Planes, Trains, and Automobiles #aysiastarr

Hughes, John. “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.” (1987)

Steve Martin (Neal Page) and John Candy (Del Griffin)

When time is against you, what would you do? It’s the day before Thanksgiving and you are miles away from home on a business trip in New York City. Your meeting runs late, and you have little time to spare before your flight leaves. You finally catch a cab and rush to the airport only to find that all flights are canceled for the evening. No one is going anywhere! The airport is full of angry, tired travelers with nowhere to go. You have called all of the hotels in the area and none have vacancies. What do you do now? Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a comedic movie starring Steve Martin and John Candy. Steve Martin plays a character named Neal Page, an advertising executive, who is desperately trying to get home to Chicago for the holiday. John Candy’s character, Del Griffin sic, is a loud-mouthed, but lovable salesperson who offers to help Neal find his way home. The trip is anything but a smooth ride. Del leads Neal on a cross-country, wild goose chase that keeps Neal from his home. It is every traveler’s nightmare. The movie focuses on two very different men with very different attitudes. Neal Page is quiet, reserved, and enjoys his privacy. He and his family live in the suburbs of Chicago [Shermer, Illinois]. Del Griffin, on the other hand, is loud, obnoxious, and loves to talk non-stop about nothing. His conversations never seem to have a point and only comes off as a distraction to Neal. The two have an uncanny adventure, starting in New York when Del “steals” Neal’s cab that he called and the two end up not only on the same flight, but sitting next to each other for the plane ride. Just as Page thinks that his strange and even more aggravating interactions have come to an end, Griffin seems to, somehow, swing back around because he doesn’t seem quite done with melting Page’s cold heart. The underlying themes of this story is what drew me in.  It exploits the kindness that people are capable of feeling even under the most difficult and extreme circumstances. It also exposes that we all have faults, weaknesses, and a general need for human compassion to survive. This is what makes the film one I’d rewatch and one would recommend for others to watch and rewatch as well. It covers an important lesson, one we can all learn from. We all aren’t “perfect,” or as perfect as we’d like to think we are. We also can’t survive in harsh circumstances without the help of another being that can help keep our spirits high. For this reason, I hope you will watch this movie.