Planes, Trains and Automobiles

    Planes, Trains and Automobiles
    1987

    Synopsis

    An irritable marketing executive, Neal Page, is heading home to Chicago for Thanksgiving when a number of delays force him to travel with a well meaning but overbearing shower curtain ring salesman, Del Griffith.

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    Cast

    • Steve MartinNeal Page
    • John CandyDel Griffith
    • Laila RobinsSusan Page
    • Michael McKeanState Trooper
    • Dylan BakerOwen
    • Kevin BaconTaxi Racer
    • Olivia BurnetteMarti Page
    • Carol BruceJoy Page
    • Diana DouglasPeg
    • Martin FerreroMotel Clerk

    Recommendations

    • 100

      Chicago Sun-Times

      It is perfectly cast and soundly constructed, and all else flows naturally. Steve Martin and John Candy don't play characters; they embody themselves.
    • 100

      Rolling Stone

      Planes, Trains and Automobiles is the ultimate Thanksgiving film: John Hughes understood that it's all about the buildup. No matter if your journey is filled with near-death experiences, cars going up in flames, punches to the face and other disasters – getting to enjoy Thanksgiving with family and friends make the odyssey worth it. Everything else is just turkey.
    • 83

      The A.V. Club

      I feel like we catch a brief glimpse here of an amazing filmmaker who never quite existed.
    • 80

      The Hollywood Reporter

      Hughes' savvy notwithstanding, the appeal of Planes is due to Martin and Candy's comically controlled, ever-ingratiating performances.
    • 80

      The Telegraph

      With its deft blend of hilarity and humanity, Planes, Trains and Automobiles is Hughes' most satisfying work.
    • 80

      Empire

      A warm, mature offering from Hughes, with Martin's restraint a perfect counterpoint to Candy's enormous (and enormously amusing) fooling around. You'll find sympathy here, but just as many calamitous antics as you'd expect in any Hughes vehicle.
    • 75

      ReelViews

      Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is one of those rare movies that manages to mingle outrageous comedy and light drama in such a way that we aren't repulsed or offended by its simplicity and occasional mawkishness. It's a fine cinematic treat that doesn't demand much from a viewer, but gives back a lot, both in terms of laughter and good feeling.
    • 70

      Time Out London

      A couple of overgrown brats seems an appropriate focus for John The Breakfast Club Hughes first adult movie, but if his direction is slick, his script lacks wit and perception. Essentially, it's the stars' keenly observed nuances of character that make this comedy amiable enough.

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    • aykroyd