# What kickass action movies are set on Thanksgiving? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2014, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kickass-action-movies-are-set-on-thanksgiving/705765 "2014-11-27T15:41:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.Pu-du-he-pa-as)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kickass-action-movies-are-set-on-thanksgiving/705765/1 "2014-11-27T15:41:59Z")
**oft wears hats** and I were trying to come up with some, but couldn’t think of any. This is a shame, since Thanksgiving has such potential, and it seems like every other American holiday has its own kickass action movie. Which ones do you know of? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kickass-action-movies-are-set-on-thanksgiving/705765/2 "2014-11-27T15:49:50Z")
Spider-Man. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kickass-action-movies-are-set-on-thanksgiving/705765/3 "2014-11-27T16:04:55Z")
“I give you the F.D.A.” ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kickass-action-movies-are-set-on-thanksgiving/705765/4 "2014-11-27T16:09:55Z")
😕 > [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > “I give you the F.D.A.” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kickass-action-movies-are-set-on-thanksgiving/705765/5 "2014-11-27T16:10:21Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > “I give you the F.D.A.” Nice. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kickass-action-movies-are-set-on-thanksgiving/705765/6 "2014-11-27T17:12:53Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Spider-Man. Well, the movie passes through T-day but isn’t exactly set on it. I think there’s a reason action movies tend to settle on Christmas over any other day - it’s the same thing as Thanksgiving or Easter or whatever, but with the glurge and sentiment and wrongity-wrongness turned up to eleven. If you’re going to shoot around a winter holiday, may as well dress it with Sanny Claus and cute reindeer as a… cardboard turkey and pilgrims. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kickass-action-movies-are-set-on-thanksgiving/705765/7 "2014-11-27T17:20:28Z")
Missed the edit. Meant to write “instead of… a cardboard turkey and pilgrims.” ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kickass-action-movies-are-set-on-thanksgiving/705765/8 "2014-11-27T19:51:55Z")
It doens’t exactly fit the bill, but in [Tower Heist](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Heist) the main caper takes place in a New York skyscraper during the Macy’s parade. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kickass-action-movies-are-set-on-thanksgiving/705765/9 "2014-11-27T22:26:56Z")
Not a movie, of course, but there is an episode of \*Buffy the Vampire Slayer \*set on Thanksgiving. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kickass-action-movies-are-set-on-thanksgiving/705765/10 "2014-11-28T00:25:08Z")
Depending on how loosely you’re defining “kickass” (and “Thanksgiving”, for that matter) but _Paul Blart, Mall Cop_ was set on Black Friday. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kickass-action-movies-are-set-on-thanksgiving/705765/11 "2014-11-28T01:52:54Z")
Oops, missed the thread was looking for action movies. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kickass-action-movies-are-set-on-thanksgiving/705765/12 "2014-11-28T03:35:22Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > “I give you the F.D.A.” I don’t get it. Fill me in, please. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kickass-action-movies-are-set-on-thanksgiving/705765/13 "2014-11-28T12:08:10Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Well, the movie passes through T-day but isn’t exactly set on it. > > I think there’s a reason action movies tend to settle on Christmas over any other day - it’s the same thing as Thanksgiving or Easter or whatever, but with the glurge and sentiment and wrongity-wrongness turned up to eleven. If you’re going to shoot around a winter holiday, may as well dress it with Sanny Claus and cute reindeer as a… cardboard turkey and pilgrims. I’d say the reason is that action movies need international sales and Thanksgiving isn’t international. Some other countries have it, but not on the same day or in the same way. Much easier to set an action movie at Christmas, which the majority of your target markets now about even if they don’t celebrate it themselves, and also you can add snow slightly more believably. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kickass-action-movies-are-set-on-thanksgiving/705765/14 "2014-11-28T12:47:40Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > I’d say the reason is that action movies need international sales and Thanksgiving isn’t international. Some other countries have it, but not on the same day or in the same way. Much easier to set an action movie at Christmas, which the majority of your target markets now about even if they don’t celebrate it themselves, and also you can add snow slightly more believably. That must be why there’s no kickass action movie set on Flag Day. Or is there??? ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kickass-action-movies-are-set-on-thanksgiving/705765/15 "2014-11-28T13:41:25Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I don’t get it. Fill me in, please. It’s a take on the line from Die Hard, “I give you The F.B.I.” ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kickass-action-movies-are-set-on-thanksgiving/705765/16 "2014-11-28T19:13:23Z")
A longer explanation: > [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > “I give you the F.D.A.” > [@Mahaloth](#): > > I don’t get it. Fill me in, please. When villain Hans Gruber notices that the FBI has arrived in Die Hard: * * * Hans Gruber:\*\*\* “The circuits that cannnot be cut [and prevent the safe to be opened] are cut automatically in response to a terrorist incident. You asked for miracles, Theo, I give you the FBI.” So in a Thanksgiving adventure: _ **Hans Gobbler:** _ The alerts (that we will use in our scheme) in response to a poisoning incident regarding turkeys. You asked for miracles, Pio, I give you the _FDA_." (From the not made yet “Turkey Run”, I expect Aardman Animation to call me about the script.) 🙂