Was 12 when this came out. Best Thanksgiving movie ever.
FC/OT: Happy 37th Birthday Planes, Trains, and Automobiles!
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While it is very funny, I always thought PT and A was a sad film in the end. One of Candy's best acting jobs.
I try to watch this every Thanksgiving eve. My kids aren’t as enamored with it as I am, but they have seen it several times.
I'll add that I put it up there w/ Steve Martin's (I had his albums, btw) best as well.
Yep. A signature film for Martin, Candy, and Hughes.
There's so many little moments that make that film great. The dude spitting the tobacco then wiping his mouth with his hand a split second before Martin goes in for the handshake... comic timing genius!
Martin flipping out when he finds out Candy rented the car with his missing credit card.
The sound cutting out when the steamer trunk flies off the back of the car.
Then there's this classic:
"He says we're going the wrong way."
"Oh, he's drunk! How would he know where we're going??"
"Yeah, how would he know?"
The happy ending is just a temporary happy ending though. That's what makes it sad, and what makes Candy's character endearing.
Where does time go? I was 20 when it came out. They filmed some of it up here in the Buffalo area.
Yes always a great movie. My kids love it.
that ending is brutal. Hughes always does that in the end. Home alone at the end when the kid comes to see his dad and he meets his grandkid with the music have your self a merry little Christmas comes on.
that ending is brutal. Hughes always does that in the end. Home alone at the end when the kid comes to see his dad and he meets his grandkid with the music have your self a merry little Christmas comes on.
I really, really need to make time to watch this tonight or tomorrow. I believe I got too busy last year and missed out. For shame.
I just watched it again. The part the gets me is Martin’s wife. Why is she so unemotional and cold?
Have you seen the movie with the deleted scenes?
In the original script, she’s convinced that Neal is cheating on her and invented Del as a cover story. There’s a whole set of scenes establishing this context that were later cut.
That’s why she is so relieved at the end to discover that Del is real. It signifies saving her marriage.
Ahhhh. That would make sense. I’ve always thought that wouldn’t be a personality I’d be running home to.
Deleted scenesAhhhh. That would make sense. I’ve always thought that wouldn’t be a personality I’d be running home to.
@MaconNitt and my favorite scene. We always throw out that line when driving back and forth to games and we see something amiss on the roadways. “You’re going the wrong way, you’re going to kill somebody”.
I probably saw them years ago but didn’t remember the situation. I’ve been watching it On Demand for multiple years and didn’t make that connection.
Watched it last night and as always, it’s thoroughly entertaining every time. John Candy was a real treasure, we lost him far too soon. I love his performance — both the moments of hilarious buffoonery and the times when he’s portraying a truly hurt and vulnerable character. The part where Steve Martin is completely ripping into him in the motel, Candy brings his eyes to the point where they look just shy of welling up with tears. He had great talent.
I looked on the guide today and do
Not see it anywhere. They should play that until 8pm
Not see it anywhere. They should play that until 8pm
Great movie. I actually had one of those things happen to me in Champaign Illinois. I rented a car from National just before they closed the counter. They gave me a key and told me the car was parked in space # 20. I get to the lot and no car was in space 20.
True.
Btw Candy was dynamite in serious roles. Was sad when he died - knew himself and the audience. Stole a scene from Costner in JFK which doesn’t happen often.
And also, by all accounts John Candy was a wonderful human being.
Roger Ebert wrote a fantastic series of essays on “Great Movies.” Most of the articles are on movies you’d expect — Godfather, 2001 A Space Odyssey, etc. But he also saw greatness of a kind in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.”
In particular, he cites John Candy’s performance as a key to the movie.
I’d recommend this essay to anyone who likes the movie, it really shows the depth of what on the surface probably doesn’t feel like a deep or “great” movie.
In particular, he cites John Candy’s performance as a key to the movie.
I’d recommend this essay to anyone who likes the movie, it really shows the depth of what on the surface probably doesn’t feel like a deep or “great” movie.
guess the link didn’t come through.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles movie review (1987) | Roger Ebert
It is perfectly cast and soundly constructed, and all else flows naturally. Steve Martin and John Candy don't play characters; they embody themselves.
www.rogerebert.com
Wow… thank you for sharing that.
And thank you… I totally forgot he was in JFK
Definitely… it was a Sixth Sense kind of moment, well before The Sixth Sense did it
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