A consistent annual rewatch in a household is the highest honor a movie can receive, more than an Oscar, being added to the National Library of Congress, or even a ten-weekend run at the top of the box office. My family conducts a hallowed ritual at least once a year for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s Baby Mama, along with a handful of Bill Murray movies and the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy, to name a few. We are also prone to throwing on some of the traditional staples for Halloween and Christmas, which leaves a November-shaped gap in our scheduled programming. If you are like us, trying to figure out what to watch while getting into the spirit of Thanksgiving and a jack-o-lanternless fall, then you have come to the right list.

Knives Out

In the same vein of Murder, She Wrote, this modern mystery is a very snug and comforting watch as long as you are someone who finds conspiracy and murder to be cozy. Aside from the fall foliage and the overall orange and brown aesthetic, Knives Out is a movie with a large argumentative family crammed in a single house together for several hours; it’s a Thanksgiving movie.

Funny People

Adam Sandler spent most of the early 2000s starring in hit movies that were played in living rooms repeatedly until we thought we couldn’t stand him anymore. But every once in a blue moon, he would drop the shenanigans and star in a vehicle like Punch-Drunk Love or Reign Over Me– movies that would stretch his image beyond Billy Madison or Happy Gilmore. The genius of Judd Apatow’s bloated opus is that Sandler plays someone who has been in household family movies for decades, but his broken heart and recent cancer diagnosis have taken an unavoidable toll, provoking him to get the most out of life before time runs out. There is a brief but affecting Friendsgiving dinner scene where Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill’s characters host their stand-up peers along with Sandler, which canonizes it into the Pantheon of Thanksgiving movies.

When Harry Met Sally…

This is kind of cheating, as this stone-cold rom-com classic isn’t confined to fall or any specific season really. If anything, this could be considered to be an essential New Year’s Eve movie– but if you are to factor in the iconic Autumn poster, the many different sweaters the main characters adorn, and the overall coziness of When Harry Met Sally…, it seems wrong not to lump it in with the best fall season films ever made.

Spider-Man

If there’s one thing the MCU just can’t figure out it’s how to make a superhero film feel warm and homey. Fortunately, the first theatrically released Spider-Man film holds up impeccably well and is a delightful watch during the pre-Christmas season. Spending time in New York with Tobey Maguire’s portrayal of Peter Parker is fun on its own, but Spider-Man’s spot on this list is due to the crucial Thanksgiving dinner scene where Norman, Aunt May, Peter, Harry, and Mary Jane all convene over a Turkey dinner that reveals Peter to Norman. Despite the events of the past few weeks, your family dinner will not be worse than the one between the Green Goblin and Spider-Man.

Babette’s Feast

Behold, the deepest cut! Babette’s Feast takes place in 19th-century Denmark, where a French refugee is taken in by two kind but impecunious women who can only offer her a place to stay. This refugee, Babette, just so happens to be the most preeminent chef in Europe and when she comes into money after a fourteen-year stay with the Danes, she pays back the kindness shown to her with a seven-course meal for the whole town. To quote Phil Rosenthal: “This might be the ultimate movie about a meal.”

Phil Rosenthal’s Closet Picks

Addams Family Values

The legacy of The Addams Family will never be able to top the cast of the 1991 reboot, with Raoul Julia, Angelica Houston, and Christina Ricci being just a few of the highlights in the cast. While on the surface, Values might seem like an unnecessary Addams Family cash grab, the truth is that it is a privilege to have more time with this arrangement of the family and the Thanksgiving play that Pugsley and Wednesday get roped in to: “A Turkey Named Brotherhood” is a staple in Thanksgiving history.

Rocky

The Italian Stallion isn’t a Thanksgiving mascot by any means, but when you consider the power of a mandated family meal during a cold month, things can look up even when they feel catastrophic. Paulie never seems to be in a good mood and is always taking it out on his poor sister, but when Rocky is around, everything is a little brighter, which is just as true for our TV screens.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Finally we have Planes, Trains and Automobiles: the undisputed king of Thanksgiving movies. This definitive buddy comedy is directed by John Hughes, stars Steve Martin and John Candy, and somehow is more than just the sum of its parts. Set in the abyssal chasm between New York and Chicago, this is a road trip odyssey defined by humor, heart-softening drama, and the urgency of having to get home in time for the holidays. Planes, Trains and Automobiles is the only true Thanksgiving must-watch.