Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
89%RT Audience Score: 87%
Awards & Nominations: 1 nomination
Thanks to the impeccable chemistry between Steve Martin and John Candy, as well as a deft mix of humor and heart, Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a hilarious, heartfelt holiday classic.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles is the ultimate buddy comedy that will have you laughing until your sides hurt. Steve Martin and John Candy are the perfect odd couple, with Martin playing the uptight businessman and Candy as the lovable goofball. The mishaps and misadventures they encounter on their journey home for Thanksgiving will have you on the edge of your seat, wondering what could possibly go wrong next. This movie is a classic for a reason and is a must-watch for anyone who loves a good laugh.
Production Company(ies)
Warner Bros.,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Batavia, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1987
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 32m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 27, 1987 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 20, 2009
Genre(s)
Holiday/Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins, Michael McKean, Kevin Bacon, Dylan Baker, directed by John Hughes, written by John Hughes, holiday, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Joe Pollack, Duane Byrge, Marc Lee, Gavin Bainbridge, J.R Jones, Richard Schickel, Rene Jordan, Bill Chambers, Allison Rose, Carey-Ann Pawsey, Juan Carlos Coto, Matt Brunson, R rating, Thanksgiving, Chicago, Kansas, snowstorm, travel, road trip, buddy comedy, hilarious, heartfelt, chemistry, humor, heart, control freak,
Worldwide gross: $49,530,280
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $132,207,950
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 894
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 14,417,443
US/Canada gross: $49,530,280
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $132,207,950
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 574
US/Canada opening weekend: $7,009,482
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $18,709,954
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 695
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $15,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $40,038,523
Production budget ranking: 956
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $21,560,745
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $70,608,683
ROI to date (est.): 115%
ROI ranking: 883
John Candy – Del Griffith
Laila Robins – Susan Page
Michael McKean – State Trooper
Kevin Bacon – Taxi Racer
Dylan Baker – Owen
Director(s)
John Hughes
Writer(s)
John Hughes
Producer(s)
John Hughes
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (65) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (60) | Rotten (5)
As recent variations of an age-old movie genre go, it is fairly good, but somehow you hope for more from Steve Martin and John Candy.
April 20, 2022
Joe Pollack
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
Mainstream audiences should readily identify with the series of tribulations and woes that befall the Everyman Martin in this good-natured, albeit predictable comedy.
November 29, 2018
Duane Byrge
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
Planes,Trains and Automobiles is a very funny film.
December 24, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Marc Lee
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A warm, mature offering from Hughes, with Martin’s restraint a perfect counterpoint to Candy’s enormous (and enormously amusing) fooling around.
July 26, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
Gavin Bainbridge
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Pretty dispensable.
July 26, 2011
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
It is, of course, always a pleasure to watch Martin’s steam-gauge face register his rising internal pressures and to witness his exquisitely expressed blowoffs. But Candy offers even more insinuating delights.
November 21, 2008
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Where disaster after disaster can become tiring, they continue reinventing themselves up to an unexpected ending where, after so much laughter one ends up on the brink of tears. [Full review in Spanish]
July 5, 2022
Rene Jordan
El Nuevo Herald (Miami)
It’s difficult to imagine any of the filmmakers currently working in Hughes’s shadow going this extra mile, let alone being so inspired or audacious in the first place.
March 3, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central
Bringing two comedic geniuses, Martin and Candy, together on the big screen was a brilliant idea with obviously positive results.
December 2, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/5
Allison Rose
FlickDirect
Martin is the straight man with Candy sliding into the buffoon role. It is a situation of perfect casting and great chemistry.
November 28, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Carey-Ann Pawsey
Orca Sound
John Hughes, the master of adolescent angst, finally has grown up. Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a hilarious comedy without troubled teen-agers.
August 19, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Juan Carlos Coto
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Its expert blend of (mostly) comedy and (some) drama results in the most emotionally engaging of all John Hughes films.
February 26, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy…
Plot
All that Neal Page wants to do is to get home for Thanksgiving. His flight has been cancelled due to bad weather, so he decides on other means of transport. As well as bad luck, Neal is blessed with the presence of Del Griffith, shower curtain ring salesman and all-around blabbermouth who is never short of advice, conversation, bad jokes, or company. And when he decides that he is going the same direction as Neal….
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The dynamic between Steve Martin and John Candy is a near perfect comedy pairing.
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