Monday, September 27, 2021

Planes, Trains and Automobiles Review












Planes, Trains and Automobiles


Release Date: 26th December 1987 - Australia


Production Companies
Paramount Pictures (presents)
Hughes Entertainment

Distribution
Paramount Pictures Australia


Genre: Comedy

Rating: M

Runtime: 92 minutes


Budget: $30,000,000

Box Office Gross: $49,752,241 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
He is advertising executive Neal Page, trying to get home to Chicago to spend a day with his family for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately for him, his flight gets rerouted to Wichita.
There, he bumps into a
talkative yet loveable
salesman named Del Griffith.
Together, they undertake
a cross-country trip that
includes various modes of
transportation, hilarious
disasters, and unforgettable
rental car shenanigans.


Cast
Steve Martin - Neal Page
John Candy - Del Griffith
Lalia Robins - Susan Page
Michael McKean - State Trooper
Kevin Bacon - Taxi Racer
Dylan Baker - Owen
Carol Bruce - Joy
Olivia Burnette - Marti
Diana Douglas - Peg
Martin Ferrero - Second Motel
Clerk
Larry Hankin - Doobie
Richard Herd - Walt
Susan Kellermann - Waitress
Matthew Lawrence - Little Neal
Edie McClurg - Car Rental Agent
George Petrie - Martin
Gary Riley - Motor Thief
Charles Tyner - Gus
Susan Isaacs - Marie
Lulie Newcomb - Owen's Wife
John Randolph Jones - Cab Dispatcher
Nick Wyman - New York Lawyer
Gaetano Lisi - Cab Driver - New York
Bill Erwin - Man on Plane
Ruth de Sosa - New York Ticket Agent
Ben Stein - Wichita Airport Representative

Crew
Writer/Producer/Director - John Hughes
Associate Producer/Second Unit Director -
William H. Brown
Executive Producer - Michael Clinich
Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -
Neil Machlis
Casting Directors - Janet Hirshenson
and Jane Jenkins
Production Designer - John W. Corso
Art Director - Harold Michelson
Set Decorators - Jane Bogart and
Linda Spheeris
Costume Designer - April Ferry
Makeup Designer: John Candy - Ben Nye III
Director of Photography - Don Peterman
Location Coordinator: New York -
Lydia Dean Pilcher
First Assistant Director - Mark Radcliffe
Second Assistant Director - Arthur Anderson
First Assistant Director: Second Unit -
Richard Graves
First Assistant Director: Second Unit,
Chicago - James Giovannetti Jr.
Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -
Bernie E. Dobbins
Special Effects - William Aldridge,
Stan Parks and Ken Speed (Uncredited)
Editor - Paul Hirsch
Additional Editors - Adam Bernardi,
Andrew London and Peck Prior
Supervising Sound Editors - Lon Bender
and Wylie Stateman
Re-Recording Mixers - David E. Campbell,
John T. Reitz and Gregg Rudloff
Foley Artists - Dean Drabin, Gary A. Hecker
and Alicia Stevenson
Music - Ira Newborn
Composers: Additional Score - Brian Banks
and Anthony Marinelli
Music Supervisor - Tarquin Gotch


Review
After years of making teen comedies, filmmaker John Hughes breaks out of the sub-genre to make the buddy/road comedy PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES. It was hilarious and groundbreaking but often dramatic as the film is about a mismatched pair who wind up getting through the worst of a bad situation in the middle of a holiday. Sure, there are times when the movie has funny moments that make us laugh, such as the iconic "Those Aren't Pillows!". There are heartfelt scenes that occasionally pop up in a comedy like this and give a balance.

Steve Martin and John Candy were terrific and had fantastic chemistry, but they were the best. It's a shame they never got around to working again in another movie that is almost as good, heartfelt and hilarious as PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES when Candy met his untimely death in 1994. I enjoyed the soundtrack, which is remarkable. It has songs I didn't even know existed.

I appreciate how the late John Hughes is willing to shift from producing movies aimed at teens like Weird Science, The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off to comedies like PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES and Home Alone. It was his best work, and nothing could compare this film to those made in modern times. I highly recommend it to fans of the filmmaker and even those who liked Steve Martin and the late John Candy.

Star rating: (10/10) Best Movie Ever

No comments:

Post a Comment