Friendsgiving

Friendsgiving is a 2020 American comedy-drama film, written and directed by Nicol Paone in her directorial debut. It stars Malin Åkerman, Kat Dennings, Aisha Tyler, Chelsea Peretti, Christine Taylor, Jane Seymour, Deon Cole, Wanda Sykes, Margaret Cho, Fortune Feimster, Jack Donnelly and Ryan Hansen.
It was released on October 23, 2020, by Saban Films.
==Plot==
Molly, a movie actress, and Abby are best friends who have planned to spend a quiet Thanksgiving together. Molly is mom to a five-month old baby boy and is going through a divorce, while Abby, who came out as lesbian when she was 29 years old, has spent the past year getting over being dumped by her first girlfriend. What was supposed to be a low-key holiday with just the two of them becomes a large dinner party after Molly invites her fling boyfriend, Jeff, to stay for dinner, as well as her and Abby's mutual friend Lauren with her husband and children. Meanwhile, Lauren invites a few single lesbians to the party to help Abby find a new love interest and start dating again. Molly's estranged mother, Helen, also arrives unannounced from Sweden to stay with her, mend mother-daughter fences, and acquaint herself with her grandchild. Unbeknownst to Molly, Helen has invited Gunnar, a former boyfriend of Molly who stayed in touch with Helen through Facebook. Other surprise friends and guests also arrive, including Claire, a recently-certified shaman who identifies as a "shawoman", Rick and his new wife Brianne who cannot speak audibly due to Botox injections, and Gus, a gay man whose brother has been missing for seven years.
==Cast==
*Malin Åkerman as Molly
*Kat Dennings as Abby, Linda’s daughter
*Jane Seymour as Helen
*Aisha Tyler as Lauren
*Chelsea Peretti as Claire
*Christine Taylor as Brianne
*Deon Cole as Dan
*Ryan Hansen as Gunnar
*Wanda Sykes, Margaret Cho and Fortune Feimster as Fairy Gay Mothers
*Jack Donnelly as Jeff
*Rhea Butcher as Denim
*Andrew Santino as Rick
*Dana DeLorenzo as Barbara
*Everly and Savannah Sucher as Eden (uncredited)
*Melissa Graver as Nurse Laura (uncredited)
*Rose Abdoo as Linda, Abby’s mother
*Joe Lando as Handsome Man
==Production==
In May 2018, it was announced Malin Åkerman, Kat Dennings, Jane Seymour, Aisha Tyler, Chelsea Peretti, Christine Taylor, Deon Cole, Ryan Hansen, Wanda Sykes and Margaret Cho, had been cast in the film, with Nicol Paone directing from a screenplay she wrote. Malin Åkerman, Ben Stiller, Nicholas Weinstock and Harmon Saleem will produce the film, under their Red Hour Films and Endeavor Content banners, respectively.
Principal photography began in May 2018. Production concluded on June 4, 2018.
==Release==
In November 2019, Saban Films acquired distribution rights to the film. In February 2020, Vertical Entertainment acquired U.K. distribution rights to the film. It was released on October 23, 2020.
==Critical response==
Friendsgiving holds a 19% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 26 reviews, with a weighted average of 4.4/10.
==Home media==
The film became available as video on demand in the United States on Netflix on January 21, 2021.
Category:Films
Category:2020 films
Category:Rated R
Category:English-language films
Category:2020 comedy-drama films
Category:2020 directorial debut films
Category:2020 LGBT-related films
Category:American comedy-drama films
Category:American films
Category:Lesbian-related films
Category:Thanksgiving in films
Category:Films set in Los Angeles
Category:Films produced by Ben Stiller
Category:Red Hour Productions films
Category:Saban Films films
Category:Vertical Entertainment films
Category:2020's films