Let Movies Get You Through The Big Meal

By Steven Pate in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 23, 2011 4:30PM

Proper Thanksgiving movies may be few and far between, but that doesn't mean that Hollywood doesn't provide us with some notions on how to get through its signature event: the large family meal. Here are a few kernels of wisdom from film history to get you ready for the feast.

1. Prepare yourself

If Talledega Nights taught us anything about family meals, it is that proper preparation is important. Every family is going to have its own rituals which may appear arcane to the outsider but whose observence is vital to the sense of communal experience. Whether it's saying grace or pregaming it with Mountain Dew, respect the ritual.

2. Enjoy the food

Bill Murray's oft-overlooked What About Bob? showed us that expressions of enjoyment and gratitude can go a long way. Make sure whoever worked to prepare your meal knows how much you are appreciating it

3. Roll with the punches

There are often forces outside of your control which threaten your happiness, and sometimes they're sitting at the table with you. In Annie Hall, Woody Allen's Alvy Singer doesn't let the awkwardness such of situations keep him from participating fully.

4. Keep it civil

While the dinner table can be the venue for lively discussion, it is best to stay away from topics that are likely to get the participants' blood up or impair others' experience at the table. Consider the meal from I Heart Huckabees a case in point.

5. How to make an exit

If you do find yourself across the line, make sure you have an exit strategy. While Pacino's extraction from a tense scene at the table in Scent of a Woman is nothing to emulate, you can't say he didn't have the final word.