I've always wondered why there never seem to be any movies focused on Thanksgiving. There's dozens of films about Halloween and likely even more about Christmas, but Thanksgiving seems to forever be the redheaded stepchild of the Autumn/Winter holiday trifecta. It's not as if it's a holiday with no potential for entertainment or storytelling; it's a time of the year that revolves around often chaotic family gatherings, absurd amounts of food, and the barbaric blood-rite known as Black Friday. Along with all of that, it's got a strong moral center of togetherness and thankfulness while not allying itself with any particular faith or religion. Thanksgiving is by all intents a perfectly marketable subject for a feature film, so one has to wonder why there are so few movies that take advantage of this. After having watched John Hughes' 1987 comedy, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, I can only guess it's because no one expects to top what is essentially the perfect thing to watch with the family once the turkey's been devoured.
Neil Page (Steve Martin) is an ad executive working in New York; it's two days before Thanksgiving and he's promised his wife and children that he'd be home in Chicago in time for the family dinner. After a streak of bad luck, Neil finds himself stranded in Wichita alongside Del Griffith (John Candy), a chatty traveling salesman. The two embark on a journey to be home in time for Thanksgiving (a journey that, as one would expect, involves planes, trains, AND automobiles) which quickly devolves into pure and utter chaos at every single opportunity. This is one of those films like Bringing Up Baby or National Lampoon's Vacation; every possible thing that can go wrong, does. Our protagonists are put through a comic gauntlet, where their simple holiday commute becomes more of a biblical trial, a voyage worthy of Odysseus himself. Just when things start looking up for Neil and Del, yet more punishment and misfortune is heaped upon them, testing both their will and their sanity.
This is the kind of film where the comedy is born from a deftly orchestrated relationship between our characters and the situations they find themselves in. The movie takes the time to set up the joke, let the scene play out, and then spring the punchline on us; we know the payoff is coming, but the execution is what catches the viewer off-guard and makes the film work. It's far from high-concept, but it runs like a well-oiled comedy machine, generating consistent laughs for essentially the entire runtime.
As well-written as it is, a buddy-comedy is only as strong as the dynamic between its two main characters. Thankfully, Martin and Candy work brilliantly off one another. At first glance, it appears to be your standard straight-man/funny-man setup, but the film goes for something a little deeper than that. The characters of Neil and Del are fleshed out more than one would expect, each one showcasing individual moments of brilliance and buffoonery. Neither of these characters ends up becoming a cartoon, so we still feel some sense of connection with both of them; we care about who they are and where they're going, despite their personal faults and failings. It's because we relate to them and want to see them succeed that the comedy works in a fantastically cringe-inducing sort of way. It's emotional slapstick; it's funny because it's not you, but it's endearing because it easily COULD be you.
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is one of those utterly timeless films that's definitely earned its reputation as a classic. No matter who you are, we've all felt that pressure of being late or delayed; this is a film that blatantly feeds off of those feelings and makes comedic gold out of our anxiety. John Candy and Steve Martin give some of the best performances of their careers, bouncing wildly quotable bits of dialog off one another in every hilarious, heartwarming, memorable scene. If you're burned-out on football and can't stand the thought of surfing through a sea of commercials hawking Black Friday deals and Christmas savings, then I highly recommend you gather the family around and pop this gem in for a watch. Like a good Thanksgiving dinner, there'll be smiles, laughter, and good feelings all around.
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