The Case for ‘Spider-Man’ As a Thanksgiving Movie

Proposal: We as a society should rebrand Spider-Man (2002) a Thanksgiving movie. I realize that’s a bold declaration, so allow me to expand.

It is true that the majority of Spider-Man (2002) does not take place on Thanksgiving, nor do the characters in the film spend a significant amount of time discussing the true meaning of the holiday. Most of the film—directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire, James Franco, Kirsten Dunst, and Willem Dafoe—is about Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man, fighting the Green Goblin, kissing Mary Jane, and other things of that nature. However, there is one scene—one excellent, memorable, tension-filled scene—that does take place over Thanksgiving.

Here’s how the scene goes down: Peter Parker, having just fought with the Green Goblin as Spider-Man, is late for Thanksgiving dinner at the apartment he shares with his best friend, Harry Osborn (Franco). Meanwhile, Norman Osborn, who is secretly the Green Goblin, is barely holding onto his last shred of humanity thanks to the experimental steroids he’s been taking. But Harry wants his dad to meet his new girlfriend MJ (Dunst), so Norman shows up for Thanksgiving dinner, along with Peter’s Aunt May (Rosemary Harris). When Norman realizes Peter is bleeding in the same spot where Goblin cut Spider-Man, he realizes who Peter really is. He makes excuses and leaves—but not before insulting MJ in front of Harry.

It’s not only a pivotal scene that defines the stakes of the second half of the film but it’s also, in my opinion, a scene that speaks to the time-honored Thanksgiving tradition: introducing your significant others to your asshole parents. Full disclosure: I am not the first to propose that Spider-Man (2002)—the first film in the Raimiverse, if you will—is a Thanksgiving movie. That honor belongs, as far as I can tell, to this viral tweet from BuzzFeed’s Josh Billinson.

I think it’s an excellent proposal—far better than that ludicrous Die Hard is a Christmas movie nonsense—and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get this issue the attention it deserves. Here are my arguments:

We need more Thanksgiving movies.

There aren’t many truly classic Thanksgiving movies. There are many classic Thanksgiving TV episodes, and there are plenty of classic Christmas movies, which many families default to watching on Thanksgiving Day. Sure, you can probably think of a few Thanksgiving-specific movies—like Planes, Trains, and Automobiles or Home for the Holidays—but there’s hardly enough to compile to a more or less universally-agreed upon list. For those of us tasked with making lists of Thanksgiving movies around this time of year, that makes our job very difficult. Why not add Spider-Man (2002) to the rotation?

We don’t need more Spider-Man or superhero movies.

Previously, Spider-Man (2002) has been classified primarily as a Spider-Man movie. Some might broaden that scope to call it a superhero movie. While those classifications may be technically correct, we now have at least eight other Spider-Man films and too many superhero films for Martin Scorsese to count. Don’t you think we could, therefore, stand to lose Spider-Man (2002) from both categories? If we can collectively change our mindset to think of Spider-Man (2002) first and foremost as a Thanksgiving movie, I think we could make both Marvel fans and Martin Scorsese happy. It would be a Thanksgiving miracle.

Willem Dafoe carving the turkey is truly the cinematic moment of turkey-carving.

Can you think of any others? No. (No, I’m not counting Little Fockers. Don’t even ask.) Willem Dafoe carves a turkey the same way he does pretty much everything else—very creepily—and it is excellent.

Tobey Maguire beats an old lady with a stick for cranberry sauce.

“Sorry I’m late everyone, I had to beat up an old lady with a stick to get these cranberries,” says Peter when he finally walks in. It’s a classic Tobey-Maguire-as-Peter-Parker zinger, which is to say, not really funny at all and yet somehow extremely endearing. With jokes like that, it’s no wonder this is the most memorable scene of the film and therefore the scene by which we should categorize it. (As a Thanksgiving movie.)

I, personally, find it hilarious.

Is that not reason enough? “Spider-Man (2002) is a Thanksgiving movie” makes me laugh, and hardly anything does these days. So get on board, people. Thanks! (Giving).

Where to stream Spider-Man (2002)