Tag: Thanksgiving movie

Comedies

The Daytrippers

LizLocke1 Comment
Image credit: The Daytrippers, 1996

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of being woken up at your parents’ house the day after a major holiday to the sound of a vacuum cleaner or a dishwasher being unloaded at 7am, then you’ll understand the comedic brilliance of this week’s pick The Daytrippers (Disc/Download).

Greg Mottola’s directorial debut is a fun, frenetic tale of family drama at Thanksgiving, made at the height of the independent film craze of the 1990s (back when $50,000 got you… a great movie, apparently!). Eliza (Hope Davis) suspects her husband (Stanley Tucci) is cheating on her, so she and her entire family hop in the station wagon and drive to Manhattan in an attempt to catch him in a lie. Other people may spend their Black Fridays at the mall, but the Malones prefer to be crammed into a car with no heat, listening to Eliza’s sister’s boyfriend (Liev Schrieber) describe the plot of his novel. For anyone who has stood by while an author desperately attempts to summarize their own work, you know this special torture. Parker Posey is fantastic as flaky sister Jo, but it’s Anne Meara who steals every scene with her smothering yet hilarious presence. Don’t go into the light, Rita!!!

If you’re going on a wild goose chase through the city with your zany family in tow, you’ll need a beverage that seamlessly makes the transition from breakfast to cocktail hour. Maybe you need to start imbibing as soon as the vacuum cleaner plays its reveille- no judgment here! While watching The Daytrippers, I recommend drinking this Rise and Shine cocktail.

Rise and Shine

1 ½ oz Bourbon

½ oz Kahlua

¼ oz Maple Syrup

1 oz Cold Brew

2 Dashes Chocolate Bitters

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a martini glass.

One of my favorite Thanksgiving movies is another Parker Posey classic, The House of Yes, which features an even more dysfunctional family than the one in The Daytrippers. Really, the Malones look pretty normal compared to the Pascals, though Parker is an equally weird, funny ingenue in both. Why not settle in and make it a double feature? Maybe you can even convince your mom to turn off the coffee grinder and join you. Cheers!

Comedies

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

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planes-trains-automobiles
Image credit: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, 1987

Ah the open road.  It seems a lot more appealing in Jack Kerouac novels and black & white photography.  Luckily, we have this week’s film Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (DVD/Download) to remind us of what a hellish experience  holiday travel can be.  Cramped airline seats, rude people, that guy behind you who just won’t shut up– it’s enough to drive anyone to drink.

The story of an odd couple (played by Steve Martin and John Candy) who unwittingly get stuck together on the Thanksgiving travel adventure from Hell, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is a reminder that when one detail of your travel plan goes awry, the rest of the dominoes are soon to fall. Most of us have had a cancelled or delayed flight, dealt with rude rental car personnel, or endured crappy motel rooms on the way to our friends and family.  Whoever said the journey is more important than the destination has obviously never spent the night in a West Memphis Ramada.

After a couple of long days on the road, the only thing that bridges the divide between Steve Martin and John Candy is a stash of mini airplane liquor bottles. Since I’m still working through my stocking stuffers from last year’s Christmas haul, while watching Planes, Trains, and Automobiles I’ll be drinking some Mini Liquors.  Your decision on whether to mix that Bacardi with some vending machine Coke or drink that Jameson straight from the bottle probably depends on how long you’ve been in the car.

liquor-minis

By the end of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, we’re meant to realize that Thanksgiving is not just about the the hassle of travel, but rather about the familial love that you’re traveling toward. And if you’re lucky, maybe you make a new friend along the way. But before you get too comfy with this new friend, just remember- THOSE AREN’T PILLOWS!! Cheers!