Review of Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) by K L — 09 May 2012

This film is no surprise coming from the director of FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF. The two films operate with very much the same type of drama and characters, and often with the same gags: New York taxis, and cars backing out of/into a building. But what really makes the two films look like one is how American they are; "American", in not a very good sense of the word. They can be sometimes really funny, (although it never gets even close to Steve Martin's own stand-up shows) and it sometimes gets so cheesy that I can't take it anymore. Same thing with the music. It gives the opening taxi sequence an amazing energy and in a few other places, but I really wanted the director to just lay off sometimes, and not melo the whole thing up.

Interviewees in the supplement material call John Hughes a genius, for how funny he is and how fast he writes. It IS amazing that he could write a script like this in a week, but what good is that if it isn't any good? Most of Hughes' jokes are very corny. And it is not a matter of time either, for my favorite comedians are Buster Keaton and Marx Brothers.