The John Hughes buddy comedy masterpiece Planes, Trains and Automobiles has landed a new streaming home, giving everyone a fresh opportunity to stream one of the funniest movies ever made. Starring John Candy opposite Steve Martin, the Thanksgiving classic is now streaming on Paramount+, part of a list of new arrivals that includes Catch Me If You Can, Saturday Night Fever, and Hughes’ own Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles tells the story of Neal Page, a businessman trying to get home to Chicago for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, his seemingly simple journey is constantly waylaid, and an annoying salesman-turned-travel companion named Del Griffith only makes things worse. Per the Rotten Tomatoes synopsis:
Easily excitable Neal Page (Steve Martin) is somewhat of a control freak. Trying to get home to Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with his wife (Laila Robins) and kids, his flight is rerouted to a distant city in Kansas because of a freak snowstorm, and his sanity begins to fray. Worse yet, he is forced to bunk up with talkative Del Griffith (John Candy), whom he finds extremely annoying. Together they must overcome the insanity of holiday travel to reach their intended destination.
Released during Hughes’ peak period, Planes, Trains and Automobiles marked a departure from the director’s usual teen dramedies. This was an R-rated comedy for adults — albeit one that didn’t shy away from less mature jokes and slapstick comedy. Despite this shift from Hughes’ usual storytelling style, the film proved very successful.
Released right before the Thanksgiving holiday of 1987, it grossed almost $50 million against a $15 million production budget. It was also acclaimed by critics, many of whom celebrated Hughes’ leap toward something different. To this day, the film holds a Certified Fresh label on Rotten Tomatoes, and has a 93% critics’ score. The audience score is slightly lower, at 87%.
‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’ Is the Best Thanksgiving Movie Ever Made
There may be no better film to watch during the holidays. Suffused with the spirit of the festivities and the development of one of cinema’s most beloved friendships amid chaos, it also benefits from the chemistry between Candy and Martin, both of whom deliver classic tragicomic performances.
Despite its controversial R rating, the film has aged well. The jokes still land, and it features its stars in their prime. As Roger Ebert wrote in his four-star review: “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.”
- Release Date
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November 25, 1987
- Runtime
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93minutes
