MovieRob’s Birthday Bash of Favorites 2020 (#3 of 47) – Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) – Encore Review 5

January is my birthday month, so I decided that I would try and do something quite unique and special for this milestone in my life. I will be turning 46, so I decided to watch 47 (46+1 for good luck) of my all time favorite movies in a random order over the course of this month. I have reviewed every one of these films already, but I will now give new perspectives on them all. Every one of these films received a 10/10 scoring from me.

Some of these reviews will contain spoilers so if you have never seen them before, I recommend that you read some of my previous reviews of the film that were spoiler free before reading on…

Hope you enjoy!

This is film #3 of the 47.

Let’s continue with Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1989)

“[peers his head in the elevator] You’ll never make the six.” – John

Initial Viewing Memories – Saw this film for the first time in the theater when I was 13 and have loved it ever since because it is hilarious the whole way through.

Number of Times Seen – Too numerous to count (Theater in ’87, cable, video, DVD, 10 Jun 2013, 25 Dec 2014, 19 Jul 2016, 27 Dec 2017, 18 Dec 2018 and 1 Jan 2020)

Link to original review – Here, Here, Here, Here and Here

Brief Synopsis – A business trying to get home for Thanksgiving meets up with an eccentric salesman and they decide to work together to get home as quickly as possible.

My Take on it – This is one of my favorite comedies and whenever I watch it, I once again get to see why.

The story and characters are molded so brilliantly by John Hughes who is able to make this such a memorable road trip trip.

The two characters are so diverse and manage to find a way to allow their differences to make this film so much fun to watch.

John Candy and Steve Martin are both perfectly cast in this film and both soar with these roles which have become so iconic over the 33 years since it came out.

This is a staple holiday film for me because it is able to capture the spirit of the holidays while not dwelling on it too much which allows for the story to go in some very funny directions.

The music is superbly set and helps enhance the story along the way.

The dialogue is perfectly written and these characters are brought to life by the voices that they show us which make them so relatable.

Both characters are great with verbal and physical comedy and that helps keep this film so much fun the whole way through because there is a constant back and forth between them that never gives up which helps develop them even more deeply as things move on.

What makes this film even better is the fact that in addition to all of the comedic moments, the film is able to pepper in some great dramatic scenes that add such a high amount of poignancy to the story which makes both these characters and the story even more endearing to the viewer.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – John Candy and Steve Martin’s favorite film of their own. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (10/10) (no change from original review)