Fall is the best season of the year. The weather, the food, the sports, and the overall vibe of it all. One of my favorite things to do in the fall is to watch what I consider to be fall movies. We also have two major holidays that take place in the fall—Halloween and Thanksgiving—which make way for movies as well. You might wonder what makes a movie a “fall movie?” Well, in my opinion, it is a movie that seems to take place in the fall and illustrates a fall feeling or takes place over one of these two major holidays.
The first movie that I chose is the famous romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally. As a rom-com lover, this is my favorite rom-com of all time. This movie is the quintessential fall movie. The movie might not explicitly claim itself as a fall movie, but lots of different shots depict most of the story taking place in the fall. This movie really dives deep into platonic relationships between men and women and is incredibly relatable to just about everyone. This was one of the movies that put Meg Ryan on the map, and her and Billy Crystal’s dialogue is just so entertaining. This movie is an annual rewatch for me and never fails to entertain.
Another movie, which is really one of the only Thanksgiving movies out there, is Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. John Candy and Steve Martin are absolutely hilarious in this movie. Their chemistry is off the charts, and they very much complement each other in different ways. This movie checks all the boxes. It’s funny, entertaining, and never ceases to make me tear up a little bit due to the reminder of how good John Candy really was and how big a loss his death really was. It is a real heartwarming movie and is always one I try to watch around Thanksgiving.
Fall also claims just about every horror movie out there, so I am going to talk about my favorite horror movie, Scream. In my opinion, this is the perfect horror movie. One of my favorite things that this movie does is that it is scary, but not the kind of scary that gets away from the point. Some horror movies’ main objective is to scare the daylights out of the audience and not actually make a good movie. It also comments on the mistakes that characters make in horror movies which creates this ironic nature to the movie. The reveal at the end, which I won’t spoil, almost puts the cherry on top of this epic horror movie. Not only was it a great movie made, but it also led to the cultural phenomenon of the Ghostface mask which is worn by thousands of people every Halloween.
The next movie I am going to talk about is the saddest movie on this list, so don’t say I didn’t warn you. Dead Poets Society is a masterclass performance by the great Robin Williams, and, like John Candy with PTA, this movie is just a sad reminder of the loss of Robin Williams. However, that does not take away from the beauty and emotion that this movie conveys. The vibes this movie brings are unmatched with its New England fall setting. This movie gives off a very cozy feeling, and it makes you want to drink something hot and curl up on the couch.
The final movie I’m going to recommend is arguably my favorite movie ever. This movie is Goodwill Hunting. It has so many layers and hits every time. I could talk about this movie all day, but I don’t have all day so I will try my best. The themes of trauma, love, and figuring out who you are as a person are three of the many themes in this movie. This movie will make you take a step back and think about your own life. Similar to When Harry Met Sally, Goodwill Hunting never explicitly defines itself as a fall movie, but once you watch it, you will understand. This movie put Matt Damon and Ben Affleck on the map for a very good reason. This movie is just about perfect, and I watch it multiple times a year.
I have talked about rom-coms, horror movies, and tearjerkers. These genres might be all across the board, but all these movies have this fall theme in common. I would recommend all these movies to anyone that has a fall evening to themselves, or with others. All these movies are all great in their own ways and are just some of my all-time favorites. So, if you have the time, try and watch at least one of these movies this fall and I promise you will not regret it.
