Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a 1987 Thanksgiving comedy directed by John Hughes, the man behind many of our favourite 80's movies- Ferris Bueller, Pretty In Pink, The Breakfast Club, 16 Candles. It's a movie that people frequently return to around Thanksgiving and, despite not being an American, I revisited this iconic film for the holiday. All I know of Thanksgiving is from those Thanksgiving specials of Friends, so I might not be the most qualified person to commentate on this film but since it is one of my favourite comedies of all time, well... here I am. If you haven't seen the film but are in the mood to watch a hilarious and heart-warming comedy, I would highly recommend you check it out (and then come back for my commentary).
Opening credits to the sound of traffic- is there a more frustrating sound in the world?
The 'two days before Thanksgiving' title card is so dramatic- very Paul Greengrass.
I need an after-credits scene showing Neal's colleague (who catches the 8.00 pm flight) having a completely normal and uneventful journey home.
*David Attenborough voice* A wild Kevin Bacon appears, initiating a challenge with Steve Martin over the elusive NY cab.
It's hilarious that Del and Neal's fates are entwined throughout the film starting with this suitcase. The tagline for this film could be 'the first time is a tragedy, the second time is a farce, thrice is a...'
A briefcase was harmed in the making of this movie. RIP.
What is a noogie? AMERICA EXPLAIN!!
Neal sits in the waiting room across from Del: to update this scene to 2018 replace all the newspapers/magazines with phones because damn these extras are engrossed in their papers.
Shower curtain rings is a niche career- there is a Psycho joke to be made somewhere but I'll be damned if I knew what it was.
“Last thing I wanna be remembered as is an annoying blabber mouth”- and the brilliant thing about this movie is that Del isn't remembered that way because of John Candy's delightful performance.
Urghhhh people removing their shoes to reveal stinky socks makes me shudder every time.
'Like your work, love your wife’ - aww the first of many lines that makes this film retrospectively delightful.
Announcer in the airport: is that the "Bueller...Bueller...Bueller" teacher from Ferris Bueller's Day Off?!
I love Steve Martin's looks of silent, enraged disgust at Del- I relate to him so much.
This 'getting a motel room together' plan is giving me It Happened One Night vibes; if Clark Gable played Del this would be a very different movie though...
There's something about credit card mistaken swap plots that really enrages me- I think it reminds me of that Mr Bean sketch?
Neal taking a shower: dude, who puts soap on their face and eyes like that?
Hahahaha the realism of the bare feet on the wet floor and the tiny flannel is hilarious.
Is it just me or does Neal's wife look a lot like Natalie Portman in the shot where she watches TV?
Del loudly clears his sinuses: I can feel the rage building up inside of Neal every time I watch this scene.
I think movies nowadays would make this argument very one sided. Sure, the first time you watch it you're probably adamantly on Neal's side because Del is annoying as hell. However, Del makes some valid points, about getting the motel room in the first place, for example.
“Everything is not an anecdote…” this monologue is sooo brutal and whilst I love to quote it and laugh at Steve Martin’s delivery, John Candy’s expression is actually heartbreaking. It’s good to see this release of frustration after all the irritation Neal has been suppressing but you don’t feel as satisfied as you might have predicted- Del isn’t a bad guy, just a bit obnoxious. His vulnerability yet unresolving dignity here really endears him to us.
Side note: on Spotify, there is a track that remixes this line 'I can take anything' to the beat of the soundtrack...is that an 80's thing? I know Edgar Wright was inspired by this trend to do the 'Was he slow?' remix in 2017's Baby Driver.
‘My wife likes me…’ Del-1 Neal-0. Only John Candy could make us feel sympathetic towards him after taking his shoes off, using all the towels, clearing his sinuses, stealing a cab and everything else afterwards.
I love the dramatic music after 'those aren't pillows...'
How did Neal not see those disgusting ass socks in the sink? And then why didn't he remember that there were no towels left? Be on your guard, man.
This scene with Owen is one you don’t remember after maybe your first watch but gets funnier and funnier the more you rewatch it. It's their looks of silent disgust throughout the scene at Owen's weird noises and intense staring.
Fun fact: Steve Martin is apparently a bit of a hygiene freak so for one of the takes, the actor who plays Owen really did spit in his hand before the handshake- that’s why you can see him genuinely cringing in the shot for a brief second.
‘Her first baby come out sideways’ I love this scene partly because Neal and Del are united in their discomfort for a rare occasion in the film.
Well, you folks who came for the promise of planes and trains and automobiles should be satisfied- we have now seen all three.
Hahahahaha I love Neal’s initial enthusiastic singing and everyone looking at him like ‘what do you think you’re doing?’ It's like when you try and join in on a joke with a group of friends who know each other really well and fail miserably. It does, however, demonstrate that Del has a talent for winning people over, something that Neal could learn.
Okay, so this realisation of the rental car not being there and the treacherous walk to the help center, culminating in the famous swearing rant is LEGENDARY. He goes from coat, hat and suitcases to sodden feet, dirty coat and tie around his head and 110% done with life.
This help desk woman has the same energy as the ‘’corporate accounts payable, Nina speaking- just a moment" lady from Office Space.
It’s the combination of his expression and ‘gobble gobble’ that gets me laughing every time.
Well, filmmakers, you may as well delete the F- word from your scripts because its use here cannot be topped.
You know how you notice jokes that you didn't remember during your first or second watch? "Are you going to help me or are you going to stand there like a slab of meat with mittens?" HAHAHAHA I didn’t remember that bit of dialogue at all but damn the line delivery was on point. I feel like he needed this punch to get out of his current enraged headset and back into restrained, passive aggressive Neal.
Del playing with the car seat is giving me Mike’s New Car vibes- ya know, the Monsters Inc DVD extra? Anyone remember that? *Ferris Bueller's teacher voice* Anyone? Anyone?
Sometimes I think ‘you’re going the wrong way’ might be my favourite scene in the film, including the subsequent the-car-is-on-fire realisation.
‘Yeah, how would he know?’ hahahaha this is so funny because you can kind of see Neal's thinking here.
Hahahhaha I love that Neal can’t get the word ‘truck’ out, so relatable.
This Del-as-the-devil bit is so random- it reminds me of the absurd yet hilarious scene where aliens rescue Brian in Monty Python's Life of Brian.
I love the fact that the first you see of the fire is the slight orange glow on their backs, and then the turning of their heads one by one. Absolutely perfect.
Neal laughing at the fire- we've finally reached the 'farce' part of my suggested tagline...
The argument about the credit card happening in the foreground of the burning car is the peak of cinematography. Roger Deakins, you can go home.
Neal tries to pay the motel receptionist: HEYYY it’s Gennaro! Damn, Neal and Del, you guys need to pay up if he’s going to become a hot shot lawyer visiting dinosaur parks. (Though on second thought, given his ultimate fate, maybe don’t?)
‘Love is not a big enough word…’ this is such a feel-good movie, perfect for a holiday like Thanksgiving. Again, if this movie were made today, Del would be a hugely unlikable character but instead he’s tremendously irritating for a lot of the film but simultaneously breaks our hearts in scenes like this. Making Del likable whilst also being a terrible travel companion is what makes this film so rewatchable- it balances heart and humour tremendously well.
Their reactions to breaking the motel window- a pained ‘aww’ and a bemused ‘huh'- are amazing.
‘We had a small fire last night’ hahahahha... I also love the earnest response from Del when the cop asks if he believes the vehicle is safe to drive.
‘The radio still works’ has the same energy as 'air-conditioning is still fully operational' from the Nick Fury chase sequence in Winter Soldier.
The Keyser Sozer moment of comedy movies- ‘Marie’s been dead for 8 years’. So heartbreaking, but this story element gives such a huge heart to this already fantastic comedy and I think that’s what makes this such a beloved film, one that everyone keeps coming back to.
Neal helps Del with his suitcase several times throughout the film, more out of obligation than anything, but this time it’s heartfelt and you can really feel the friendship between the two men, however unlikely it may have been.
Thanks for reading this commentary- hopefully it convinced you to revisit the film, or even watch it for the first time (in which case you were probably confused as hell during this commentary). Wishing all American readers a Happy Thanksgiving!
I do not own any of the images or videos used in this post.