Thursday, November 24, 2011

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (Bonus Review)

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! And now, let's talk about not only one of my favorite holiday movies, but also one of my favorite comedies of all time: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Written and directed by the always great John Hughes, this quirky comedy is great for two reasons: Because it's funny as hell and because it really connects with its audience with its bizarre but still relatable situations. Which is pretty much what made all of John Hughes's movies great. The always hilarious Steve Martin is trying to get home to his family from a business trip in time for Thanksgiving. However, a nasty blizzard keeps his plane from landing in Chicago and now he has to travel across the country in only a few days. Doesn't seem too bad, until you take into account that he is an extremely uptight executive traveling with an annoyingly chatty salesman played by the always hilarious John Candy. With an equation like this (Hughes+Martin+Candy) how can anybody possibly turn it down? Candy and Martin are comedy legends and their talents really show in this movie. Much like National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, this is a movie that I don't get to watch all that often, but when I do, I laugh to the point of tears every time. And of course the cameo at the beginning of the movie from Kevin Bacon is clever and well thought out. And because it's Kevin Bacon, that only makes it better. Why? Because it's Kevin Bacon. I really don't need to go into much further detail.

This has to be one of my favorite comedies hands down. Few other movies can make me laugh so hard every time I watch it. If you haven't seen this one, I implore you to give it a watch. You will not regret it. Even if you haven't been on a road trip trying to get home in time for a holiday, you have at least been on a road trip, and you will probably find that you have been in a situation that is parodied in this movie. It may be kind of old school since it came out in the late 80's, but I think it still holds up.
Final Grade: A+
Yours truly,
MP
Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
P.S- Does anybody know the total amount of F-bombs that are dropped by Steve Martin in the car rental scene? I want to say it's around 20, but I can't be sure

1 comment: