Planes, Trains and Automobiles


3.5/4

Starring: Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robbins

Rated R for Language (I guess, although it really should be PG-13)

“Planes, Trains and Automobiles” is a different sort of holiday comedy.  Instead of Christmas (which is the usual day the movie revolves around), it’s Thanksgiving.  Not that it matters…with a few rewrites, it could be easily set a month later.  What does matter is that this John Hughes movie is packed with laughs and heart.

Neil Page (Martin) is an anal-retentive marketing executive living in New York who is desperate to get home to his wife and family in Chicago (why he works so far away from them is never explained).  However, it’s not long before he encounters a run-in with Murphy’s Law.  And to top it off, he has to spend it all with the world’s most annoying guy, shower curtain ring salesman Del Griffith (Candy).  Even if he makes it home on time, he may not still have his sanity.

The film rests almost entirely on the shoulders of its two stars.  Fortunately, both are exceptional funnymen and gifted actors.  The latter is what really makes this movie special.  Too often, we get comedians who say the jokes and one-liners with the right timing and inflection.  Not here.  Martin and especially Candy work to make Neil and Del living and breathing people.

Steve Martin is famous for playing characters like Neil; egotistical jerks on the verge of a breakdown.  To be sure, Neil is jerk, but Martin captures his humanity.  He’s not a complete asshole, he’s just uber-stressed out and desperate.  We sympathize with him because we’ve all been there.

The true shining star of the movie is John Candy.  A gifted Canadian comic who was saddled with supporting roles for much of his career, he proves here that he can hold his own against the likes of a comic great like Steve Martin.  Del is one of those people who tries too hard to be liked; he’s so pleasant (not to mention chatty) that he drives you up the wall.  And yet, you can’t help but like the guy because he is so earnest.  Candy not only has impeccable skill when it comes to getting laughs, but he also has sizable dramatic chops.  He has an expressive face, and in what is arguably the most famous scene, you can see his face change from anger to hurt as Neil lets loose a string of cruel and personal insults at him.

John Hughes was known as the Bard of Teen Angst.  I can’t comment on that fact; I’ve only seen the comedies that he was associated with (“Home Alone,” “Christmas Vacation,” etc.).  However, it’s clear that when it comes to getting laughs, he knows what he is doing.  The jokes are hilarious and well-timed, and the drama tugs at the heart.  Hughes knows what he’s going for, and he nails it.

This is one holiday movie that’s worth enjoying any time of the year.

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