Shubhabrata Dutta
For decades, movies have been entertaining us, and this is especially applicable when speaking of celebrations. There is hardly any occasion or festival across the different cultures of the world that hasn’t been showcased in movies. However, while earlier we had to wait for a certain movie to be televised on a particular occasion, which might turn out to be the wrong one, thereby breaking our hearts, the advent of OTT platforms has taken away that sadness. They provide us with a plethora of movies to choose from based on our choices, and Hulu has some of the most heartwarming movies in its catalog.
10. Pilgrim (2019)
A horror film directed by Marcus Dunstan, ‘Pilgrim’ shows what happens after a woman invites a group of Pilgrim reenactors for Thanksgiving so that her family can get to know more about the occasion and its significance. However, what she doesn’t know is that the “pilgrims” have objectives of their own that they slowly start to reveal, much to the horror of the family. The cast includes Reign Edwards, Elyse Levesque, Peter Giles, Beth Curry, Kerr Smith, and Antonio Raul Corbo. You can watch the movie here.
9. Jack and Jill (2011)
This Dennis Dugan directorial is a comedy starring Adam Sandler as both Jack and his twin sister Jill. Jill is a grown-up nuisance, but Jack’s family has to spend Thanksgiving with her, which Jack doesn’t like. However, when actor Al Pacino takes a liking to Jill during a Lakers game, and Jack gets to know her through Pacino’s opinion of her, he begins to see the good in her. ‘Jack and Jill’ thus explores the relationship of the two siblings and how they manage to get along. The cast also includes Katie Holmes, who plays the role of Jack’s gentle wife Erin. You can stream the movie here.
8. Blended (2014)
Starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, ‘Blended’ is a rom-com that follows two single parents, Lauren Reynolds and Jim Friedman. While their blind date doesn’t go well, they seem to have more unexpected encounters later, thanks to fate. But when the two end up in the same hotel, with their kids, in Africa for their respective vacations, that’s fate telling something. As the two families hang out together, Lauren and Jim start to “blend.” But it is the experiences they go through, accompanied by their kids, that make the movie a comedy. Directed by Frank Coraci, ‘Blended’ can be streamed here.
7. Gigi & Nate (2022)
Directed by Nick Hamm, ‘Gigi & Nate’ explores the relationship between a quadriplegic man and a monkey. Nate Gibson develops bacterial meningitis that leaves him quadriplegic. He tries to kill himself out of depression. That’s when his mother reaches out to a service animal organization and brings home a capuchin monkey named Gigi. This is so that Nate can spend time with her and thus stop having negative thoughts. In other words, Gigi will help Nate cope with his illness. A coming-of-age drama with a sweet twist, the cast of ‘Gigi & Nate’ includes Charlie Rowe, Zoe Colletti, Josephine Langford, and Marcia Gay Harden. You can explore this unusual relationship here.
6. The Dinner (2017)
A Thanksgiving is incomplete without a dinner, and that is exactly what this film is about. Based on the 2009 Dutch novel of the same name by Herman Koch, this film brings together two couples, Congressman Stan Lohman (Richard Gere), who is running for governor, his wife Katelyn (Rebecca Hall), and Stan’s brother Paul Lohman (Steve Coogan) and his wife Claire (Laura Linney), at a posh restaurant. To the naked eye, it seems like a posh affair, but the reason they are having this dinner is a grave one. And that is the crime that their children have committed.
Michael (Charlie Plummer), son of Paul and Claire, and Michael’s cousins Rick (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick) and Beau (Miles J. Harvey), sons of Stan and his ex-wife Barbara (Chloë Sevigny), are involved in the death of a homeless woman. A video of the incident has gone viral, although the kids haven’t been identified yet. What the couples decide to do about it, especially Stan’s stand as he has an election on the way, is what we find out by the end of this gripping drama. Directed by Oren Moverman, ‘The Dinner’ can be watched right here.
5. Soul Food (1997)
Directed by George Tillman Jr., this soulful family drama follows the Black-American Joseph family of Chicago. Told through the eyes of 11-year-old Ahmad, the film shows how the demise of the family matriarch Josephine “Big Mama” Joseph (Irma P. Hall) sends the whole family, including Josephine’s three daughters Teri, Maxine, and Bird and their husbands, unraveling as past issues resurface along with the arrival of new ones. These issues include those in relationships and finances, perhaps the primary two that take the biggest toll on a family. How Ahmad brings the family together in his own sweet yet moving way is what follows.
Starring Vivica A. Fox, Vanessa Williams, Nia Long, Brandon Hammond, Michael Beach, and Mekhi Phifer, ‘Soul Food’ gets its name from the food that the family has, or used to have till Josephine’s passing, for every Sunday dinner. You can stream the film here.
4. Funny Thing About Love (2021)
Directed by Adam White, this rom-com stars Summer Bellessa, Jon Heder, K-Von, Barry Corbin, Brooke White, and Jason Gray. When Samantha arrives with her boyfriend Bryce to spend Thanksgiving with her family, everyone is happy. But Samantha finds it a little weird because, among all of her members, there is her ex-boyfriend and stand-up comedian Luke. As the plot progresses, things start getting clear about Samantha not being happy with Bryce, who is a lawyer. This, along with her past with Luke, seems to turn into a celebration she didn’t expect. To find out what happens, you can watch the film here.
3. Happiest Season (2020)
Starring Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis in the leads, along with Aubrey Plaza, Mary Holland, Alison Brie, Dan Levy, Victor Garber, and Mary Steenburgen. The rom-com follows Harper (Davis), who decides to bring her partner Abby (Stewart) to her home to celebrate the holidays. However, Abby’s plan to propose to Harper on Christmas morning goes down the drain when she finds out that Harper hasn’t come out in front of her parents, let alone mention Abby. Now, she has to pretend to be Harper’s heterosexual roommate. For how long she is able to do this and how are what we see in the film You can watch it here.
2. Dakota (2022)
‘Dakota,’ directed by Kirk Harris, centers on widowed mom Kate and her daughter Alex, who live on their farm. As tough as it is for Kate to manage the farm as well as run the volunteer fire department, the arrival of Dakota, Kate’s husband’s combat dog, makes things even tougher. Meanwhile, the local Sheriff has set his eyes on the farm and intends to take over the land by any means necessary. How Kate, Alex, and Dakota protect the farm and thus showcase the true spirit of home and family is what we see in the movie. The cast of ‘Dakota’ includes Abbie Cornish, Lola Sultan, Patrick Muldoon, and William Baldwin. You can watch the movie here.
1. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
A road trip comedy movie directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ showcases the Hoover family who set off on a journey in a VW camper van from Albuquerque to California, where the youngest member of the family, seven-year-old Olive, will take part in the “Little Miss Sunshine” beauty pageant. As the journey commences, we are subjected to the conversations of a dysfunctional family that comprises Olive’s mother, Sheryl; her father, Richard; her step-brother, Dwayne; her grandfather, Edwin; and her uncle, Frank (brother of Sheryl). Together, they make the ride hilarious, but only for us viewers. The cast includes Abigail Breslin, Paul Dano, Toni Collette, Alan Arkin, Steve Carell and Greg Kinnear. You can experience the movie here.
Read More: Best Animation Movies on Hulu
