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The greatest Thanksgiving movie of all time

Sbbruin

By Sbbruin
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YGIFS

YGIFS 19458

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So every damn year, it only occurs to me to find the movie a few days before our T-Day travels start.  And when it's time, it's always $15 and I can't find it on permanent download DVD but I somehow scrum and find it.  So last night, I found it on some free APP on our TV called "Freevee."  The ads are only a handful and :20 long but it does this goofy ass thing where if you pause it to piss or whatever, it always re-starts when they get off the stalled train in Missouri.  But it's going again.  girls and wife are in Forth Worth, I can't head up until Tuesday night or Wednesday morning so as per usual this movie rings all too true.  

But like I've waxed in years past...it's not Neal's evolution.  He's sent to Del by his late wife to set him on a different path.  I think all the bad shit that happens to Neal isn't just meant to make him grow, it's meant to drive him back via divine intervention, back to Del to help him on his own journey of life.    I just noticed this year for the first time, maybe ever, Del refers to his wife in the present tense...we all know that "My wife likes me"...but I just noticed he refers to himself with regard to his domestic life...in the past tense.  Other than still being a traveling salesman, he died (figuratively) when Marie died.  He only comes back to life when he sees Neal's domestic life in person and realizes there's still more time and more love.   

Also, the new cut is out this week.  Supposedly a few funny scenes and as probably discussed above, delves a little more into the side plot where Neal's wife thinks he's prolonging his trip due to an affair.  You can pick up on it during their phone conversation around Wichita.  Obviously the version we love goes a different way.  And I think Hughes cut it all, not just for time and comedic chemistry, but because he saw what we now see...it wasn't about Neal's arc...it was about the dying wish of Marie...for Del.  

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Texzilla58

Texzilla58 4793

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“Those aren’t pillows!”

“She’s tough. Had a baby sideways and she didn’t scream or nothin”.

One of my favorite movies. It hit home for me because I back when I travelled for work there were so many issues like these. In the electronics biz one makes several trips to New Jersey and SoCal in November and December to meet with all the vendors. My boss for a number of years scheduled us for meetings in New Jersey thanksgiving week. We’d have meetings until Wednesday afternoon, rush to Newark for the last flight back to DFW. Boss would hop out, say goodbye and go meet his wife flying in so they could spend thanksgiving weekend at the Plaza in NYC. We had to rush to make the plane, to get home at midnight and face angry wives. Sometimes delayed for hours. The worst was always if the cowboys were playing the giants on thanksgiving and being stuck with a bunch of drunk ass fans.

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YGIFS

YGIFS 19458

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It's not a Subway, it's an Elevated Train...or the EL...if you will.

I just realized this 35 years later.  My dad took me to see this movie at the theater on his weekly Wednesday night visit.  It was written into the divorce agreement.  And this was the last Thanksgiving we ever spent as a "family."  They had separated two years earlier and would finalize their divorce the following year.  I would see Dad and his parents/siblings years later for the holiday.  But 35 years ago when this movie came out, this was the last time I was with my mom and dad and sisters (brother was with his mom) for Thanksgiving.  And every year, I spend time and effort trying to find the movie again.  And it's a pain in the ass, but somehow I always find it.  And most years with kids, they go to see my wife's family either in Fort Worth or Kansas and every year I have some pain-in-the-ass trip to go see them.  It's like my own little movie in real time.  And every year I think of my Dad who died soon after Thanksgiving, 17 years ago.  And how much we loved Steve Martin (whom he physically looked like) and John Candy.  And how I can't wait to introduce my girls to these actors and this movie one day.  And how we don't stop enough to give Thanks.  

At the bare minimum, may we all grow old with someone we love.  And may our children be surrounded by that love.  Happy Thanksgiving you roving pack of cunts. 

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Elvis

Elvis 3437

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I had never seen Planes, Tranes, and Automobiles before, maybe just some clips.  Based on this thread and your recommendations, I bought it on Apple TV last night for $10.  

I want my money back.  The movie was not funny.  I don't think there was a single joke.  Steve Martin being annoyed for an hour and a half does not make a good movie.  

I had high hopes based on Hughes other hilarious movies.

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YGIFS

YGIFS 19458

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You are dead inside.  I do not know you.  I am not a physician.  But you are a walking, talking, breathing...corpse.  

It is not the funniest movie.  It is not the most heart-warming movie.  But it is a rare combo of the two and endures 35 years later.  

I make it a point to not remember posters on this site.  I'm sure we are all quite different in real life.  But to not find a single joke in this movie?  What the fuck is your benchmark for humor?  

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billfromlaketravis

billfromlaketravis 11826

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7 hours ago, Elvis said:

I had never seen Planes, Tranes, and Automobiles before, maybe just some clips.  Based on this thread and your recommendations, I bought it on Apple TV last night for $10.  

I want my money back.  The movie was not funny.  I don't think there was a single joke.  Steve Martin being annoyed for an hour and a half does not make a good movie.  

I had high hopes based on Hughes other hilarious movies.

You're not entirely wrong. It's more of a dramedy to be sure. The scene in the hotel room with close ups on John Candy's face while Steve Martin berates him couldn't ever be intended to be funny. 

I laughed at the following scenes : 

- Steve Martin drying himself with a washcloth because all the towels are on the floor. Anybody that has split a hotel room with a woman understands this. 

- The rental car desk scene. 

- The taxi cab stand scene. 

- The entire sequence from the Mess Around scene to the rental car fire scene. 

 

And that's it. It's not a laugh out loud funny movie. It's a subtle comedy within a budding bromance. 

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South Austin

South Austin 53231

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8 hours ago, Elvis said:

I had never seen Planes, Tranes, and Automobiles before, maybe just some clips.  Based on this thread and your recommendations, I bought it on Apple TV last night for $10.  

I want my money back.  The movie was not funny.  I don't think there was a single joke.  Steve Martin being annoyed for an hour and a half does not make a good movie.  

I had high hopes based on Hughes other hilarious movies.

 

26 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

You're not entirely wrong. It's more of a dramedy to be sure. The scene in the hotel room with close ups on John Candy's face while Steve Martin berates him couldn't ever be intended to be funny. 

I laughed at the following scenes : 

- Steve Martin drying himself with a washcloth because all the towels are on the floor. Anybody that has split a hotel room with a woman understands this. 

- The rental car desk scene. 

- The taxi cab stand scene. 

- The entire sequence from the Mess Around scene to the rental car fire scene. 

 

And that's it. It's not a laugh out loud funny movie. It's a subtle comedy within a budding bromance. 

Oh yeah, well the jerk store called . . . 

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bschoolprof

bschoolprof 6344

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7 minutes ago, McCroskey said:

Classic wives and the stupid shit they say: "I don't understand what Wichita has to do with a snowstorm in Chicago.  What's going on, Neal?"

In the original script, there was a backstory where his wife thought he was having an affair and the whole trip delay was just a cover for that. That's why she's so accusatory in her tone. They cut it for time though.  

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billfromlaketravis

billfromlaketravis 11826

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22 minutes ago, bschoolprof said:

In the original script, there was a backstory where his wife thought he was having an affair and the whole trip delay was just a cover for that. That's why she's so accusatory in her tone. They cut it for time though.  

So every phone call with every wife ever. No backstory needed. 

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Damor

Damor 1246

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Just finished our yearly family screening.  I'm one of those people who's awful about watching my favorite movies over and over, but this one gets limited to a single annual showing.

And this is more for the homebrew thread, but tapped this at the opening scene:

PXL_20221124_014921276_2.thumb.jpg.2e0722242c2ebdc7008e97b4f303cbad.jpg

"To the wives."

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Texzilla58

Texzilla58 4793

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You're not entirely wrong. It's more of a dramedy to be sure. The scene in the hotel room with close ups on John Candy's face while Steve Martin berates him couldn't ever be intended to be funny. 
I laughed at the following scenes : 
- Steve Martin drying himself with a washcloth because all the towels are on the floor. Anybody that has split a hotel room with a woman understands this. 
- The rental car desk scene. 
- The taxi cab stand scene. 
- The entire sequence from the Mess Around scene to the rental car fire scene. 
 
And that's it. It's not a laugh out loud funny movie. It's a subtle comedy within a budding bromance. 

The whole trip to the people train instead of the hog train is funny.
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ztejas

ztejas 44233

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Of course there are serious scenes but the whole movie is funny. It's peak John Candy playing off of Steve Martin as the straight guy. They could read the phone book to each other and it would be funny. I'm sorry some of you are either miserable or have a terrible sense of humor. 

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 46173

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On 11/23/2022 at 10:21 AM, Elvis said:

I had never seen Planes, Tranes, and Automobiles before, maybe just some clips.  Based on this thread and your recommendations, I bought it on Apple TV last night for $10.  

I want my money back.  The movie was not funny.  I don't think there was a single joke.  Steve Martin being annoyed for an hour and a half does not make a good movie.  

I had high hopes based on Hughes other hilarious movies.

What the hell is your problem?  You insensitive asshole!

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Post Oak

Post Oak 20570

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On 11/23/2022 at 10:21 AM, Elvis said:

I had never seen Planes, Tranes, and Automobiles before, maybe just some clips.  Based on this thread and your recommendations, I bought it on Apple TV last night for $10.  

I want my money back.  The movie was not funny.  I don't think there was a single joke.  Steve Martin being annoyed for an hour and a half does not make a good movie.  

I had high hopes based on Hughes other hilarious movies.

kid-flipping.gif 

 

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safe sex

safe sex 12027

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Roger Ebert wrote a wonderful review of it in 2000, here.

Quote

"Planes, Trains and Automobiles" is founded on the essential natures of its actors. It is perfectly cast and soundly constructed, and all else flows naturally. Steve Martin and John Candy don't play characters; they embody themselves. That's why the comedy, which begins securely planted in the twin genres of the road movie and the buddy picture, is able to reveal so much heart and truth.

Some movies are obviously great. Others gradually thrust their greatness upon us. When "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" was released in 1987, I enjoyed it immensely, gave it a favorable review and moved on. But the movie continued to live in my memory. Like certain other popular entertainments ("It's a Wonderful Life," "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial," "Casablanca") it not only contained a universal theme, but also matched it with the right actors and story, so that it shrugged off the other movies of its kind and stood above them in a kind of perfection. This is the only movie our family watches as a custom, most every Thanksgiving.

The story is familiar. Steve Martin plays Neal, a Chicago advertising man, sleek in impeccable blues and grays, smooth-shaven, recently barbered, reeking of self-confidence, prosperity and anal-retentiveness. John Candy plays Del, a traveling salesman from Chicago who sells shower curtain rings ("the best in the world"). He is very tall, very large, and covered in layers of mismatched shirts, sweaters, vests, sport coats and parkas. His bristly little mustache looks like it was stuck on crooked just before his entrance; his bow tie is also askew.

Both of these men are in Manhattan two days before Thanksgiving, and both want to get home for the holidays. Fate joins their destinies. Together they will endure every indignity that modern travel can inflict on its victims. What will torture them even more is being trapped in each other's company. Del wants only to please. Neal wants only to be left alone.

John Hughes, who wrote, directed and produced the film, is one of the most prolific filmmakers of the last 25 years. He is not often cited for greatness, although some of his titles, like "The Breakfast Club," "Weird Science," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "Home Alone," have fervent admirers. What can be said for him is that he usually produces a real story about people he has clear ideas about; his many teenage comedies, for example, are miles more inventive than the recent sex-and-prom sagas. The buried story engine of "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" is not slowly growing friendship or odd-couple hostility (devices a lesser film might have employed), but empathy. It is about understanding how the other guy feels.

Del, we feel, was born with empathy. He instinctively identifies with Neal's problems. He is genuinely sorry to learn he stole his cab. He is quick to offer help when their flight is diverted to Wichita, Kan., and there are no hotel rooms available. Neal, on the other hand, depends on his credit cards and self-reliance. He wants to make his own plans, book his own room, rent his own car. He spends the movie trying to peel off from Del, and failing; Del spends the movie having his feelings hurt and then coming through for Neal anyway.

The movie could have been a shouting match like the unfortunate "The Odd Couple II" (1998). Hughes is more subtle. The key early scene takes place in the Wichita motel room they have to share, when Neal explodes, telling Del his jokes stink, his stories are not interesting and he would rather sit through an insurance seminar than listen to any more of the fat man's pointless anecdotes. Look at Candy's face fall. He shows Del as a man hurt and saddened--and not for the first time. Later he remembers how the most important person in his life once told him he was too eager to please, and shouldn't always try so hard.

At this point, Del wins our hearts, and the movie is set up as more than a comedy. But a comedy it is. Not one movie a year contributes a catchphrase to the language. We remember Jack Nicholson ordering the toast. "If you build it, they will come." "E.T., phone home." "I'm walkin' here!" "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." "Are you talking to me?"

And we remember the scene where Del and Neal wake up cuddled together in the cramped motel bed, and Neal asks Del where his hand is, and Del said it's between some pillows, and Neal says, "Those aren't pillows," and the two men bolt out of bed in terror, and Neal shouts, "You see that Bears game last week?" and Del cries, "What a game! What a game! Bears gonna go all the way!" This is not homophobia but the natural reaction of two men raised to be shy and distant around other men--to fear misunderstood intimacy.

The other great comic set piece in the movie is responsible for its R rating; nothing else in the movie would qualify for other than PG-13. This is Neal's verbal symphony for the f-word, performed by the desperate man after a rental-car bus strands him three miles from the terminal without a car. He has to walk back through the snow and mud, crossing runways, falling down embankments, until he finally faces a chirpy rental agent (Edie McClurg) who is chatting on the phone about the need for tiny marshmallows in the ambrosia. When she sweetly asks Neal if he is disturbed, he unleashes a speech in which the adjectival form of the f-word supplies the prelude to every noun, including itself, and is additionally used as punctuation. When he finishes, the clerk has a two-word answer that supplies one of the great moments in movie dialogue.

Neal is uneasy around ordinary people and in unstructured situations. His mind is organized like a Day-Timer. He's lived in a cocoon of affluence and lacks a common touch. Consider the scene on the bus where Del suggests a sing-along, and Neal, awkwardly trying to be a good sport, begins "Three Coins in a Fountain" (and doesn't know the words). His fellow passengers look at him like he's crazy. Del saves the moment with a boisterous rendition of a song everybody except Neal knows: "Meet the Flintstones!"

The last scenes of the movie carry the emotional payoff we have been half-awaiting all along. For Neal, they reflect a kind of moral rebirth such as Scrooge experiences in another great holiday tale: He has learned his lesson, and will no longer judge people by their appearances, or by his own selfish standards. There is true poignancy in the scene where Neal finds Del waiting alone on the L platform.

One night a few years after "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" was released, I came upon John Candy (1950-1994) sitting all by himself in a hotel bar in New York, smoking and drinking, and we talked for a while. We were going to be on the same TV show the next day. He was depressed. People loved him, but he didn't seem to know that, or it wasn't enough. He was a sweet guy and nobody had a word to say against him, but he was down on himself. All he wanted to do was make people laugh, but sometimes he tried too hard, and he hated himself for doing that in some of his movies. I thought of Del. There is so much truth in the role that it transforms the whole movie. Hughes knew it, and captured it again in "Only the Lonely" (1991). And Steve Martin knew it, and played straight to it.

The movies that last, the ones we return to, don't always have lofty themes or Byzantine complexities. Sometimes they last because they are arrows straight to the heart. When Neal unleashes that tirade in the motel room and Del's face saddens, he says, "Oh. I see." It is a moment that not only defines Del's life, but is a turning point in Neal's, because he also is a lonely soul, and too well organized to know it. Strange, how much poignancy creeps into this comedy, and only becomes stronger while we're laughing.

 

 

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