His bristly little mustache looks like it was stuck on crooked just before his entrance his bow tie is also askew.īoth of these men are in Manhattan two days before Thanksgiving, and both want to get home for the holidays. He is very tall, very large, and covered in layers of mismatched shirts, sweaters, vests, sport coats and parkas. John Candy plays Del, a traveling salesman from Chicago who sells shower curtain rings ('the best in the world').

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. This is the only movie our family watches as a custom, most every Thanksgiving. 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. Like certain other popular entertainments (' It's a Wonderful Life,' ' E.T. But the movie continued to live in my memory. When 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' was released in 1987, I enjoyed it immensely, gave it a favorable review and moved on.

Others gradually thrust their greatness upon us. 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.

Steve Martin and John Candy don't play characters they embody themselves. It is perfectly cast and soundly constructed, and all else flows naturally. 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' is founded on the essential natures of its actors.

Star trooper try not to laugh