Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Movie with Lack Luster DVD
Review: It seems most good 80s comedies are getting the same treatment. They are being released on DVD without any of the extras. This one isn't much different. Great movie but no behind the scenes anything. Wouldn't it be nice to sit down with Steve Martin and hear him discuss what it was like working on this movie?
Rating: 
Summary: A comedy gem that gets better with repeated viewings
Review: Back in the old days, comedies were full of heart and emotions as well as being packed with laughs. This film certainly belongs in that category. Steve Martin and John Candy play their different roles to perfection, Martin as the successful yet very unlucky business man and Candy as the annoying traveling salesman with whom Martin gets stuck with as he tries to travel home for thanksgiving weekend.
The movie has so many wonderful moments, some will drive you to cry from laughing so hard and others will simply drive you to cry from it's sentiments. The characters go deep and mature along the way and the film actually carries a good, simple minded message that I think would apply to anyone. These qualities seem to be nonexistent in comedies today, most of them go for cheap laughs and repulsion rather than plain, simple and good-hearted fun. Maybe I'm just too old fashioned.
Rating: 
Summary: Great movie, but where are the extras?
Review: I absolutely love this movie. I was eagerly awaiting the DVD release, which was slow in coming. When it finally came out, I snatched it up. I'm a purist when it comes to movies, and this was to be my first chance to finally see the widescreen version of this great film. That does not disappoint, but all else about this DVD does. This is what I call a "bare bones" DVD, with no extras at all. I don't know what Paramount was thinking when they put this one together. The CBS television version of this movie contained a deleted scene where Neal and Del were eating an airline meal, but that is not present here. No other deleted scenes are here either (and there had to be more than just the one that was used on television.) A commentary track with John Hughes similar to the one we got with "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" would have been great, but no dice. There is not even a trailer! Trailerless DVDs are nearly non-existent, but this is one. The widescreen version of a great movie is all you will get if you buy this DVD. I give the movie itself 5 stars, but the DVD only gets 2, and that's just because I can't stand to give this great movie anything less than that, no matter how bad its DVD is.
Rating:
Summary: Great from start to finish
Review: This was a great movie. Steve Martin and John Candy (R.I.P.) were a great comedy team. Even though the ending tugs at the heartstrings, it doesn't do so in a sappy way. Also, it was funny to see Martin play an angry character, especially since I'm used to seeing him at his zaniest on Saturday Night Live. I saw the movie for the first time last year and the jokes even sound funny now. What does that tell you? The movie aged well. A classic.
Rating: 
Summary: Very funny, and still succeeds in delivering a message.
Review: "Planes, Trains, & Automobiles", although not among the funniest movies I've ever seen, is still I think one of my Top 20 favorite comedies. It is, at specific scenes, hillarious, and Steve Martin and John Candy work extremely well together. The plot is basically your average two-guys-accidentally-get-stuck-together-while-traveling-and-start-out-hating-eachother-but-soon-become-friends story, but it's still a wonderful comedy, with some surprisingly dramatic and moving moments. This movie also delivers a firm message: never judge people when you first meet them, or you might make a tremendous mistake. If you're a fan of Steve Martin and/or John Candy, or you just want to see a funny, heart-warming (except for all the swearing, but that's what makes some scenes funny!) comedy, then this is one to rent or buy.
Rating:
Summary: STILL one of the funniest movies I've ever seen...
Review: ...but, hold the phone, wait just a minute. Am I just a sensitive sap or is there something genuinely touching at the heart of this film? Without going into specifics, the conclusion of this movie made my strong, manly eyes well up with tears and brought a sad smile to my face. There is just a point when these two men, Neil Page and Del Griffith, who all but despised each other through most of their travels together, realize how deep their friendship runs and how positively affecting the two have been on one another. From the moment at the subway station as they say good-bye up until the heartwarming ending at Neil Page's house, it is what pulls this movie out of the bottomless pit of hilarious buddy comedies and into the hallowed halls of truly great movies.But, before all of that occurs, for most of the first hour-and-a-half this film is just plain gut-busting, slap-your-knee, and pee-in-your-pants funny. Neil Page, played by Steve Martin, is an uptight advertising executive on business in New York. As the film opens, he is late for a plane that is taking him home to Chicago so he can spend Thanksgiving with his family. From the start, things are going horribly wrong, as he finds it damn-near impossible to get a cab in the holiday traffic especially when the cab he's flagged is stolen right from under his nose by a guy in a blue parka with a HUGE suitcase. He finally gets to the airport and finds he's been bumped from first class to coach, then when he sits down he finds himself seated right next to ("Is this a coincidence or what?") the guy who stole his cab. That guy is Del Griffith, played by John Candy, who is, um, let me clear my throat, ahem, a shower-curtain ring salesman. No, really, I'm serious. After their plane is forced to land in Kansas due to a severe snowstorm, they share a dingy, low-class motel room together. The whole scene where the two of them are forced to share a bed together has to be one of THE funniest moments in cinema history, fa'real. Anyways, to make a long story short, these two end up being companions as they travel all over the map struggling to get to Chicago. They try taking a train, a Greyhound, a rental car, and absolutely everything that could possibly go wrong does. And it does so in utterly hilarious ways. Del Griffith is a well-meaning and likeable fella, but he seems to be a bad luck charm for Neil, who is NOT a very tolerable person. These two just can't seem to get anything right. What shocks me the most is how the majority of movie critics of the day thought that this film was over-indulgent and badly-scripted. This is the part where I squint my eyes, shake my head and scream "WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!?" I mean, really, this is one of the funniest, most involving and most consistently entertaining movies I've ever seen. I've seen it countless times since it first came out and I make a point to watch it at least once every year at Thanksgiving time. Not once has the comedy ever felt stale or the touching moments ceased to water my eyes. The bottom line is that this film is VASTLY underrated. The late John Candy does what I feel is his best work here. The speech he gives to Neil in the motel room after Neil's extended rant about what a boorish person he is, is really touching and inspiring. The way Candy says the lines, he never misses a note and his emotion feels so real, "You can think what you want about me. I'm not changin'. I like me. My wife likes me. My customers like me. 'Cuz I'm the real article. What ya see is what ya get." It really makes me miss John Candy and wish he hadn't been taken from us so soon. Steve Martin turns in a great performance too, no matter how cold and selfish he seems at times, you always feel that deep down there is room for good in him. And it eventually emerges. This is an all-out hilarious movie with some of the funniest looks, moments, and situations in movie history. It never once misses the mark. And, maybe I sound a little cheesy, but it also is very moving, and speaks volumes about friendship and the way we treat people.
Rating:
Summary: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is top flight comedy
Review: Years ago a Canadian friend of mine told me about this movie which I had never heard of. I saw it once quite a few years ago and really liked it so I ordered it on DVD thru Amazon.
It is even better the 2nd, 3rd, 4th time you watch it- just incredibly funny, heartwarming too and quite well done.
Steve Martin and John Candy mesh incredibly well together.
There is no violence nor any sex scenes.
It's among the top 3 comedy films I have ever seen.
Buy this movie on DVD- you'll be glad you did and will love it!
Rating:
Summary: Good, But Drags and Over-Stretches At Times 3.5 Stars
Review: Steve Martin plays an uptight, irritable businessman trying to make it home for Thanksgiving with his family. John Candy plays a friendly but annoying guy who is going somewhere, but you're never quite sure where. Candy's character latches on to Martin's character, and the two encounter mishap after mishap as they try to get where they want to go. Martin doesn't dislike Candy, but just doesn't want to be bothered (he's busy with More Important Things). Imagine a big friendly golden retriever who wants to jump all over you and lick your face, but you're all dressed up for church and a family get-together afterward, and you're running late. That's the feel of most of this movie. The reason why I give it only three stars is that, despite having two very funny comedians as stars and an interesting premise, along with sight gags and pratfalls a-plenty, this film isn't as funny as it should have been. I don't know why it misses the mark but, for me, it misses. From reading the other reviews, some people love this movie. I'm glad for them. It just doesn't do it for me. Maybe it's trying too hard to be funny? Hmmm.
Rating:
Summary: Laughs, a few planes and trains, and some more Laughs.
Review: Steve Martin and the late John Candy star in this hilarious classic about two men, down on their luck during holiday travelling. Directed by John Hughes, who also directed classics such as Uncle Buck and Home Alone.
Steve Martin is Neil Page, a rich marketer from Chicago who is in New York for business and having a little trouble getting home for Thanksgiving. Then his luck is about to change.....for the worse! This is when he meets the man to end all his troubles, and begin all new troubles, Dell Griffith (John Candy).
Dell is a big-hearted, broke but lovable slob who freeloads his way along with Neil. Promising Neil that he'll get him home for Thanksgiving, Dell turns a relatively easy trip home into a dramatic, problematic, but hilarious cross-country adventure. All the while Neil's patience is thinning, which makes for one laugh after another, scene after scene. But through it all Neil Page might not quite realize that he's learning a little about life and that the holidays are really about sharing with those less fortunate.
Though this film gets an R rating its because of the cussing outburst that Martin displays after he's fed up with everything and just about to his wits end. (which in itself was thoroughly hilarious considering that after he gets done with it he finds out that his luck is even worse than he'd originally figured!) Other than that I'd recommend this movie for anyone 10 and up. I wouldn't however recommend it to people who don't like to laugh!
Rating:
Summary: Could This Be The Best Comedy Ever?
Review: If you ask any actor or actress, they will tell you that comedy is the hardest thing a performer can do. And judging by the amount of absolutely dreadful 'comedies' that Hollywood and Broadway churn out, PLANES TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES should be given a standing ovation every time it plays. We all knew that John Candy could write teen angst brilliantly, but who knew that he could, for one shining moment, translate it in to that truly hilarious, heartfelt, adult comedy (and one that does not rely on sex and nudity but ture adult themes to gain a R rating). How rare (even in drama) to see a cast, director, and writer come together as perfectly as they do here. Sure, Steve Martin and John Candy have proved themselves as great comedians and writer-director John Hughes certainly pulls this out of them. But what one remembers after the laughs have stopped, is not the great comedy, but the great humanity that the film displays. Start with the premise ... travelling home, a theme that most of us here can certainly relate to. Whether it's from long trip or just the daily commute, we can all relate to what happens to Dell Griffith and Neal Paige in this film as they set out on their deceptively simple mission to get home. Second, look at the reactions of Mr. Candy and Mr. Martin as they first meet. There is no long lost love between these two. How many of us can say that we have never wished to give the soliloqy that Mr. Martin gives in the motel room scene? Third, check how the relationship is tested ... only a tried-and-true friendship put to the test can feel as real as the bond that forms (slowly) between the two leads. This film stands not just as a testament to the late John Candy (whose passing away only makes this film pull at you more), but also to the almost always overlooked Steve Martin, and finally to that great hyphenate ... John Hughes. I applaud the editors of AMAZON.COM for putting this film on their "ESSENTIAL" list. A standing ovation to John Candy, John Hughes, and Steve Martin for PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES.
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