A white collar stiff is on a grueling road trip home to join his family for Thanksgiving and his patience is tested every step of the way by his traveling companion: The bumbling oaf who stole his taxi and set the journey in motion.
Writer and Director, John Hughes, was responsible for an overwhelming amount of cinematic classics. From 1983 to 1989, Hughes delivered no less than two films per year. From Mr. Mom to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, there was no shortage of comedic offerings from the film creator. He won over the teens of the 80’s with the likes of Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The misadventures of the Griswold family seen within their ‘Vacation’ franchise spoke to John’s more mature audience. In the holiday season of 1987, he gave us a relatable comedy starring two heavy hitters in the genre… Planes, Trains and Automobiles, featuring Steve Martin and John Candy.
Steve Martin plays Neal Page, a businessman stuck in a meeting in Chicago and about to miss his flight home. By the time he’s able to leave the office, the ability to hail a taxi is nothing less than a chore. After losing one to a briefly seen Kevin Bacon, he loses another to a more prominent character… John Candy’s Del Griffith, a traveling shower curtain ring salesman. Fate places Neal and Del together later on, and circumstances force them to become travel partners. The entire outing is a test of patience for Neal who has to deal with Del’s gross habits, non-stop chatter, and innocently annoying demeanor. Del means well but his habits keep directly impacting Neal’s ability to sleep, function, and trust in himself to make it to New York in time to be with his family.
Martin’s performance as a slowly spiraling man allowed for hilarious outbursts that seem rational to the audience, but wildly uncalled for to characters who had no idea he’d been struggling to get home. Whether it’s him cringing his way through a bathroom full of Del’s wet socks and underwear, or him getting punched in the face after finally snapping and mouthing off to the wrong taxi cab driver, Steve steals the show. However John Candy portrays the perfect parallel as the “Costello” to Steve’s “Abbot”. Candy plays the part of “lovable dork” in charming fashion. With a smile on his face and genuine care pouring out of him, you’ll find yourself feeling bad for judging him for all of his gross habits. The only thing these two have in common is their kind hearts, which becomes the point of the narrative in the long run.
But it isn’t just the story of an odd couple finding friendship that makes Planes, Trains and Automobiles worthwhile. It’s the journey itself. John Hughes had put Clark and his family on a road trip to Wally World in his first Vacation movie, and I can’t help but suspect that some concepts he thought up later were implemented into the ’87 Thanksgiving comedy. PT&S, as I’ll be calling the film until the end of this article to save time, was another road trip gone wrong complete with as many modes of travel as humanly possible. If they weren’t missing a flight, they were getting scammed by a comically shady taxi. When they find comfort traveling on a train it breaks down and they find themselves on a packed bus. The situational sequence of unfortunate events provide some of the absolute best settings for visual gags. I can’t tell which I love more between Steve Martin trying to pull his fingers off of a tacky steering wheel that had recently melted, or the brief moment you see John Candy in a hilarious devil costume, laughing maniacally during a near death experience.
Not everything about PT&A was slapstick or transitional. Some of the film’s comedy is a bit more nuanced. During their ill-fated bus ride, the passengers decide to sing to pass the time. When it’s time for a new song, Del encourages Neal to start one. He warms up to it and begins to sing Three Coins in the Fountain, a song by Frank Sinatra for the 1954 movie of the same name. Everyone on the bus turns and looks at him with blank faces. Neal starts to panic until Del belts out a tune the entire bus knows… The theme song for The Flintstones. Neal isn’t just stiff and old school, he’s out of his element with the general public where Del seems to thrive despite his shortcomings. Their pros and cons ultimately compliment one another in a way I truly believe only Steve Martin and John Candy could have achieved.
Candy’s performance must have hit home for John Hughes, as he hired him for lead roles in 1988’s The Great Outdoors and ’89’s Uncle Buck. He also gave him a cameo role in his other holiday hit, Home Alone which released in 1990. To be honest, at this point I just feel the need to guide everyone to John Hughe’s filmography. He had well over a decade of nothing but straight cinematic gold and PT&A can justifiably stand proud amongst them. It’s one of the rare films about a man trying to get home for the holidays that doesn’t feel forced, artificial, or like a “Hallmark” film. What you have here is a genuinely fantastic comedic offering from the middle of an absolutely stellar catalog of hits. If you’re looking for something to entertain the adults this fall then look no further than Planes, Trains and Automobiles. A film that remains relevant now despite its nearly forty years in existence. Granted, a remake today would involve a misadventure spawning out of a stolen Uber ride.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles is currently available to stream for free on Pluto TV.