Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) – the winners and losers of the ’80s American dream

Many classic comedies lose impact and humour over time, with their humour firmly tied to a specific time and place. Yet Planes, Trains and Automobiles, like The Pink Panther Returns or Home Alone, remains as funny today as it was in 1987, thanks to its timeless humour and a message that carries even more weight now than it did on its release. Planes, Trains and Automobiles is available to rent or buy now.

Everyone has a go-to comedy that cheers them up when they feel down, gives hope when they feel hopeless, and makes them laugh when they need a hit of endorphins; for me, that comedy is the John Hughes classic Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Anyone who has commuted long distances for work understands the premise at the heart of Hughes’ movie; after all, the experience of strikes, delays and cancellations has impacted more than a few of us when all we want to do is get home.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles takes this premise and layers the comedy with discussions on work, home, happiness, and the balance between the three. Here, we have two characters who, for differing reasons, are nomadic. Neal Page (Steve Martin) is a successful businessman working in the ad industry, with his identity built around his job and income. Meanwhile, Del Griffith (John Candy) is a man who buys and sells whatever he can to maintain a meagre existence.

While Neal’s nomadic business life is driven by a need to provide for his family, Del’s isolation stems from grief he hasn’t fully processed. Planes, Trains and Automobiles dissects ’80s capitalism by opening up a debate on the winners and losers of the American dream and the thin line dividing them. Here, themes of home, family, partnership, loss and support are explored through an unlikely yet tender friendship of convenience.

For Neal Page, personal change comes through his realisation that family and friendship are far more important than work, while for Del Griffith, hope is born through an unlikely friendship that allows him to finally grieve for his late wife. Neal and Del find each other at just the right time, their turbulent, random meeting an unexpected new beginning for both.

These deep social undercurrents ensure Planes, Trains, and Automobiles offers us far more than beautifully timed comedy as it packs an unexpected emotional punch. John Hughes’s outstanding screenplay brings us a series of stunning, beautifully performed set pieces forever lodged in the memory, from a cheap motel room with one bed to a flaming-hot car journey and a rental-car-counter meltdown.

Many classic comedies lose impact and humour over time, with their humour firmly tied to a specific time and place. Yet Planes, Trains and Automobiles, like The Pink Panther Returns or Home Alone, remains as funny today as it was in 1987, thanks to its timeless humour and a message of care, compassion and togetherness that possibly carries even more weight now than it did on its release.