I knew I was gonna miss you so fucking much.” He whispers, our legs tangling together as I grin, his hand rubbing my waist softly. “Like, I couldn’t even think about seeing you occasionally because I would just want to stay with you forever. That's why I just dropped everything.” He explains, my head bobbing in a quiet nod as he goes on. “But everything just fell apart without you, bug.” He whispers, his hand reaching up to cup my cheek. “Fuck, I failed like three classes, I lost like ten pounds cuz I couldn’t even eat. I would sit in front of the phone just staring at it like an idiot.” He chuckles, shaking his head with a laugh. The thought of young Elliot being so torn up over me makes my heart break, my hands reaching out to rest on his chest. “When my cousin mentioned moving, her mind went here first. I think she knew where your family moved.” I grin at the thought, marking it in my mind to thank her later for doing me this solid. “And then I saw you that day and I felt like such a fucking jackass.” He whispers, his thumb brushing against my cheek as I pout. “I can’t stop and will not stop apologizing for that.” He scoffs sadly, pressing a kiss to my cheek as I chuckle.

“Good, you dickhead.” I giggle, his jaw dropping in a shocked smile. I wrap my arms firmly around his neck as he sighs, his nose nudging mine as my heart beats wildly. “So, I’m not drunk right now and I don’t think you are either…” I trail off, remembering his words from the party when he left me hanging. His eyebrows raise teasingly as he chuckles, his eyes flickering between mine and my lips.

“Yeah? You know, now that I’m taken, I think it’s important to say that I don’t think my girlfriend would like me kissing someone else.” He teases, my eyes rolling with a giggle. My heart stops at the term girlfriend, not thinking I’d ever hear those words come out of his mouth when referring to me.

“I think your girlfriend is pretty cool and I think she’d be perfectly fine with you kissing me, Elly.” I laugh quietly, my fingers running through his tangling hair as he nods, his eyes soft as he looks at my lips.

“Yeah, you’re right, she’s pretty fucking amazing.” He whispers, leaning forward to gently press his lips against mine. I gasp at the feeling, my heart swelling in my chest as he pulls me tighter to him. The kiss is tentative and shy at first, not kissing each other in years. It was definitely different and he definitely had some idea of what he was doing compared to a few years ago.

Parting my lips, the kiss deepens quickly as the wait finally ends, the kiss growing needier by the second. He slides on top of me, not disconnecting his lips from mine as I sigh quietly, my head tilting as he does the same. His hands are everywhere, my hips, waist, face, anywhere that he can touch. I cup his cheeks in my hands, the skin heated under my touch as he pulls away, his forehead resting against mine. Breathless gasps are shared between us, a huge smile on my lips as he laughs. His head falls to my shoulder as he giggles, both of us feeling bashful and embarrassed as the room grows quiet.

“I’m not gonna lie. Some things don’t change.” He whispers, my eyebrows pulling together as his gaze shifts downwards, an obvious tent in his pants as I gasp. Reaching up, I cover my face as he slides off of me, my giggles probably being heard from down the street. “I’ll be back, don’t fucking move!” He yells over his shoulder as the bathroom door shuts, tears pricking my eyes as my laughter dies down. This fucking kid will be the death of me.

Reaching over to grab my phone, I yawn at the sight of three in the morning, my eyes fluttering shut briefly. Waking myself up a bit, I find Nate’s contact, deciding to share the good news and check in on him.

To Nate: I just kissed Elliot.

I giggle at the words, them feeling unreal to me as my mind goes over the last fifteen minutes. Elliot and I are dating, together, a couple. It’s something that younger me prayed over, wished for on birthday candles for, wished on 11:11 for, anything that could give me hope that we would be together one day. My phone buzzes on my chest, two messages from Nate coming through.

From Nate Good for you, kid, I’m proud of you.

Now go to fucking bed, you woke my ass up.

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Taglist: @bubblebuttwade @rafelover2405 @leslienjazzy @sorceresss @grxnde-dwt @alex--awesome--22 @bunnietoof @niyamar1e @serialghost @plantlungs @geniusohn @akaliltimmytim @lilaalouuxx @xshariex @elliotsbeigeguitar @elle4404 @lelieja @srhxpci @joselyn001 @taysirene @spinkspanther @thedivineuphoria @peter-maximoffs @tsukishimawhore @poohkie90 @szlaco @distantsighs @nstyles4299 @wolflover384 @givemefoodandlovesstuff @vane28282 @yeswhatever33 @amirrahfranson @vvaalleennttiinna @f-mu @yaspillz @jeyramarie @skylievin@abbybarnes17 @jointherebellion215 @visiondaddy @steezysimfinds @its-ya-gay-boi-luigi @crunchytoenailsyum@glizzymcguirex @beth123lg @melovesmut @rafecameronswhore @ariianelle @write-from-the-heart @vampviolets

Euphoria Taglist:@ssprayberrythings @username-lols

Elliot Taglist: @vintagebitc

Truth or Dare Taglist: @4lyssasworld @jamespotterswifey @daddydraco0 @soobzao @c1rcusl1ght @kaitieskidmore1 @applebree2001 @ritadiniss @lselnerys

#elliot #elliot x reader #euphoria series #euphoria #elliot euphoria #elliot fanfic #elliot x you

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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Best Thanksgiving Movies to Watch This Holiday Season

https://ift.tt/392gRNP

This year marks a unique Thanksgiving, to be sure. With the pandemic carrying on, families and loved ones across the United States are testing out new ways to celebrate a national holiday that might be best described as food, football, and then, of course, more food. For some that means outdoor gatherings are the order of the day; for others it will mean the first time you might be cutting turkey while wearing a mask.

However you might wish to celebrate the holiday though, gathering with loved ones around a movie never goes out of style. For that reason, we’ve gathered the best Thanksgiving movies to choose from. Some of these films are truly beloved holiday classics, and others might be less obviously about Thanksgiving, even as they wear their affection for the holiday on their sleeves. And yet others still will offer the rare respite: a streak of cynicism for those who think Thanksgiving is for the birds. So pass the potatoes and enjoy a helping of good cinematic cheer below.

Addams Family Values (1991)

Addams Family Values might seem an unusual choice, but then everything about this one is unusual, right down to it being the rare comedy sequel that is superior to its predecessor. That success is in no small part due to the filmmakers realizing Christina Ricci, who made her big break playing the morbid Wednesday Addams, was devastating in her deadpan delivery.

Movies

How 1991’s The Addams Family Nearly Got Derailed

By Simon Brew

Movies

The Addams Family and Their Spooky New Jersey Origins

By Aaron Sagers

Thus Wednesday gets half the film to herself in this one, and we’re thankful for it. With Addams Family Values, she’s forced to endure the dreariness of summer camp and its middle class morality, right down to them holding a Thanksgiving pageant in July. Surrounded by smiling rich white kids who cast Wednesday as Pocahontas (who, it should be said, was not in New England or at the first Thanksgiving), Wednesday takes the opportunity to keep it real about Thanksgiving.

“My people will have pain and degradation,” Wednesday hisses in her last minute rewrite. “Your people will have stick shifts. The gods of my tribe have spoken. They say do not trust the Pilgrims, especially Sarah Miller. And for all these reasons I’ve decided to scalp you.”

The chaos that ensues is delightful. Happy Thanksgiving, folks!

Alice’s Restaurant

Alice’s Restaurant is an inadvertent Thanksgiving comedy directed by Arthur Penn, who re-envisioned Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow as counterculture antiheroes in his 1967 gangster classic, Bonnie and Clyde. Penn did the same with Arlo Guthrie, the son of folk hero Woody Guthrie, the committed anti-fascist who wrote “This Land is Our Land.” The film is based on Arlo Guthrie’s 1967 folk song “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree,” which was about Alice and a restaurant. The restaurant wasn’t called “Alice’s Restaurant.”

That’s just the name of the song, which is very talky, like the movie, which is also pretty violent and fairly drug-fueled. The film doesn’t start on Thanksgiving, but at an army recruitment center, where Arlo, playing himself, is trying to avoid the draft. Turns out he’s got no good reason to stay out of the war.

The Thanksgiving setting, however, gives the film its purpose, and main reason to be thankful. The main plot involves getting rid of some trash after a holiday dinner. Arlo and his friends load a couple months’ worth of garbage into their red VW microbus, along with “shovels, and rakes, and other implements of destruction,” and head to the city dump, which is closed for Thanksgiving. They’d never heard of a dump closed on Thanksgiving before, so with tears their eyes, they drive off to find another place to put the garbage.

It takes Arlo 18 minutes and 21 seconds to tell the plot in the song, in intermittent three-part harmony, but the gist is: he gets arrested for littering, and his criminal record keeps him out of the draft. With it, Penn turns Guthrie into one of the most mild-mannered antiheroes in counterculture cinema. He’s not moral enough to join the army, burn women, kids, houses, and villages because he’s a litterbug.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Perhaps not quite as iconic as the legendary A Charlie Brown Christmas or It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, the third Peanuts holiday special (and 10th Peanuts animated special overall) is still just as charming, wholesome, and satisfying as its predecessors. Once again written by Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz and directed by Bill Melendez, the show has been a November staple on TV for decades since first airing in 1973.

This time out, Charlie Brown (voiced by Todd Barbee) and his sister Sally (Hilary Momberger) are getting ready to go to their grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving when one by one, all their friends invite themselves over to his house—despite the fact that Charlie Brown can only make “cold cereal and maybe toast.” It all gets sorted out in the end, and it’s all the little jokes, the delightful voices, and the unforgettable music by Vince Guaraldi that makes this a perennial favorite.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

There isn’t so much as a mention of Thanksgiving in Wes Anderson’s stop motion masterpiece. Yet, somehow, it’s impossible to watch The Fantastic Mr. Fox and not have late autumn brought to mind. Is it the carefully chosen fall color palette that’s all sunsets and foliage? Is it the warm familial vibe of the Foxes and their neighbors that makes you miss big get-togethers? Is it the impeccably dressed cast of animal characters, all resplendent in corduroy, flannel, and tweed, quietly shaming you with their perfect sartorial choices? Or perhaps it’s simply their ravenous eating habits that puts you in the right frame of mind.

With little resemblance to the Roald Dahl book it’s based on, The Fantastic Mr. Fox is instead one of the most perfect encapsulations of Anderson’s eye for (some might say obsession with) the little details. And it’s those little details, even more than its fuzzy animal characters, that make this perhaps the coziest of the director’s efforts. Alternately exuberant and melancholy (just like the holiday itself), and with numerous scenes of beautifully plated gluttonous excess, it’s remarkable that this movie hasn’t already been adopted as an unofficial icon of the season. Let’s start that campaign right here, shall we?

Hannah and Her Sisters

The movie that won Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest Oscars, Hannah and Her Sisters is a story about family framed between two Thanksgivings and the year that connects them. With a meticulous insight about the highs and anxieties of upper-middle class life among Manhattan intellectuals, the film is really the travails of Hannah (Mia Farrow) and her sisters Holly (Dianne Wiest) and Lee (Barbara Hershey). There’s also the lust of Hannah’s husband Elliot (Caine), who pursues an affair with Lee, but the film is mostly told from the vantage of three women of varying ages struggling with how they see themselves and their lives in a year of New York living.

Writer-director Woody Allen is here too as a hanger-on in this family, who’s struggling with his own fears of death, but his and Elliot’s roles are ultimately as outside observers who arrive every Thanksgiving to watch the sisters and their parents renew their family ties… and close ranks.

Home for the Holidays

One that feels particularly timely as 2020 adults hole up in their childhood homes for Thanksgiving and beyond, director Jodie Foster’s underrated family gathering comedy wallows in the downsides of going home. The film stars Holly Hunter as a woman who’s lost her job and is growing apart from her teenage daughter (Claire Danes). But all of that pales in comparison to spending Thanksgiving with her parents (Anne Bancroft and Charles Durning), plus younger brother Robert Downey Jr.

The Best Thanksgiving TV Episodes

By Alec Bojalad

Movies

The Long History of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Thanksgiving

By Gavin Jasper

It’s a familiar setup, but Thanksgiving is a time of being with those you’re familiar with, whether you like it or not. Plus, as a comedy it also has the still vital message of counting your blessings.

The Ice Storm

Based on Rick Moody’s acclaimed 1994 novel, director Ang Lee’s (Brokeback Mountain) masterful adaptation is a scathing portrait of upper middle class suburban life in the early 1970s, when all the experimentation in the world with drugs, alcohol, and sex couldn’t quite stop anyone from feeling like their lives and society were unmoored.

Like other dramas that take place around Thanksgiving, there’s very little to actually be thankful for: the characters (played with flair by Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Tobey Maguire, and others) are all trapped in emotional black holes of their own making.

Similarly, all the decadence and crazy fashions/trends of that surreal decade can’t replace the feeling that something has gone dreadfully wrong. Lee–before he became obsessed with the latest camera technology–charts this all with patience, empathy, and precision.

Knives Out

Okay, so Rian Johnson’s brilliant little whodunit isn’t actually set on Thanksgiving, but it sure feels like it is and was released around the holiday on Nov. 27, 2019 (God, that feels like a century ago). So… close enough. And while the family gathering at the center of the story is for a patriarch’s birthday, it certainly resembles the kind of large family assembly many hold at Thanksgiving, right down to feeling like it could end in murder.

Movies

Knives Out and the Villainy of Privilege

By Kayti Burt

Movies

Knives Out: When Murder Makes You a Better Person

By Natalie Zutter

The murder in question, of course, is that of mystery novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), and it’s up to gentleman detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) to figure out which of his many bickering, backbiting, scheming descendants might have had a hand in it. Perhaps Harlan’s nurse Marta (Ana de Armas) can help since the clan insists “she’s like part of the family.”

All that’s really missing is the turkey. The knives are out, in abundance.

The Last Waltz

Perhaps no title card in cinematic history deserves to be heeded more than the one which opens The Last Waltz: “This film should be played loud.”

Not just the greatest concert film ever made. Not only the greatest rock documentary of all time. The Last Waltz may lay claim to being the only movie of any stature literally filmed on Thanksgiving. Martin Scorsese shot The Band’s farewell concert on Thanksgiving Day, 1976, where the audience of 5,000 was served a literal Thanksgiving dinner in addition to an unforgettable night of music by some of the most legendary performers of the 20th century.

Culture

The Last Waltz: Martin Scorsese’s Ultimate Rock n’ Roll Movie

By Tony Sokol

Culture

New Deep Purple Album Whoosh! Coming in June

By Tony Sokol

But this is no mere concert film. Being treated to a document of such legendary musicians at the height of their powers would make this important enough, but when it’s shot, lit, and edited by Scorsese, and with The Band joined by towering guest stars like Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and many more, The Last Waltz becomes one of the most powerful musical statements ever committed to film. Scorsese breaks up the performances with members of The Band reflecting on their career, and even in these quieter moments, The Last Waltz radiates the power and danger of a life lived on the road, in seedy dives, and storied ballrooms.

When you’ve had your fill of football and family for the night, pour yourself a glass of something good and do exactly as that opening title card says.

Miracle on 34th Street

Yes, yes, technically speaking Miracle on 34th Street is a Christmas movie. But it is definitely worth noting that the film actually spends more screen time on the actual Thanksgiving holiday than Christmas Day. Indeed, the picture opens with the now legendary Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. In the ultimate stroke of product placement, Macy’s New York City shindig got nationwide attention on the big screen, even as the movie focuses on the department store hiring the wrong Santa Claus for its festivities.

Arriving drunk and disgraceful to Macy’s preparations, an inebriated mall Santa creates an opportunity for a man who calls himself Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) to step in. Kris is passing through, presumably doing some holiday shopping ahead of his own big day in December. But upon seeing his personage so besmirched, he demands to take Santa’s reins and in the process saves Thanksgiving. We also see how this affects the turkey time of the film’s central mother and daughter team, played by Maureen O’Hara and Natalie Wood.

Mistress America

Sometimes Thanksgiving can be quiet and intimate… and desperately needed. That’s the case of the end to Noah Baumbach’s effervescent Mistress America. A mostly successful attempt at emulating 1930s screwball comedy for literary millennials, Mistress America is a clever throwback set during autumn in New York City and, tellingly, a trip to the suburbs of Connecticut. But by movie’s end, protagonists Tracy (Lola Kirke) and Brooke (Greta Gerwig) find themselves alone and isolated in the big city on Thanksgiving. They also thus discover an excuse to reconcile after grievances drove them apart, breaking bread at a restaurant down the street. It’s downbeat, but emotionally cathartic for both the characters and film.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

As the late John Hughes’ masterpiece, Planes, Trains and Automobiles is the quintessential “get home in time for the holiday” tale. Steve Martin is Neal, a stressed-out marketing exec who picks up an accidental travel companion in Del (John Candy), a well-meaning but oafish shower curtain ring salesman. As the two struggle to get back to Chicago in time for Thanksgiving amidst a string of misadventures and transportation issues, an eventual friendship forms, leading to a moving conclusion.

Planes was a step forward for Hughes as he began to move away from teen comedies, and the movie’s balance of humor and heart was perfectly complemented by the dynamic comedic chemistry of Martin and Candy. The latter probably had his best role ever in Del Griffith, and it’s a tribute to both actors and Hughes that each lead character can be annoying yet is never unlikable.

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Hilarious and poignant, this mix of buddy picture and road movie is a near-perfect treat for the season—or any time.

Prisoners

We wouldn’t exactly call Prisoners ideal holiday viewing. It’s set at Thanksgiving and immediately afterwards, although there isn’t much cheer during most of the film’s harrowing 153 minutes. The movie opens with a Thanksgiving dinner involving two Pennsylvania families, a pleasant ritual that soon turns nightmarish when two little girls—one from each clan—go missing. From that point onward, the story becomes a downward psychological spiral in which the search for the girls takes a terrible toll on all caught in its wake.

The first Hollywood studio film directed by French-Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve (who has since gifted us with films like Sicario, Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, and next year’s Dune), Prisoners is a brutal, emotionally complex thriller that maintains a high level of suspense and dread over its formidable running time.

Featuring excellent performances from Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Terrence Howard, and others, it may not be the kind of cheery escapism we often seek out at the holidays. But it will leave you deeply thankful for the good things in your own life.

Rocky and Rocky II

“To you it’s Thanksgiving, to me it’s Thursday,” Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) tells Adrian Pennino (Talia Shire) as they hit the streets for their first date in Rocky. That date wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the tougher than tough love of Adrian’s brother Paulie (Burt Young). He gave them no alternative but to go out when he tossed the Thanksgiving turkey his sister slaved over all day out the side door. What followed was one of the best first date scenes in film.

It doesn’t seem like Rocky and Adrian have a lot to be thankful for. She says her daddy told her to develop her brains because she’d never get by on her looks. Rocky says he’s so dumb he couldn’t hope to be anything else but a fighter, which is halfway to being a bum.

While the scenes surrounding the ice skating rink date aren’t only some of the most romantic sequences captured on celluloid, they culminate in one of hottest. This is all before Rocky is even approached to fight the heavyweight champ of the world. The battered underdog Rocky stays on his feet until the final bell, and an almost equally bashed Apollo Creed, who barely held onto his title belt, swears he never wants a rematch.

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Apollo takes that rematch when he defends his title in Rocky II. The fight is set for Thanksgiving Day, and Rocky knocks the stuffing out of that turkey, and laps up the gravy. Many of the Rocky movies, including Creed, opened on Thanksgiving weekends, and are perfect “date movies.” The main bouts may focus on two fighters, but the love stories, starting with the one between Rocky and Adrian, are tenderer than the bird Paulie tossed in the alley.

Spider-Man

The original Spider-Man really is a superhero movie for all seasons. With its romantic and old-fashioned photography of New York City in the spring and autumn, the picture runs the calendar’s gamut in its storytelling of the webslinger’s first year on the job. But it also pivots on a rather eventful Thanksgiving dinner.

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Fresh off Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) refusing to team up with the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), and after a blow up at a not-Macy’s Day Parade in Times Square, the pair’s alter-egos unwittingly meet up for Thanksgiving in Peter Parker’s apartment. It’s a swanky bachelor pad he shares with Harry Osborn (James Franco). But even with Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) there to give it some holiday warmth, things get frosty when Dafoe’s patriarchal Norman realizes the kid passing him the cranberries is his mortal enemy. Awkward.

And yes, nearly 20 years later this strangely does feel like a holiday movie, doesn’t it?

ThanksKilling

This film is terrible. An exploitative C-cheapie horror where a turkey possessed by a demon with a smart mouth hunts and murders coeds. But if that’s your jam… well, it exists.

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