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'The Family Stone' (2005) -

A stellar cast including Sarah Jessica Parker, Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, and Luke Wilson make this a thoroughly enjoyable movie. When a Wall Street big shot brings his uptight girlfriend home for a holiday gathering with his free-spirited family, things don't go entirely to plan.

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'Christmas with the Kranks' (2004) -

Luther and Nora Krank have vowed to avoid celebrating Christmas after their daughter Blair leaves home. But Blair's last-minute return leaves them preparing Christmas in a panic, in a silly-but-fun family movie.

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'Home for the Holidays' (1995) -

Newly-unemployed Claudia (Holly Hunter) reluctantly returns to her family home for Thanksgiving, feeling as though she has very little to be thankful for. Family tensions reach a boiling point, but an explosive argument ultimately clears the air. 

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'A Christmas Story' (1983) -

In this cute, 1940s-set movie, nine-year-old Ralphie only wants one thing for Christmas: a BB gun! Family members arrive with well-meaning gifts, but can he convince them to give him the only thing he really wants?

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'Sweet Home Alabama' (2002) -

Glitzy New York fashion designer Melanie (Reese Witherspoon) has attempted to brush her Southern roots under the carpet. But when she has to make a flying visit to her family back home, she starts to wonder why she left in the first place.

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'Christmas with the Coopers' (2015) -

Originally released as 'Love the Coopers,' this Amanda Seyfried comedy sees four generations of the Cooper family come together for the annual festive gathering. But it turns out their family ties are more tangled than they imagined!

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'Meet the Parents' (2000) -

Nothing like a lie detector in the basement to put someone at ease when meeting their girlfriend's family! Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) needs his strict future-in-laws to give their blessing, but belly laughs abound as the visit goes from bad to disastrous.

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'August: Osage County' (2013) -

With Meryl Streep in the cast, you know this is going to be a memorable movie. Sure enough, it's a thought-provoking look at the intertwined lives of the Weston family women. A crisis sees the women reunite in Oklahoma, and much soul-searching ensues.

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'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' (1987) -

A longed-for family Thanksgiving seems thwarted from the start as Neal Page (Steve Martin) finds his flight canceled due to bad weather. Stuck with a loud-mouthed salesman (John Candy), he has to face all manner of obstacles before he can get home.

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'Elf' (2003) -

After stowing away in Santa's sack as a baby, Buddy (Will Ferrell) has been raised in the North Pole as an oversized elf. He travels to New York City to meet his birth father, but doesn't get quite the warm welcome he hoped for!

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'Hillbilly Elegy' (2020) -

Based on a 2016 memoir, this sensitive movie sees a Yale law student return to his impoverished roots in Ohio. The visit causes him to reflect on the generations above him, and their impact on his own future.

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'Edward Scissorhands' (1990) -

When Kim (Winona Ryder) returns from a camping trip with friends, she hardly expects to find a man with scissors for hands living in her family home. After initial horror, and some awkward family meals, the pair form a heart-breaking bond.

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'The Royal Tenenbaums' (2001) -

Wes Anderson's quirky family comedy sees three grown siblings and their mother reunited with their father after a lengthy absence. Genius runs in the family, but so does wackiness, and the family reunion is full of off-beat fun.

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'Meet the Fockers' (2004) -

Having miraculously persuaded ex-CIA man Jack Byrne (Robert De Niro) to give his daughter's hand in marriage, Greg Focker now needs to introduce Jack to is own family. Will it go to plan? Of course not!

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'Little Women' (2019) -

Family togetherness is at the heart of this cozy movie based on the Louisa May Alcott novel. Much of the action takes place in the run-up to Christmas, as the March family navigate the prospect of a festive season without their father, who is serving in the American Civil War.

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'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' (1967) -

Discussions around race relations get an airing in a comedy drama that's served with a large helping of social comedy. When a white woman and her black fiancé meet up for a meal with both sets of parents, the dinner goes far from smoothly.

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'Home Alone' (1990) -

Yes, the whole point of this movie is that Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) is separated from his family at Christmas. But when he's reunited with his mother (Catherine O'Hara) at the end, it makes for a memorable reunion.

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'The Muppet Christmas Carol' (1992) -

Yes, there are other versions of Dickens' classic tale. But it's impossible not to be moved when Kermit the Frog's impoverished Bob Cratchit finally gets the festive family feast he deserves!

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'Bridget Jones's Diary' (2001) -

Singleton Bridget (Renée Zellweger) dreads family holiday gatherings because of all the questions about her love life. But when she and family friend Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) both turn up at a get-together in their ugly Christmas sweaters, her love life takes an unexpected turn.

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'Uncle Buck' (1989) -

Macaulay Culkin might not be left home alone in this movie, but he's left in the care of an irresponsible uncle. He plays Miles Russell who, together with his siblings, is horrified to learn that their notorious Uncle Buck (John Candy) will be moving in as babysitter. Comedy ensues, and they all come to love their uncle and his bumbling ways.

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'This Is Where I Leave You' (2014) -

After their father's death, four adult siblings return, families in tow, to spend a week living in their family home. Tensions are turned up to the max as they attempt to deal with simmering resentments and an over-sharing mother.

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'Four Christmases' (2008) -

Get ready for a quadruple dose of festive family awkwardness! Kate and Brad (Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn) are a couple whose hopes of a winter break abroad are dashed, forcing them to spend Christmas with each one of their divorced parents in turn.

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'Pieces of April' (2003) -

Rebellious daughter April (Katie Holmes) makes the bold decision to host her family for Thanksgiving dinner at her ramshackle apartment. Anything that can go wrong does go wrong, in a thoughtful comedy-drama about the strength of family bonds.

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'Arsenic and Old Lace' (1943) -

When anti-marriage journalist Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant) risks his career by deciding to tie the knot, he has to break the news to his beloved maiden aunts. During his visit, he discovers the women are hiding a murderous secret.

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'Hannah and Her Sisters' (1986) -

It's a Woody Allen movie, so expect plenty of neuroses to play out at the dinner table. In a film that takes place over the course of several Thanksgivings, family tensions run high, and cutting one-liners are delivered with aplomb.

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'The Ice Storm' (1997) -

Thanksgiving gatherings don't get much more dysfunctional than this. In 1973 suburbia, wife-swapping, drinking, and domestic disagreements abound. Errant teens despair of their parents, but a looming ice storm puts everything into perspective.

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'Nothing Like the Holidays' (2008) -

The scattered Rodriguez clan come together for what they hope will be a traditional Christmas gathering. But with underlying resentments and bombshell announcements, it's not quite the peaceful get-together they had in mind.

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'Secrets & Lies' (1996) -

Nobody does British dysfunctional families quite like director Mike Leigh. When an adopted daughter reaches out to her biological mother, all manner of hidden family betrayals come to the fore.

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'Happy End' (2017) -

This satirical French comedy of manners sees 12-year-old Eve move into her wealthy family's Calais estate after the death of her mother. It's an intelligently-awkward movie, as the young interloper attempts to navigate the oddness of her new home.

Sources: (People) (BFI)

See also: The most essential rom-coms of the '90s

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