Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)

Film: Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Director: John Hughes

Country: USA

Released: November 1987

Runtime: 92 minutes

Genre: Comedy

Studio: Hughes Entertainment / Paramount

Influenced: Richard Linklater, Nora Ephron, Judd Apatow, Edgar Wright, Greta Gerwig

Everyone will have their favourite John Hughes movie, from teen dramas The Breakfast Club (1985) and Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) to classic comedies Uncle Buck (1989) and Home Alone (1990), but mine is (and always will be) Planes, Trains & Automobiles. This is due in large part to the chemistry between Steve Martin and John Candy, but it's also to do with Hughes' script and his direction, especially the way he takes the classic road movie format and invests it with so much heart and so many laughs. The idea for the film was born out of the director's own personal experience of travel difficulties, when one journey home from New York to Chicago for Thanksgiving turned into a three-day ordeal involving various modes of transportation, including planes, trains and automobiles. It's now the Thanksgiving movie par excellence.

The film's concept allowed Hughes to explore the dynamic between Neal Page (Steve Martin) and Del Griffith (John Candy), two individuals who are forced to travel together after their original flights are cancelled due to bad weather. Neal is an affluent, highly-strung advertising executive who is eager to return to his family in Chicago, while Del is a gregarious and talkative shower curtain ring salesman with a heart of gold. In this way, the film is a subtle comedy about class differences. Martin and Candy were both well-established comedians and film stars by the time the movie was made, and had the confidence and ability to improvise many scenes, leading to a wealth of outtakes. The original cut of the movie was apparently 3 hours+, which I would love to see one day, but that said I think the pacing of the existing cut is perfect, especially the seamless way in which the characters lurch from one disaster to the next.

The scene in which Neal and Del wake up after falling asleep on a bed in a motel room is filled with improvised dialogue. The entire "Those aren't pillows!" exchange was largely unscripted, and both Martin and Candy's reactions are genuine, making it one of the most memorable moments in the film. My favourite scene is at the Marathon car rental desk, in which Martin unleashes a profanity-laden tirade that was largely improvised. The reactions of the rental clerk and the other customers are genuine, as they had no idea Martin was going to deliver such a passionate and funny rant. While the film is known for its heartwarming conclusion, the original ending was actually quite different, showing Neal arriving home but Del remaining homeless and alone. Test audiences reacted negatively to this ending, finding it unsatisfying and emotionally cold. As a result, Hughes reworked the ending to its current form, including the emotional Thanksgiving dinner scene.

As well as getting some critical plaudits – Candy was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actor and the film was nominated for a WGA Award (Writers Guild of America) for Best Original Screenplay – Planes, Trains & Automobiles was also a huge box office success on a modest budget, and remains one of the most popular US "holiday" (Thanksgiving and Christmas) movies of all time. While it may not be necessarily known for its technical innovations, the film's strength lies in its ability to blend humour and slapstick comedy with genuine emotional moments and deeper themes of friendship, empathy and the value of human connection. Candy is a personal hero of mine and his untimely death in 1994 hit me hard as a kid. When I look back now at all his comedy and acting work (including a wonderful cameo in Oliver Stone's JFK), his performance as Del Griffith stands out as his towering achievement.