Dustin: As we start off, I feel it's important to note that John Candy has been dead for twelve years now.

DJ: Damn. RIP, Candy. Watching this movie, I remembered how much he is missed in the world of middling comedies starring people funnier than the material, which was a Candy staple.

Dustin: Absolutely. I'd say let's have a moment of silence, but that really doesn't play effectively on the internet.

DJ: Readers, stop reading for a moment and remember the funny mountain of a man that was John Candy...

...


Dustin: Do you think they actually did that? I hope they did.

DJ: I don't know. Our readers are a salty bunch.

Dustin: Okay, so in case you're reading this now and missed the giant blue headline at the top of the piece, we're talking about Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, a John Hughes film from 1987 that featured the amazing pairing of Steve Martin and the late John Candy, whom you have recently disrespected with your lack of silence.

DJ: This is a pretty harmless, fun little road movie with a mismatched pair and all sorts of hijinks. What would your quick synopsis of the movie read like, Dustin?

Dustin: Well, if I were imdb.com, I'd probably say something like "A man must struggle to travel home for Thanksgiving, with an obnoxious slob of a shower ring salesman his only companion." But I'm not, so I've got to quote it. I think that's probably cheating, but I'm not above that.

DJ: You're above little. I'm above less... So, I gather you'd seen this movie at some time in your sorted past before suggesting we do it for "Spoiler Warning," right?

Dustin: Heck yeah... this is one of those flicks that spent a great deal of time in weekend rotation on UHF stations. I generally stopped whenever I saw it on. Seeing it on DVD did have an unexpected side effect, though -- I'd never really realized how edited for television it was. It gets pretty profane in a few places.

DJ: Dude, it has the word "fuck" 18 times in Steve Martin's 60 second rant at the car rental place with the principal's secretary from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Fucking awesome. That scene was legendary with me and my friends when we rented it on VHS back in the fabled "day."

Dustin: Yeah, that's the one... I never had any idea of what was really there from watching the TV version. It was an impressive shock. So I'm suspecting that you haven't really seen this movie with the frequency that I have. How'd you feel about it?

DJ: Well, as a kid I kinda liked it, especially that scene. Some of my friends love the damn thing. Me? Well, it's got it's moments, but there's that 80s cheese with more John Hughes cheese mixed in. I feel like, while there are some funny moments, there are too many that fall flat and too much dead space. It's just that kind of movie, though. I can see how people at the time would find it hilarious.

Dustin: “At the time?” Man, you really ARE cold and dead inside. I thought that was MY role. This movie is still funny, it has a good a solid (if goofy) emotional heart in John Candy's portrayal of Del Griffith, and I'd say the film possibly has found renewed relevance in this day and age of arduous travel circumstances. I wonder if I've somehow just compared John Candy to terrorism. I don't think that works.

DJ: No, it doesn't. Well, Candy terrorizes, but he means well, unlike terrorists… Okay, I mean, it has it's funny moments, but a lot of the time, I was laughing at it-- the music and style haven’t aged well in my humble opinion. The just silly parts ("Those aren't pillows!" and underwear face towel) are a good time, but it was just too obvious overall. Steve Martin's character was too much of a douche bag. I know he was in a hurry to get from NY to Chicago for Thanksgiving or whatever, but he was too rude to Candy. How could he not be amused by the guy? By the same token, Candy's character was a little more annoying than he needed to be. It was just a little cheesy and over-the-top. Having said all that, it's definitely not without its laughs and is worth a look see.

Dustin: Ha, I totally disagree. I can seriously identify with Steve Martin's portrayal of Neal Page in this (and really, Martin does such a beautiful job of playing the straight man). Granted, he's certainly cold to Candy in the beginning, but that's just setting up the basis for his behavior. Once he's got some genuine interaction with Candy's character, he's just as likely to show some tolerance and compassion (even if just for the sake of being polite) as he is to completely lose his shit.

DJ: I guess. I just thought it was too much a lot of the time, and it’s the same with Candy's character, Del. This is as perfect a chance as any to tell you that you've always kind of reminded me of Steve Martin. Not this character. Steve Martin, the man.

Dustin: Really? I take that as a compliment -- he's one of my favorite comedians.

DJ: You kind of look like him... maybe in the eyes. I don't know.

Dustin: I've never really pinned down who you remind me of. It's certainly not John Candy, although you can absolutely eat like him.

DJ: Dude, maybe give me a few years. I'm on my way. Thinking about having a burrito when we wrap this up, actually. Oh, and I got a perm and grew a mustache. So it might not be as far off as you think.

Dustin: The other thing that I'd never really noticed about this film before is that it really is an exemplar of how some directors like to cast the same people that they have great relationships with. John Hughes certainly has a "family" when you compare his casting in this with other works. And there are so many that I'd just completely missed when I was younger, like the Kevin Bacon cameo in the beginning of the film.

DJ: Yup, plus Ferris Bueller's dad as Neal's business partner and the aforementioned secretary. He had a bit of a rotating team back in the day. And wasn't the music in the Bacon cameo awesome? Also read a bit of trivia that he was basically the same guy he played in She's Having A Baby that came out a year later, and it's actually playing on the TV when Candy and Martin are at the motel. Dude! More examples of how Kevin Smith is to his own admittance influenced by Hughes. Shared universe, recurring actors and characters, etc. Wacky.

Dustin: Hey, yeah... that's a great point. And you know, I think that maybe you remind me of Kevin Smith, actually. Sorry to jump back on that, but I've been thinking it about now. Well, maybe you've got Kevin Smith's personality in Ben Affleck's body. If Ben Affleck were slightly more doughy.

DJ: I think "slightly" is a nice way of putting it. Lantern jaw, at least. And I’m kind of a lunk head.

Dustin: Possibly, you may be the unknown love child of Kevin Smith and Ben Affleck, which is probably more possible than anyone wants to admit.

DJ: There is a chance I was birthed from Smith's womb (oddly, I assume he has one)... when he was 7 or something… But, back to Smith and Hughes, I think maybe I'm just a generation late with Hughes. Like I'm a fan once removed by being a bigger fan of Smith.

Dustin: The Hughes/Smith comparison is really interesting... although I'd say that a John Hughes influence is probably most evident specifically in Mallrats, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and there certainly a similarity of "treacle factor" with Jersey Girl.

DJ: Yeah. How did the heartstring tugging with Candy's Del and his wife and all that work for you?

Dustin: It's a little belabored, but as I said before I think it still works. He doesn't hit you over the head with it too badly, in my opinion. For all of his weak moments, I think John Hughes as a writer is generally more effective than ham-fisted when it comes to the emotional stuff. It's certainly not what he writes best, but he pulls it out better than a lot of others could. Okay, final wrap-up time: it's been so long since we've tried to use our three-way rating system, I'm pretty sure that it doesn't work any more. So let's just follow in the footsteps of the great critics and give it something out of five somethings.

DJ: I'd give it... 2.5 somethings out of 5 somethings. There's a lot of cheese and corn, but it is fun, and teaming Martin with Candy can't help but result in some comic gold.

Dustin: Okay, I may just be a sucker for one of the better pieces of the era, but I'm going with four out of five somethings. Just something about it that I can identify with, which means that it's working.

DJ: Ya' old softy.

Dustin: This coming from the slightly doughy love child of Smith and Affleck.