BEST BETS Thursday 11/23

all day

Movies

Looking for some post-turkey family fare? Glenn Close returns as Cruella De Vil in “102 Dalmatians,” this time aided and abetted by Gerard Depardieu. Puppies are once again being pilfered in this sequel to the 1996 box-office hit, but Cruella’s claiming to be a changed woman. Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans co-star.

* “102 Dalmatians,” rated G, opened Wednesday in general release.

8am

Benefit Run

Participants and spectators at the 21st annual Harry Sutter Memorial Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot Fun Run are asked to donate a can of food, which will be distributed to the needy in the South Bay on Thanksgiving Day. Money raised by the entry fee for the three-mile run will benefit the After Schools Club Program for children.

* Harry Sutter Memorial Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot Fun Run begins at Sam’s parking lot, Torrance Crossroads Shopping Center, Skypark Drive near Crenshaw Boulevard, Torrance. 8 a.m. Entry fee, $20. (310) 618-2930.

8pm

Dance

A movement language that evolved under oppression, gumboot dancing began in the gold mines of South Africa and now has inspired a new musical from that nation: “Gumboots.” Shackled together, forbidden to speak, the miners communicated through slapping their boots and rattling their chains. In time these actions developed into a form of virtuoso display--which the Guardian newspaper described during the show’s 1999 London run as “Olympic displays of athleticism.” Added the Evening Standard: “The abiding sense is of exhilaration, stirred by the fact that the tradition of gumboot dancing reveals a victory of the creative will against cruel odds.”

* “Gumboots,” Wilshire Theatre, 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. 8 p.m. Also Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Dec. 17. $27 to $52. (213) 365-3500.

9pm

Pop Music

Nothing personal, but there are some folks out there who need something more edgy and less comforting than a turkey dinner to cope with the opening of the holiday season. In that contrarian spirit, a slew of L.A.’s top Latino rock bands are convening at the Knitting Factory Hollywood for an anti-Thanksgiving jam. Hold the cranberries.

* Aztlan Underground, East L.A. Sabor Factory, Blues Experiment, Calavera, today at the Knitting Factory Hollywood, 7021 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. 9 p.m. $8. (323) 463-0204.

Freebie:

“The Art of Giving in the Middle Ages,” which opened earlier this week at the J. Paul Getty Museum, features 20 illuminated manuscripts from the museum’s collection. 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood. Tuesdays-Wednesdays, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Thursdays-Fridays, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturdays-Sundays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Ends Feb. 4. (310) 440-7300.

The Laugh Factory is giving Thanksgiving dinner to struggling comics, actors and anyone alone for the holiday, with a side order of stand-up comedy at 8001 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. Meals will be at 1, 3, 5 and 7 p.m. and reservations are required, (323) 656-1336.