Planes, Trains and Automobiles — Review

Director: John Hughes | Year: 1987 | Starring: Steve Martin, John Candy

There are funny movies, and then there are movies that make you laugh until you cry — and then just make you cry. Planes, Trains and Automobiles is firmly in the second category, and after nearly four decades, it remains one of the most perfectly crafted buddy comedies in cinematic history.

The Setup

Neal Page (Steve Martin) is a high-strung marketing executive desperately trying to get home to Chicago in time for Thanksgiving. Through a series of increasingly maddening misfortunes, he ends up stuck traveling with Del Griffith (John Candy) — a shower curtain ring salesman who is everything Neal is not: loud, messy, optimistic, and obliviously cheerful.

What follows is a cross-country disaster of missed flights, broken-down cars, burned motel rooms, and wrong-way drives on the highway. Every setback is funnier than the last.

Why the Chemistry Works

Steve Martin and John Candy are exceptional individually, but together they're something rare. Martin plays irritation and exasperation with surgical precision, while Candy gives Del a warmth that's impossible to dislike — even when he's being insufferable. The famous "those aren't pillows" scene is comedy gold, but it's the quieter moments between them that make the film extraordinary.

The Emotional Sucker Punch

John Hughes — best known for teen comedies like Ferris Bueller's Day Off — does something brave with this film. He lets the comedy breathe just long enough that when the emotional third act arrives, you're completely unprepared. The revelation about Del's life is genuinely moving and reframes everything you've watched in the best possible way.

"You wanna hurt me? Go right ahead if it makes you feel any better. I'm an easy target." — Del Griffith

Strengths

  • Perfectly calibrated comedic timing from both leads
  • A genuinely surprising and earned emotional finale
  • Sharp, quotable script from Hughes
  • John Candy gives a career-best performance

Minor Weaknesses

  • Some of the supporting characters feel underdeveloped
  • The pacing in the middle stretch occasionally drags

Final Verdict

Planes, Trains and Automobiles is essential viewing — not just as a buddy comedy, but as a film about loneliness, generosity, and what it means to be a good person. It's funny when it needs to be, and heartbreaking when it earns it. A genuine classic.

Rating: 9/10