Well, it's that time of year again, for my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving for so many reasons, but having family around and enjoying a meal together has always been my favorite part. This year we're hosting again and my parents and my in-laws will be with us and I can't wait. I love cooking a massive feast and then enjoying food and conversation as one. For a lot of people out there though, including my family, attending Thanksgiving requires travelling. Whether it by air, track, road, or water, which is exactly what out subject today is about. Two men, strangers to each other who are travelling home from New York to Chicago for the holiday and who end up joined on an odyssey to be with their families. Starring two comedic legends this is a holiday classic that has a bit of everything, just like a Thanksgiving dinner table.
So if you're like me and you enjoy film and the impact and emotions they convey, then grab a glass of tour prederred liquid and join me for the next little while. For me, that's a glass of Buffalo Trace from our friends at the Buffao Trace Distillery in Kentucky. So sit back, relax, and let's talk about the love of film. Welcome to Glazed Cinema.
Our film begins in a board room where a overlooking city skyscrapers as an indecisive man looks over oversized lipstick ads. Across from him, sitting in silence are a group of people watching him do this, wondering which ad he'll choose. One of the men looks down at his airline ticket in impatience and annoyance. The ticket reads 6:00, Chicago. When he is able to finally leave the board room without a decision from the man behind the desk he begins racing for the curbside to catch a cab. We exit outside and into downtown New York City as work is letting out. Racing outside he stands on the curb attempting to hail a cab. When one arrives he is distracted just long enough for a man in a blue coat to steal it. Running after it with briefcase and ticket in hand he finally catches up to it at a light. Opening the door he meets eyes with the culprit and yells at him before the yellow car speeds away. He is understandably a bit tense, feeling wronged from his altercation, hurried, and worried he might miss his plane. Afterall, like him a lot of people are heading to the airport, trying to make it home in time to be with thier families on Thanksgiving.
Walking through a crowded airport terminal he glances at an analog clock as 5:57 turns to 5:58. With two minutes to spare he reaches the gate in anticipation of boarding a plane only to see a sign be put up on his gate number. There next to his flight number and under the name of his home city reads Delayed. Phoning home he breaks the news to his wife, stating he should be home by 10:00 at the latest. While sitting down to wait he realizes that sitting across from him, reading a book is the man who stole his cab. The man's name is Del and he too is on his way home to Chicago for Thanksgiving with his family. Unbenownst to the two, this kismet meeting jumpstarts a united odyssey as the two unlikely companions travel together to get home to Chicago.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a holiday classic that on the surface is about making it home for Thanksgiving, but has so much more to say below the surface. It's a comedy sure to impress, starring two comedic icons and directed by a man drawing upon life experience.
John Hughes wrote and directed our subject today, which he created after an experience much like what unfurls in the film. Travelling for a presentation led to cancellations and detours that led to a days long journey to get home. Hughes, using his experience as inspiration wrote the script in a weekend and decided to direct it himself. When the script was finished Hughes had written over one hundred fifty pages, which is a pretty hefty script. He then pitched it to two actors he thought would be perfect in the two lead roles.
In the role of the uptight, reserved, and stressed Neal Page is Steve Martin. Martin was a well-known actor who had already starred in several roles including Navin Johnson in The Jerk. In this effort he plays Neal, who is in the marketing industry. Neal is in Chicago on business, which we see a glimpse of earlier on in the movie and wants to get back to his family, which includes his wife, three kids, his parents and in-laws.
In the role of the easy going, talkative, and well meaning Del Griffith is John Candy. Candy, had also been in previous films, but this was one of his first starring roles in a major moion-picture. Candy was well known at the time for his humor, smile, and kindness, gaining popularity after his iconic stint at SCTV. Here he plays Del, who is in the shower curtain ring business who is trying to get home to see his wife.
Directing them both is legendary writer, director, and quintessential voice of the eighties, John Hughes. Chances are high that if you don't know Hughes by name, you'll know his movies. Whether its those he wrote like Christmas Vacation and Home Alone or those he directed like Ferris Beuller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club, or one of our previous episodes, Uncle Buck. Hughes films always have a healthy ratio of laughter, heart, and room for ad-libbing for the actors. Planes, Trains and Automobiles shares all three of those things in strides. Hughes loved to allow actors creative room to play with dialogue and ad-lib while on set, often times creating wonderfully fitting dialogue. In fact some of the greatest lines in the film were ad-libbed including the famous line, "Those aren't pillows".
Planes, Trains and Automobiles was shot on location in various places including New York City, Chicaog, and interestngly enough, Buffalo. They used Buffalo to film certain outdoor scenes that required snow since at the time Chicago didn't have enough to satisfy filming. Smart chice to use Buffalo as well. As a native of upstate New York I can vouch for the amount of snow Buffalo gets, at times making National news. Due to the climate and challenges of shooting on location Hughes opted to film in one take to speed the process up. This however led to more challenges as Candy and Martin ad-libbed scenes, which led to the necessity of more takes. Eventually the two leads agreed that they would stop ad-libbing while filming outdoor scenes to help make things easier on the crew and speed things along.
This movie is a classic comedy and so many people know and love this film. Whenever I talk to people about this film I always love to hear which scenes are their favorites, why, and hear them recount the scene. That's a mark of a great film if people speak of it so highly and reenact scenes they love. I too have a few favorite scenes in the movie, afteral there's a lot of greeat material to choose from. Between them sharing a motel room, Del jabbering on the plane as they wait to takeoff, so many great moments.
My favorite scene though is after Del and Neal rent a car to hit the road together. To provide Neal the chance to rest a bit Del gets behind the wheel to continue driving toward Chicago. Getting onto the interstate late at night they travel down an empty three-lane of a six-lane highway road. While driving a car becomes even with them but on the opposite three lanes. The car honks, yelling over to them, trying to get their attention. Del honks back, mocking them, thinking they want to race, whihc weakes up a sleeping Neal. Gesturing to roll the window down Neal abliges and hears them say they're going the wrong way. Turnign to Del he repeats back what they said, to which Del brilliantly says, "Ah, he's drunk, how would he know where we're going?" Neal, stunned agrees, nodding his head, and repeats, "Yeah, how would he know?" Smiling Neal patronizingly waves back and says "Thank you, thanks a lot...terrific" in a flippant tone. Del also says thank you, honking as a sign off before saying, "What a moron". The two cars continue to verbally spar until Neal looks to the road side and finally understands what's going on only to look up as two tractor trailer headlights approach toward them from the left and right lanes. I won't spoil what happens next, cuz it's pretty great, but that back and forth between Neal and Del and the two cars is comedy gold in my opinion. I chose a moment from that scene as the hint for this episode as an ode to that scene.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles was made for fifteen million dollars and had to be cut quite a bit to make the finished product we know and love today. When it was released it was a big hit, garnering a forty-five million dollar box office. Audiences raved about the chemistry of Candy and Martin and the greatness of the film. It's inspired several comedians to begin their careers in comedy and is among the most revered comedies of all-time.
The three together, Hughes, Martin, and Candy make terrific movie magic. The wonderful thing about Planes, Trains and Automobiles is that it's so much more than a comedy movie. There's a lot of emotion here that delves into the very meaning of the holiday it's centered around. It tackles looking at how we treat others, the importance of family, and to be thankful for what and who we have in life. It creates a heart-warming experience that audiences have enjoyed around Thanksgiving for years.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because of family. Being surrounded by those I love, who I care for and who care for me is the best thing about Thanksgiving. It's about embracing those around you, welcoming them with open arms, and celebrating what makes us thankful. The food is good too and I love to cook, but at the heart of it, it's about love and care, just like this movie. So if you're looking for something to watch to celebrate Thanksgiving then look no further than this comedic gem. It's got heart, laughs, and character to make your holiday all the more special.
If you'd like to watch Planes Trains and Automobiles for yourself you can find it on a myriad of streaaming services. At the time of this recording you can find it on Pluto TV. Pluto TV is a streaming service with a wide varierty of offerings and the best part is it's completely free to enjoy.
You can also find it on Paramount Plus. Paramount Plus is a streaming service from Paramount Pictures and includes TV Shows and of course a ton of great movies released by the legendary movie studio. Paramount Plus is available for either $5.99 per month for Essentials or with Showtime for $11.99 per month.
You can also find on Showtime. Showtime is a streaming service offering sports, TV Shows, and movies for $11.99 per month. You can also watch it if you have a Showtime add-on with services like Hulu, Prime Video, or FuboTV.
Lastly, you can also watch Planes Trains and Automobiles on services including Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, Prime Video, and Redbox for $3.99 to rent.
If you like this podcast, tell your friends and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Each week there will be new content including hints about episdoes befkre they air. If you'd like to learn more about the podcast visit our website at glazedcinema.com. There you'll find info about the show and a place to submit ideas for future episodes. For film fans who arr hearing impaired the blog page on our website features each episode in written form as well. That's a wrap on Season Three. I can't believe that this time has come already, but here we are. I hope you enjoyed this season of the podcast and I look forward to seeing you again in early 2024 with new episodes in Season Four. As always, thanks for listening and I hope to see you next time with another beverage and another fine film on Glazed Cinema.
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