The original: 

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

 

Directed by: 

John Hughes (Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Uncle Buck)

 

Starring: 

Steve Martin, John Candy; with Laila Robins, Dylan Baker, Michael McKean, Edie McClurg, Larry Hankin, Charles Tyner, Susan Isaacs, Richard Herd, Olivia Burnette and Matthew Lawrence

 

Neal Page (Martin) is a simple businessman who has a simple want- to fly from New York to Chicago in time for Thanksgiving with his family.

 

When his plane is diverted, so is his life.

His path crossing with fellow traveler, shower curtain ring salesman extraordinaire Del Griffith (Candy), Neal moves from one travel-nightmare to the next-

Stolen wallets, fleecing cab drivers, drying his face on another man’s underwear, and sharing a bed with the handsy-snorer from hell.

 

We, the audience feel Neal’s pain; laughing while wincing, cringing and grimacing, as he is propelled on a journey of stress, headache, heartache, foot-ache and ball ache, with perhaps the most annoying travelling companion the world has ever known.

 

Writer/ Director Hughes has an eye for the little things- the small details and foibles on display from each situation as well as from Neal and Del themselves, and all those they meet along the way.

 

Martin plays the stressed-out and put-upon cynic to perfection, remaining likeable and relatable, even in his most selfish and hostile moments, while providing some solid gold, classic Steve Martin schtick.

 

It is however Del Griffith who remains the film’s secret weapon.  Hughes and Candy take who could and should have been a hand-wringer of a cretin and transform him into a loveable, vulnerable and immensely likeable guy, despite all of his social impositions and oblivious buffoonery.

 

Annoying, infuriating, at times seemingly wilfully manipulative, he remains immensely likeable and sympathetic.

 

As the mismatched pair continue on this odyssey of calamity, their bond becomes ever stronger as it endures and becomes one of the best screen-friendships film has ever created.

 

Like Del himself, the film’s strength lies in its heart- putting Neal through the wringer, yet leaving him and the viewer richer, fuller and all the better after the experience.

 

Although, next time? Spring for the double.

 

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Neal- “You’re no saint. You got a free cab, you got a free room, and someone who'll listen to your boring stories. I mean, didn't you notice on the plane when you started talking, eventually I started reading the vomit bag?”

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Del- “You wanna hurt me? Go right ahead if it makes you feel any better. I'm an easy target. Yeah, you're right, I talk too much. I also listen too much. I could be a cold-hearted cynic like you... but I don't like to hurt people's feelings. Well, you think what you want about me; I'm not changing. I like... I like me. My wife likes me. My customers like me. 'Cause I'm the real article. What you see is what you get.”

 

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Del- “You play with your balls a lot.”

Neal- “I do NOT play with my balls.

Del- “No. I'm simply stating a fact. That's all. You fidget with your nuts a lot.”

Neal- “You know what'd make me happy?”

Del- “Another couple of balls, and an extra set of fingers?”

​

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Neal- “…Those aren’t pillows!!!