John Hughes made his name with his teen-centric brat pack films. But after a few those he must have been ready for something new. Following Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Hughes came out with his first (and greatest) non-teen film, Planes, Trains & Automobiles.
Steve Martin and John Candy are in top form in this classic odd couple road trip.
Neal Page (Martin) is trying to get home from New York to Chicago for Thanksgiving. However, what should be a short plane ride turns into the trip from hell and everything that could go wrong does go wrong. Luckily he’s not stuck on this hellish trip alone. Del Griffith (Candy) travels along with him, whether Neal wants him along or not.
These two are about as different as can be and while Neal is a tightly wound guy, Del is a super relaxed, jovial fellow. At first Neal hates this Del, but slowly as the film goes on and their troubles get worse and worse, he starts to soften on the big lug.
That is what makes Planes, Trains And Automobiles so great. Yes, it’s funny and Martin and Candy are hilarious, but the relationship that builds between these two men is the driving heart of this film. With one film Hughes proved that he could write and direct stories about adults just as easily as he could about teenagers.
This is a classic comedy and tons of memorable lines and wonderfully hilarious and touching performances from Candy and Martin. It might not be one of Hughes teen comedies, but it’s a very hilarious film that showed that Hughes wasn’t just a one trick pony.
This film is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. This is one of those films that probably doesn’t need to be presented in Blu-ray, but it looks pretty good.
Getting There Is Half The Fun: (16 min.) A great behind the scenes look with some of a vintage interview with Hughes, Martin and Candy that is very funny. John Hughes: Life Moves Pretty Fast: (52 min.) A fantastic two part look at the work of John Hughes with a bunch of great interviews. John Hughes for Adults: (4 min.) More from that great interview with Martin, Candy and Hughes. A Tribute to John Candy: (3 min.) A great little tribute. Deleted Scene: (3 min.) A hilarious little scene. They should have kept it in the film.
Again, John Hughes delivered a classic comedy branching out from what he was known for. Steve Martin and John Candy give some of the funniest performances of their careers. If for some reason you haven’t seen Planes, Trains And Automobiles, you owe it to yourself to go out and see it now.
Paramount Pictures presents Planes, Trains & Automobiles. Written and Directed by: John Hughes. Starring: Steve Martin and John Candy. Running time: 92 min. Rating: R. Released: November 6, 2012. Available at Amazon.com.
