Comedy as white bread, easily the worst out of John Hughes' 3 classic films. It's an uninspired story with a dynamic between the main characters we've seen a million times before, and their arc is executed in the most predictable way imaginable. The comedy leans heavily towards the cheesy side; just way too many dumb, obvious moments that really missed the mark for me. Steve Martin lays it on way too thick, which is also one of the reasons why I could never get into _Only Murders in the Building_. John Candy, on the other hand, is quite decent and got a few laughs out of me. Still, I find most of its choices too middlebrow and lame, as is often the case with mainstream comedies. It's like Hughes falls victim here to some of the things he omitted so well from previous outings. Even his filmmaking is quite weak; the interesting punctuation in the camerawork and editing from _Ferris Bueller_ is nowhere to be found here, and the use of score/music is maybe the worst thing about the movie. If you want to look at movies that are way too eager to guide the viewer emotionally at every turn, this is one of the worst offenders when it comes to that. There's just not a lot about this that I can praise, though it's far from the worst thing I've seen. Ah well, maybe I should try this again in a few decades to see the charm in it. Shouldn't be impossible as I'll probably have everything erased from my memory in a few days.

3.5/10

Johny Candy and Steve Martin portray an _Odd Couple_ road trip of sorts in this big-hearted family comedy from the pen of John Hughes. Once their paths have fatefully crossed, the short-tempered clean freak (Martin) just can't escape the orbit of the jovial, oafish shower curtain salesman (Candy) as they pound parallel paths to reach Chicago in time for a nice Thanksgiving meal with family. Along the way, the pair will argue, explode, split up, reconvene, make nice, hit a billion roadblocks and, as the title implies, constantly trade modes of transportation.

It's a great script, with more substance than most comedies (Hughes has always been so good at weaving real emotion in amongst the silly gags and punchlines), and the twin stars on the masthead are a wonderful pairing, perfectly capable of nailing the humor while unearthing those deeper riches. They're supported by an outstanding cast of quick-hit cameo players as the winding road bounces them all around the midwest - a cavalcade of "oh, (s)he's in this too?" - not to mention a mountain of classic quotes and situations. The two pillows, the airport tirade, the accidental convertible, the moment Martin finally figures out Candy's story; once you've seen them, they'll stick with you. A genuine, long-term holiday favorite.

How about those Bears?

Planes, Trains and Automobiles is written, produced and directed by John Hughes. It stars Steve Martin and John Candy. Music is by Ira Newborn and cinematography by Donald Peterman.

Marketing man Neal Page (Martin) is in a last ditch dash to get from New York to Chicago in time for the family Thanksgiving dinner. Unfortunately obstacles halt his every advancement, the biggest of which is the man who fate has decreed is his companion for the trip; Del Griffith (Candy), a larger than life shower ring salesman whose outlook on life is considerably different to Neal's.

If you haven't seen it yet? Then what is your excuse? You owe it to yourself to let this wonderful film into your life. John Hughes pitches two of America's then biggest comedy stars together and puts them on a trip where everything that can go wrong, does! Cue chaos with the methods of transport in the title. Yet as funny as the mishaps are, and they are, with a number of events being things many of us can associate with, they would be nothing without the expert characterisations. Both as performed by a never better Martin and Candy, but also as written by Hughes.

Neal Page is anal retentive, snobbish and cynicism in a suit, Del Griffith appears oafish, over talkative and comes bedecked in cheapo winter wear. As time, options and sanity start to ebb away, desperation takes a hold and a surprising co-dependency starts to form. Something that beautifully sets us up for a finale that is as touching as it is genuinely surprising. It has mature comedy characterisations for the grown ups and chaotic actions for the younger crowd. Perfect and it should be prescribed at least once a year for a pick me up. 9/10

Entertaining 1987 flick from John Hughes.

'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' is an enjoyable watch, pure and simple. The pairing of Steve Martin and John Candy is a great one, with both holding their own and bringing a lot of humour to events. Away from those two, you also have interesting bit part roles for Kevin Bacon and Michael McKean.

The plot is one that could've got repetitive, but the film keeps it interesting for the whole 93 minutes. I will say, not that it's an all that noteworthy thing, that it has more (overly?) dramatic moments than I was anticipating, especially at the end. I was expecting a flat-out comedy, but the additional heart fits in well enough.

It's a film 100% worth watching, if only for the humour of the two leads; there are some funny gags in there.