Post by Heineken Skywalker on Nov 25, 2005 12:14:03 GMT -5
Hmm... I've noticed a shortage of reviews of comedies in "Review Hell". Maybe it's the word "Hell" that throws people off and makes them assume that it's a horror movie review section?
Whatever the reason, let's take a little break from the gore and bloodshed to discuss one of my all-time favorite comedies.
PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES has become a Thanksgiving Day tradition around my house. Along with the turkey, mashed potatoes & cranberry sauce, we always watch PT&A. In my opinion, the quintessential Thanksgiving Day movie.
Neal Page (Steve Martin), an ad exec, is trying to get home to his family for Thanksgiving, but due to bad weather, flight cancellations and all around general bad luck, he ends up seeking different modes of transportation, hence the title, and ends up with an unwanted travel companion, Del Griffith (John Candy), a shower curtain ring salesman and overbearing loudmouth.
What really sets PT&A apart from the typical comedy, is that writer/director, John Hughes, (THE BREAKFAST CLUB, FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF) has not only created a movie with laugh out loud hysterical moments, but also with some of the most touching & sensitive moments to be found in a comedy.
One of the highlights of both, is a scene set in a motel room where Neal, finally at his wit's end, explodes at Del, and proceeds to hurl insults at him, targeting his meandering pointless stories, and his seeming incapability to distinguish between entertaining anecdotes and just plain boring conversation. As the audience, we're laughing because the dialogue/insults are truly funny, at one point Neal even compares Del to a Chatty Cathy doll with a pull string on his chest that Del keeps pulling so he can never shut up, but then the scene takes a turn. After Neal stops the insults and we stop laughing, we see the hurt
and crushed look on Del's face and he proceeds to rebuttle. Now, a lesser comedy would've just had Del attack Neal with his own list of insults to see who can top the other, but this movie is quite a bit smarter than that. Del just calmly admits that he's an easy target and that everything Neal said is probably true, but he's okay with that because he's happy with himself and who he is. And in the end it doesn't really matter if you please everyone as long as you can go to sleep at night in your own skin. Neal pretty much feels like crap by the end of the scene and as the audience we feel bad for having laughed at Neal's insults.
I don't want to make it sound like this is just a sappy "feel good" film. The highlights are definitely the really funny moments. The guys unknowingly driving the wrong way down a freeway into oncoming traffic, is up there with some of the funniest scenes ever put on film.
So is the scene where they wake up one morning in the same bed snuggling.
And let's not forget Neal exploding at the rental car lady behind the counter and his creative use of the word, "fuck". Funny, funny stuff.
I also have to comment on the two leads Steve Martin & John Candy. Martin gives one of his best performances as the put-upon Neal. He's a nice guy who just wants to get home, but everything seems to be working against him. It's no wonder he "snaps" a few times over the course of the movie. Who wouldn't? As funny as some of his lines and reactions are, he's basically the straight man to the late great Candy, who gave his all-time best performance here. He's not just a one-dimensional, fat big mouth. True, some of his reactions and lines of dialogue are the stuff that classic comedy are made of, but he's also the heart and soul of the movie. We've got a smart script, two legendary comedic actors at their prime and what has become, a timeless comedy that just gets better with each viewing. A must see.
9/10
