Synopsis
What he really wanted was to spend Thanksgiving with his family. What he got was three days with the turkey.
A man must struggle to travel home for Thanksgiving, with an obnoxious slob of a shower ring salesman his only companion.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
1987 Directed by John Hughes
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I really hate this film.....
BECAUSE EVERY TIME I SEE IT, IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY AND THEN I WANT TO DANCE, BOOGIE WOOGIE, DO SOMERSAULTS AND BACKFLIPS, POP AND LOCK AND EVEN A TWIRL AND A FAME JUMP OR TWO BUT I CAN'T BECAUSE I'M BUILT LIKE AN ELEPHANT AND HAVE THE MOTOR SKILLS OF A PREGNANT HIPPO!!!!
And I really, really miss John Candy....
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The Jerk and Uncle Buck as the oldest looking teenagers to ever star in a John Hughes coming-of-age-road-trip film. A taxi race with Kevin fuckin' Bacon. The first time you see John Candy's facial expressions. A bitchy flight attendant. A semi-boring sounding Ben Stein. Shower-curtain-rings are fuckin' cool. A million bucks short of being a millionaire. Hypoallergenic pillows. Extreme-sinus-cleaning. Waking up next to Del. Those aren't fuckin' pillows! A broken train. A yabba dabba doo bus ride. The invisible automobile. The fuckin' rental-car counter. You're fucked! An autographed Daryl Strawberry earring. Being grabbed by your dick. Precious moments don't come back. Almost hitting a deer. A car-honking contest. You're going the wrong fuckin' way! Two dollars and a Casio watch. A melted speedometer. Del knows a lot of fuckers. Realizing family is everything. Funny as fuck. Steve Martin is gold. John Candy is fuckin' hilarious. Fuck, I miss him. RIP Mr. Candy. RIP Mr. Hughes.
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Planes, Trains and Automobiles is classic John Hughes: The 80's soundtrack plastered over every scene, the risible and preposterously entertaining scenarios and of course, the introduction of sentimentalism that inconsistently succeeds. Hughes's distinguishable style is never seamless, but he sure knows how to fabricate an enjoyable jaunt, even if that jaunt is disjointed in its execution.
Neal Page has one modest wish for the thanksgiving holidays; to see his family. To do this he must catch a plane; seemingly simple task. However, as the title indicates, problems arise and he will have to board some trains and automobiles too. Indeed, he is not alone on this distressing expedition -- Del Griffith, a scruffy but munificent chap offers a hand and…
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Steve Martin and John Candy melt your hearts, make you laugh out loud and thankful that you aren't them in this classic catastrophic road trip from hell!
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John Hughes' "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" finds the director leaving behind his typically youthful characters and focusing on a new breed of comic ne'er-do-well: the adult business man. Combining road trip comedy with odd couple shenanigans, '80s gloss, and a note of absurdity, Hughes' observation of Murphy's Law taking its toll on the aformentioned adult is a rich, layered, and wholly lovable piece of work.
"Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" is built around one man's attempt to get home for the Thanksgiving holiday and his consistent predicament of bumping into a bumbling yet kind Midwest salesman. Anything that could go wrong does as the two schlep hilariously toward Chicago from New York. The story is universal, the comedy is textured, and…
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"If I wanted a joke, I'd follow you into the john and watch you take a leak".
Heartfelt, relateable and hysterically funny, Planes, Trains & Automobiles is a film I keep returning to, often when I'm down in the dumps as it holds a very curative effect.
The magical fusion of physical + situational humor, performed by two of the most brilliant comedic geniuses who have ever walked the planet, worked wonders this time too.
Top notch laugh riots are still being made in this day and age, but I doubt we'll ever have the pleasure of one as perfect as this one again.
I mean, Jonah Hill and his likes are funny n' all, but they're no John Candy.
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It's a really beautiful movie. I've seen better Steve Martin films tho, but this was still really beautiful.
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Every time I go driving I always think something is going to happen and I'm going to turn to my right and see devil John Candy laughing at me all evil-like and I'll know that my time has come.
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Steve Martin plays Neal Page, an advertising executive who is in a hurry to leave a meeting in New York City so that he can spend the Thanksgiving holiday with his family in Chicago. Unfortunately, a black cloud hangs over Neal, and everything that could possibly go wrong with his plans does, indeed, go wrong. What was supposed to have been a trip of a few hours ends up being a hilariously hassle-filled multi-day journey as circumstances force Neal to team up with a kind and loquacious, but annoying obnoxious shower curtain salesman played by the late great John Candy.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles is the ultimate Thanksgiving movie, and, as such, it's a yearly tradition for me around this…
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I never noticed before but Steve Martin kinda looks like Harrison Ford sometimes maybe they're the same person and Hollywood is really only made up of 4 or 5 actors doing the job of a lifetime.
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