With the observance of the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States a little more than two weeks away, we are nostalgic for getting back home to spend time with family. The John Hughes movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) feeds into this with a touch of drama and comedy.
The movie opens with advertising executive Neal Page, as portrayed by Steve Martin, looking to get back to his home in Chicago, Illinois from a business trip to New York City, New York. The act of getting out of the city and on his way back home is foiled by a series of experiences beyond his control. The annoying and comedic value of the delays inform Page’s outlook, which feels a bit bemusing to the character.
The incidents that placed Page in the initial foul mood intensified when the movie told us that there was but the single goal of getting home for the holiday. With the loss of good humor on the way to the airport relented to an increasing level of misadventure, the introduction of a jolly and Del Griffith intercepting Page’s mood first on the street outside a hotel. Later at JFK airport, the delight expanded into the expansion of a tale that saw Griffith, as portrayed by John Candy, traveling with Page.
The story has Neal and Del coming and going from one another’s paths, with air travel being a difficulty in getting to Chicago. A train ride to St. Louis, Missouri reunites and separates the pair, with that mode of transportation letting the pair down in their travels. Rental cars, testy interactions with the obstacles of reliable travel, and the pair is traveling again. Getting to a lowly state as the pair drives back east from St. Louis to Chicago by automobile, Del and Neal encounter a state trooper portrayed by Michael McKean.
As disaster had struck the pair, with news of Neal’s responsibilities for that disaster having just been revealed, a legitimate question for how much can one man endure to get home for a holiday becomes the clear dramatic and comedic question. The serious question for whether Neal gets home to his wife, Susan Page as portrayed by Laila Robins. The movie does end on a happier note, with much of the shenanigans of the previous travels laid behind the travelers.
I found the movie humorous and lighthearted, despite the subject matter clearly aiming for a test where the boundaries for social limits should be drawn. As a movie clearly aiming for comedy with some mild drama mixed in, I found entertainment and happiness. Thus, I rate Planes, Trains and Automobiles as written and directed by John Hughes 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.
Matt – Wednesday, November 9, 2022
Matt Lynn Digital 
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