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Planes, Trains and Automobiles

A sharp, heartfelt road comedy that turns travel misery into one of the great odd-couple movies. It’s funny in big bursts, but what lingers is the warmth, sadness, and genuine affection between two very different men.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Where to watch: Buy

Movie · Comedy

Thu · 1h 32m

Director: John Hughes

Starring: Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins

Overview

An irritable marketing executive, Neal Page, is heading home to Chicago for Thanksgiving when a number of delays force him to travel with a well meaning but overbearing shower curtain ring salesman, Del Griffith.

Director

John Hughes

Cast

Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins

Curator Review

Verdict

A sharp, heartfelt road comedy that turns travel misery into one of the great odd-couple movies. It’s funny in big bursts, but what lingers is the warmth, sadness, and genuine affection between two very different men.

Best for

  • fans of character-driven comedies
  • viewers who like holiday movies with real emotion
  • people who enjoy mismatched-buddy chemistry
  • audiences looking for a classic 1980s studio comedy

Skip if

  • you want nonstop jokes without sentiment
  • you dislike broad physical comedy and profanity
  • you prefer modern pacing over episodic road-trip structure

Overview

Planes, Trains and Automobiles is one of the rare comedies that keeps getting funnier because it keeps getting kinder. The setup is simple and almost cruel: a tightly wound businessman is trapped with a relentlessly chatty salesman on a Thanksgiving trip from hell. But the movie keeps finding new shades in that mismatch, letting irritation, embarrassment, and loneliness build into something unexpectedly moving.

Worth noting

Steve Martin plays exasperation like a symphony, while John Candy gives Del a huge, open-hearted presence that never feels merely cute. The film’s best scenes are comic set pieces, but the reason they land is that Hughes understands how humiliating travel can be and how quickly strangers can become necessary companions. It’s a messy, human movie in the best way.

Bottom line

What makes it endure is the balance: the jokes are hard-edged, the emotions are sincere, and the ending earns its warmth. It’s a Thanksgiving staple for a reason, but it also works as a reminder that great studio comedy can be both abrasive and deeply compassionate.

Top Letterboxd reviews

Rachel Rhodes (5★) · 3140 likes

That shot of John Candy as the devil 👨‍🍳💋

Den_of_geeks (3.5★) · 2769 likes

I love how they contained every single f bomb to one scene lol

DirkH (5★) · 2325 likes

I really hate this film..... BECAUSE EVERY TIME I SEE IT, IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY AND THEN I WANT TO DANCE, BOOGIE WOOGIE, DO SOMERSAULTS AND BACKFLIPS, POP AND LOCK AND EVEN A TWIRL AND A FAME JUMP OR TWO BUT I CAN'T BECAUSE I'M BUILT LIKE AN ELEPHANT AND HAVE THE MOTOR SKILLS OF A PREGNANT HIPPO!!!! And I really, really miss John Candy....

vi (3.5★) · 1899 likes

"what do you think the temperature is?" "one."

oleff (4.5★) · 1389 likes

“where’s your other hand” “in between two pillows” “oh. okay :)”

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Themes

odd-couple friendship, holiday travel chaos, loneliness and connection, class and temperament clash, male vulnerability, road-trip misadventure, family and homecoming, comic humiliation

Topics

buddy comedy, road trip, Thanksgiving, 1980s comedy, heartfelt, physical comedy, travel chaos, odd-couple, sentimental, studio comedy

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