Synopsis
Neal Page (Steve Martin) and Del Griffith (John Candy) are a businessman and traveling salesman forced together by circumstance as they try to get home in time for Thanksgiving.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles is considered to be one of John Hughes’ best films from the 80s (released in 1987). It contained all the wacky humor that Hughes’ is known for, and it also contained a very touching story of two strangers that are continually forced to travel together. That’s not unusual when it comes to John Hughes. The man did produce The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Some Kind of Wonderful and the forever classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Each film certainly had its balance of humor/seriousness. The difference is that he led those films with young actors. This time around he put together two older actors that drove the comedy and emotion.
The actors were essential to the story and absolutely had to be the perfect fit to make it all believable. If you wanted to believe that Neal was trying to get home to his family then you had to put a seasoned man in that role to make him believable as the tired father just wanting to go home. He had to respect the value of family. On the flip side, Del Griffith had to be outgoing and carefree. He had to understand how life worked and how to do what he needed to do to get through life. Young actors below the age of 35 could not have pulled these roles off.
With that said, the acting choices of those men, John Candy and Steve Martin, was perfect. From a distance you can say that those two were completely polar opposites, which might have been the attraction to their selection in the first place. Still, it’s nothing short of amazing that these two high-profiles actors at the very top of their careers would agree to co-star in the same comedy. I’m not sure how Hughes’ got them together (though, I’m almost positive that both actors are very well grounded), but the onscreen presence of them both really produced some strong humor and powerful moments. They each played their respective roles perfectly. I can see how Hughes’ was writing this film and imagining that Steve Martin and John Candy needed these parts. Martin, who had done really wacky material prior to this film like The Man with Two Brains and The Jerk, hadn’t really gotten a role that defined him as more than just ‘funny’. John Candy was the same way, as he had been the comedic guy who was good for stupid roles, but nothing quite riveting as this.
They both hit their comedic moments when they needed it, and they both will make you tear up by the end of the film. I watched my wife cry at the end of this movie, which is a perfect example about how good the actors are and how well written this movie was.
The brilliance of their performances, and of the film, can be credited to their gradual loss in happiness. The goal of the story is to get both guys home in time for Thanksgiving. The gold of the story is seeing how long their patience can last. Seeing the guys go from place to place, desperately trying to make it home, is one of the most heartbreaking, funny adventures one could hope for. What heightens the adventure is that both show how worn they are getting as they keep hitting roadblock after roadblock after roadblock. One of the funniest parts of the film is when Neal erupts into an ‘F-bomb’ barrage on actress Edie McClurg’s car rental agent. You know at this point that Martin’s Neal has reached his wit’s end, as his character had carried himself with the utmost amount of dignity and patience.
Again, brilliant performances that lead up to a great ending, and produce a brilliant film.
As for the Blu-ray, it was actually pretty good. The film, for the most part, looked clean and crisp in HD. There was a lot of color that stood out. Mostly blacks, whites, yellows, grays and blues thrived in this film. There are moments, mostly during cloudy days, where graininess does rear its head in the picture, but for the most part it was a clean transfer. You will regret seeing things like Del’s socks/underwear in HD, but you will appreciate the effort in the transfer. The audio is just as good as the video, and even better with the typically good John Hughes’ music.
As for the features, here’s what you’re looking at:
· John Hughes: Life Moves Pretty Fast (HD)—NEW!
o John Hughes: The Voice of a Generation
o Heartbreak and Triumph: The Legacy of John Hughes
· Getting There is Half the Fun: The Story of Planes, Trains And Automobiles
· John Hughes for Adults
· A Tribute to John Candy
· Deleted Scene—“Airplane Food” (HD)
The features are actually damn good. The deleted scene with the ‘airplane food’ is quite gross, but nonetheless funny. I can see why it was left out, but it’s still good. The featurettes and the Life Moves Pretty Fast HD segment are well done. All in all, you get some solid features for a $19.99 release.
