A Look Back At......

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

With Thanksgiving here, I think it's appropriate to take a look back and revisit the classic Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. This movie is interesting for a number of reasons, not the least of it, its R rating for language. the funny part is is that without this one little scene, this movie could have easily passed for a PG-13 rating, if not a PG. I don't know what happened during production and editing, and honestly, I don't really care. Not knowing these things adds to the fun and magic of movies, but I like to imagine that someone might have considered cutting this scene to secure a lower rating, but if they had, it would have been a huge mistake. The fact that the rest of the movie was light only makes this one scene all the more shocking and hilarious! When I first saw it, I couldn't stop laughing! the lightness of the jokes does a lot to add to the humor in the movie throughout, a lesson that the creators of the disappointing 2010 knock off Due Date could have learned. while that movie boasted A-listers Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis and relied heavily on crude humor, essentially killing the emotion behind the heartfelt premise of a husband rushing to get home to see his first child born while having to deal with a lovable idiot. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles takes another approach to crudeness and vulgarity, holding it back for when it does appear, it is unexpected and funny, like the hotel room scene.
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles also works because it has the advantage of being in the hands of John Hughes, who not only makes this a great movie because of his talent as a filmmaker, but also because he makes use of casting. For instance, the before mentioned car rental scene. The rental agent agent has a very small role. Other than just sitting there and taking Steve Martin's rant calmly, she does very little with her under three minute screen time. But now I ask you, can you picture anyone else doing that scene? It was pure perfection. That part was played by Edie McClurg, and she had previously worked with Hughes in Ferris Beuler's Day Off, playing the principle's assistant. That was a much more expanded role, but clearly Hughes knew her well enough to know how to best utilize her talents.
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles works as a great film because it has all the elements to work as such. It has a perfect of blend of comedy, drama, and heart, coupled with the setting of Thanksgiving, a season synonymous with both hectic running to get things done, and spending time with one's family. It truly is an amazing film that embodies all of these elements. It is difficult to create the kind of chemistry that Candy and Martin share on screen. It is even more difficult to make a movie as entertaining as this one was with basically only two characters. Granted, it is not like a Robinson Crusoe story with zero supporting cast, but in general, what makes this movie work are the scenes with only the two main characters, and after watching it, I feel that these two actors under the directing hand of John Hughes could have easily made a two character story.Although in their own way, I think they already have.