Holiday Classic: ‘Planes, Trains & Automobiles’

I’ll cut right to the chase: Planes, Trains & Automobiles is the best comedy of the last 25 years. That’s right, I’m taking about the 1986 comedy--set during the Thanksgiving holiday--which stars Steve Martin and John Candy and doesn’t even appear on the AFI’s list of “The 100 Funniest American Films.”

For those smirking at the notion of PTA’s undisputed brilliance, you can start by wiping that dumb-ass smile off your rosy f---ing cheeks, to paraphrase Martin in one of the film’s many memorable scenes. And at least reading this article won’t be as bad as having a rental car company leave you in the middle of f----ing nowhere with f---ing keys to a f---ing car that isn't f---ing there. But I digress …

All right, so maybe Planes Trains isn’t THE best comedy of the last quarter-century, but it certainly belongs in the conversation. Planes doesn’t have the artsiness of The Royal Tenenbaums, the sophistication of Sideways, the deadpan wit of Fletch or the satirical zaniness of Zoolander--all standout comedies in my humble opinion. But what it lacks in these areas it makes up for in pitch-perfect chemistry between the two legendary lead funnymen and a top-notch comedic director at the height of his prowess.

Martin and Candy play the classically mismatched odd couple, with Martin a stick-up-his-arse businessman trying to find his way home from a work trip while a snowstorm blows through the Midwest. On the flip side, Candy is the crude, obnoxious salesman heading in the same direction. Fate brings them together, and the result is comic nirvana as the two bumble through a series of travel-related misadventures that provide Martin the opportunity to deliver a host of biting one-liners in the face of Candy’s boorish antics.

Meanwhile, director John Hughes is operating at a creative peak, fresh off the delightful Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which came on the heels of other gems such as The Breakfast Club. In one memorable scene, Martin and Candy arrive at their hotel room. The camera, positioned from their POV, starts at the bed and scrolls slowly across the room before returning abruptly to the tiny twin bed, which the two will be sharing that night (hilarity ensues, of course).

Hughes also nails the tone-setting opening scene, which features a uber-cool cameo by Kevin Bacon as an icy businessman racing through a crowded city street for the same cab as Martin. Great stuff.

Like many comedies, Planes Trains comes to a warmhearted climax. In this case, as with many other humor classics, it earns the sentiment by neatly tucking some sly character development and a budding friendship amidst the nonstop laughs. And when I say laughs, I mean gut busters of every variety, from the slapstick to the sharply observed.

So this holiday season, consider following in my family’s footsteps (and many others, I’m sure), and make a viewing of Planes, Trains & Automobiles part of your seasonal fun.

Sample classic scene: