X
- 1987
- R
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 33 m
- 1987
- R
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 33 m
Summary A man must struggle to travel home for Thanksgiving with an obnoxious slob of a shower curtain ring salesman as his only companion.
Directed By: John Hughes
Written By: John Hughes
- 1987
- R
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 33 m
- 1987
- R
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 33 m
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
72
7.6
Where to Watch
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Summary A man must struggle to travel home for Thanksgiving with an obnoxious slob of a shower curtain ring salesman as his only companion.
Directed By: John Hughes
Written By: John Hughes
Where to Watch
Coming Soon
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 22 Critic Reviews
72
64% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
36% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 22 Critic Reviews
72
64% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
36% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
By Staff (Not Credited) FULL REVIEW
I feel like we catch a brief glimpse here of an amazing filmmaker who never quite existed.
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 96 User Ratings
7.6
82% Positive
79 Ratings
79 Ratings
14% Mixed
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
4% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 96 User Ratings
7.6
82% Positive
79 Ratings
79 Ratings
14% Mixed
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
4% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
Aug 24, 2025
very good heartwarming holiday comedy that deserves more praise than it gets and with great chemistry of john candy and steve martin
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Mar 14, 2022
Planes, Trains and Automobiles for me is nothing short of a classic. It is sentimental yes, but it is also very funny, heartwarming and touching. John Hughes does a great job with the direction, and the film looks beautiful with the cinematography truly lovely especially. The music is a nice touch, while the story is a beautiful and I think heartwarming one and the script is full of funny and poignant parts. Then there is the chemistry between Steve Martin and John Candy. These two are outstanding together, and individually both are wonderful, particularly Candy- to be honest I can imagine very few who can play the role as well as Candy did, he was well and truly one of a kind. Overall, wonderful and a classic. 10/10 Bethany Cox
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With its deft blend of hilarity and humanity, Planes, Trains and Automobiles is Hughes' most satisfying work.
There is no denying the craft of either Martin or Candy, however, and since they are the film, it will undoubtedly find its audience faster than any one of us can get from New York to Chicago.
Pretty dispensable, though it has one of the best homosexual-panic gags I've ever seen.
Mr. Martin and Mr. Candy are an easy twosome to watch even with marginal material, though, and the film is never worse than slow.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles is the movie equivalent of a tired stand-up comic's air-travel routine. It strikes some resonant chords indeed, but it never quite leaves the ground, either. And given the stars here, that's a real bungle. [25 Nov 1987, p.D1]
Nov 16, 2018
Let's be clear here -- "Planes, Trains, And Automobiles" isn't just the best Thanksgiving movie of all time. It's John Hughes's best film and one of the greatest buddy movies ever made. Let's parse through some of that a bit. First, there is not one other Thanksgiving movie (if you could even call that a sub-genre) that's as honest, meaningful, and as heartfelt as it is in its dealings of thematics, specifically those of what family truly means. Hell, there's barely a better movie in general that deals with family, regardless of the Thanksgiving identifier. It's an inarguably masterful study on what it means to belong, the primacy of interpersonal connection, and -- the crowd-pleasingest of all thematic underpinnings -- the triumph of the human spirit. Second, it's Hughes's best film simply because it's the funniest and most meaningful without me having to apologize for any element/scene/joke that wouldn't fly too well today because "I guess it was just a different time for humor, man." This is timeless. Full stop. No question. And it's one of the best buddy movies of all time because of the fact that the movie starts and even plays out -- until the end, that is -- with the two protagonistic characters being at each other's throats for most of the duration of the narrative. But it doesn't matter. Because it's the resolution that resonates most in the audience's hearts. It's not about where the characters are going or where they started. It's about the journey towards the eventual friendship therein. As far as holiday movies go, this is pure, unmitigated cream and an absolute masterpiece.
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Dec 6, 2022
Heartwarming dramedy tests the ability of a modern city worker to connect with a stranger in the midst of a significant delay in his commute. The casting is exceptional, but the heavy edits and leaning from the director towards improv scenes and 'big comedy set pieces' really only drags things along from telling the far more interesting human story that was here all along. The heart of the film is intact and well worth a watch.
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Mar 14, 2020
Not true- a scenario. What is: See whether two people (Steve Martin, John Candy) are humorous for one and a half hours.
Description: Tale of travel delays- return from New York to Wichita, Kansas for Thanksgiving, via St Louis as Chicago is closed (1,826m, 27h car journey). Reaction: Amusing for one and half hours bit is a tall order. I did laugh. It's quite a comforting image, actually, seeing people asleep at an airport. Overall no. I liked the first twenty minutes, but it’s an incoherent energy, sorry. Thank you.
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Dec 3, 2018
Planes, Trains And Automobiles is not looking for a home run, it doesn't need it to win its viewers, this family holiday card has got the traditional sweet recipe. Planes, Trains And Automobiles Hughes's humorous adventure is a one big gag that thrives upon nothing but the good old brotherhood of the lead cast. A sketch after sketch, this is basically a culmination of a Saturday Night Live episode where the characters are the only constant aspect of it. Unfortunately, not every gag works as the makers anticipated. Few are either outdated or over chewed to keep the crisp alive. But what steals the show are the tiny notions of Candy's eerie methods and habits that are undeniably irritating which with the help of the performance does communicate to the viewers, at a certain point you too are annoyed. The nights spend by these two stereotypical characters are the best among all the bits of the feature. The first night is flat out hilarious and immensely entertaining where it sets the bar pretty high that it never is able to touch after that. And the other night is a bit mellow and low on humor, but it is a bit dramatic and depicts the bonding of these completely opposite characters, in fact it has an uncanny resemblance with one of the clips of Tom And Jerry. And similar to them, they fight and bicker with each other on both rational and irrational topics that genuinely is effective and funny. Aforementioned, the goofy performance is what the feature walks on. Martin's job is to walk parallel-y along the line of "normal" civilized businessman who waits for none, not the lifts, not the business meetings, not a long line of queue. Whilst Candy taps on his own beats and is thoroughly satisfied in his light merry bubble that is intolerable as much as fun he is. Planes, Trains And Automobiles is not looking for a home run, it doesn't need it to win its viewers, this family holiday card has got the traditional sweet recipe.
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Production Company
- Paramount Pictures
- Hughes Entertainment
Release Date Nov 25, 1987
Duration 1 h 33 m
Rating R
Tagline Steve Martin had no reason to panic...until John Candy came along.
Awards
American Comedy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
