Review of Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) by Bass 9 — 09 Oct 2013

John Hughes pretty much defined 80's cinema and for my generation, growing up with John Hughes films has introduced me to his key films at the perfect age. From Uncle Buck, Weird Science and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, there are some tremendous comedy moments and ample laughs to be had.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles is one of his greatest comedy outings with a lot more laughs per minute compared to his teen successes. This is mainly down to the genius pairing of Steve Martin and John Candy. They handle Hughes' already perfect screenplay with genius characterisation, both pulling some great interactions out of the bag. As they race to get home for Thanksgiving fate throws them together as disaster after disaster plagues their attempts to travel to Chicago. Through adversity they have to help each other out, whether they like it or not, to get to their destination.

One thing that has always impressed me with this film is, although hugely funny, it has a subtle underlying string of sadness and as more of our two characters stories are revealed it begins to carry an emotional weight that confirms its position as one of Hughes greatest films.