Hello, and welcome to another exciting edition of forgotten favorites! For those of you who don’t know, this is a weekly segment where I dust off films and shows that you might have let slink away from the synapses of your brain into the dark realm of you memory warehouse.
This week, I am remembering a film that is one of my all time favorite comedies, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is comedic tale by director/writer John Hughes. The film is aboutĀ Neal Page, played by Steve Martin, a high-strung marketing executive who meets Del Griffith, played by John Candy, an overly optimistic, very talkative and clumsy shower curtain ring salesman who seems to live in a world with his own set of rules.
At the beginning of the film, Neal is on a business trip in New York; he has to hop aboard a plane to Chicago to have Thanksgiving with his family. That is, until he stumbles on a large piece of luggage and gets into a fight with a lawyer. As he is arguing over who gets the cab, Del hops in the cab and rides away.
Neal and Del’s paths cross yet again as they are placed next to each other on the plane to Chicago, which gets grounded because of a severe snow storm blowing over most of the Northeast. If your detective skills are good, you can guess what mode of transportation they get next. That’s right, a train! Good for you for getting there.
The movie is full of laugh-out-loud comedy by the brilliant combination of Martin’s dry sarcastic humor and Candy’s bubbly sweet chuckles, which mix together quite well.
The film may sound familiar to you. That’s because the 2010 film, Due Date, starring Robert Downey Jr and Zach Galifianakis was heavily influenced by this film. Both of which are quite hilarious, but Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is special because it has that Hughes charm that no other director has quite captured yet.
While this movie is quite hilarious, it also has sweet moments that will make you go ‘Aww’ and some scenes that will pull the barrier down on your tear dam.
If you haven’t seen this movie I highly urge you to go out and watch it. After all, what better time to watch a Thanksgiving comedy than near Thanksgiving?
There you have it, my choice for this weeks Forgotten Favorite! Be sure to keep an eye open for more coming your way next week!
