Have You Seen?! The Movie Podcast
Grab some popcorn and join Joe and Dylan as we take on the greatest movies Dylan somehow skipped. Have You Seen?! The Movie Podcast makes every episode feel like movie night with friends and where every classic is a brand-new premiere.
Have You Seen?! The Movie Podcast
Planes, Trains & Holiday Chaos
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A burned car on the shoulder, a vibrating motel bed, and a rental counter conversation that could strip paint—sometimes the road to Thanksgiving dinner looks nothing like the postcard. We break down why Planes, Trains and Automobiles still hits so hard: the slapstick lands, the script never coasts, and the final reveal reframes every laugh that came before it.
We start with the craft behind the chaos. John Hughes trades teen angst for adult anxiety, building a tight sequence of travel fails that always serve character. Steve Martin’s Neil Page is precision‑wound and quietly brittle; John Candy’s Del Griffith is a one‑man empathy engine who sells shower curtain rings and wins strangers anyway. The comedy works because frustration is played straight—awkward silences, grimy socks, and that perfectly timed wrong‑way freeway sequence—so the laughter feels earned rather than packaged.
From cameos to needle‑drops, the details matter. We call out Kevin Bacon’s taxi sprint, Michael McKean’s state trooper, and Edie McClurg’s improvised Thanksgiving phone bit that sets up the legendary rental desk tirade. We talk about the rumored three‑hour cut, the trims that streamlined the story, and the editing choices that let a quiet train ride carry the film’s emotional turn. The music cue for Every Time You Go Away isn’t just a tear‑jerker; it’s the final stitch in a story about grace under pressure and friendship forged in the worst conditions.
So is this a Thanksgiving movie? Maybe not by intent—but absolutely in spirit. It captures the season’s real texture: delays, detours, and the small kindnesses that get us home. If you love sharp character comedy, travel chaos that feels all too familiar, and endings that actually earn your tears, press play. Then tell a friend, hit follow, and drop us a review with your favorite scene and your wildest holiday travel story.
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Dylan, you could have killed me slugging me in the gut like that. That's how Houdini died, you know.
DYLAN:Welcome to Have You Seen the Movie Podcast, where every movie is a premiere.
JOE:Grab your own pillows, tighten your seatbelt, and prepare for one of the most chaotic Thanksgiving road trips in movie history. Joe's seen it, Dylan hasn't, and trust me, he's not ready.
DYLAN:Planes, trains, and automobiles is rated R for language, especially one infamous scene at a car rental counter. So, Joe, can you set the scene for us?
JOE:Well, John Hughes, uh, he's done a couple movies under his belt and decides to go on. And what what critics would say is he decided to do adult movies. Yeah. As in movies with adults in them, because prior to this he's he did a lot of teenage uh angst movies.
DYLAN:Okay, so what movies did he come from?
JOE:So uh Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty and Pink, uh, and just prior to this, he they were filming uh Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Okay.
DYLAN:So I've seen none of those, but I know Oh, we will. I know which ones we have Ferris Bueller's Day Off is on on list of ones to do and um Breakfast Club. Yeah, Breakfast Club. Yeah.
JOE:Yeah, I think we need to cover them all over time.
DYLAN:Yeah. So um like going into this movie, I had seen I had seen like clips of it just on on social media and stuff, like uh the the scene where they get pulled over. Yeah. And you know, it's like I had seen I had seen that scene, yeah or you know, bits of that. And and like I didn't know like how we got to that point. Yeah. So I was like, I know the car, you know, is burnt out, but I don't know how or why we got there, but I was waiting for it. And even when it's about to happen, you don't expect it. Yeah, because when like when he flicks the cigarette and it comes back in and like lands in the back seat, like you know, he's trying to take off his coat and and you know, gets locked to the chair. Um I was expecting him to get the coat off and throw it back on top of the cigarette. Oh, and that's how it started. Add fuel to the fire. Yeah, but and so like from the the twist of you know him getting his his uh sleeves caught on each side of the chair while he's driving and he's trying to to like steer with his hips.
JOE:Yeah. Yeah.
DYLAN:So yeah, that was that was hilarious and definitely a twist that I was not I was not expecting at all.
JOE:Yeah, it is it is a wild ride. Um, you know, there's there's some just good parts that just build up and you know yeah.
DYLAN:So let's give a a quick plot rundown. So two strangers, uptight Neil Page, and chatty shower curtain ring salesman Del Griffith must survive planes, trains, burned cars, and motel mishaps to get home for Thanksgiving. It was it was so funny though, like the the sheer amount of chaos that was throughout like the entire movie. Yeah. And then I loved I loved how it ended, how it like really turned into kind of a lot more of like a heartwarming movie because like uh you know, as they're in the middle of the chaos, you know, you're just like they're gonna gonna make it and then part ways, and they definitely kind of lean into that throughout the whole movie, right? And so, you know, with Del saying that he hasn't been home in many years, and with Del saying that he hasn't been home in many years, and then like flashing back to it later and like a oh wait, like he's not going home. Right, yeah, and like it turned very heartwarming. Yeah, like that's that was good.
JOE:That's one thing it's it's almost like a twist that John Hughes has, but a lot of his stuff is very heartwarming and heart like heartfelt, and yeah, you kind of feel some of those characters you end up having a lot of empathy with because you're like, oh man, I've gone through that, or you know, I've been through this, or I see where they're coming from. And um, you don't expect Dell to have that backstory, right?
DYLAN:You know, like he tells it and he talks about things and he drops some things, but it's almost like the success at the end where he starts to put um Neil starts to put things together and he's like, Oh, wait a minute, I didn't I just realized you know yeah, and I love that they framed it as like you know, him him sitting on the train and and thinking about what he's you know going home to, and then it goes back into what has already happened, and you know, a little little ear kiss, and yeah, and the the great thing is they show him laughing when he's thinking about it.
JOE:And so even though they even they they talked about oh, we're gonna laugh about this and and everything, he is sitting there thinking about stuff, right? And even though it was horrible, like he thinks about the fire with the car and and all that, and he's still laughing because he's just like, Wow, this guy's like just turned into one of my best friends.
DYLAN:Right. I believe that's called drama bonding, yeah.
JOE:Stockholm syndrome, right?
DYLAN:But yeah, like when John Candy, uh, you know, Del Griffith is sitting in the car and is, you know, just talking to his late wife and um is you know being like you know, how is this like essentially my best friend now? Or he doesn't say that.
JOE:Yeah, he says like something like I wish you were here or something, and and and I didn't realize kind of what he was saying um until later, you know? Right. Well he was like he wasn't just pretending to make a phone call in the case.
DYLAN:Would you say that this is a like a straight up Thanksgiving movie?
JOE:Man. Straight up no, but I think that goes into like the diehard Christmas movie debate. Yeah, yeah, that's very true. We'll we'll look at that next month.
DYLAN:Yep, I know that is on the ropes.
JOE:Um, but maybe not straight up, but I I think that it does count. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, of all the movies that I can think of off the top of my head that are Thanksgiving movies, I think this one definitely counts for that. Um there's a lot of movies that oh, you know, I want to be home for Christmas, and you know, the like there's there's a Jonas Brothers movie out right now. Oh, it's and it looks exactly like you know, it's like a computerized, really off the wall version of Planes Trains, but it's going home for Christmas. Oh funny. And I'm like, this is just plain strains already, you know, like that's funny. Like I think it created a formula, you know. For sure.
DYLAN:And so well, and like that's just it. Traveling during the holidays is just pure chaos all the time. Yeah. And um, you know, it it's kind of one of those things that it doesn't it almost doesn't matter, you know, what big holiday it is. It's just crazy. Yeah. And and yeah. Something with this movie that I feel like it's hard to come by now is definitely like the the slapstick comedy. Uh-huh. And then wrapping up with the heartfelt. Right. Because like I feel like a lot of um comedic movies that you'll watch is that they, you know, do a great job of the funny part throughout the whole movie, uh-huh. And then you get to the heartfelt part and you're like, this just doesn't it feels off.
JOE:It's out of nowhere. Right. Yeah. Yeah. I I think of I don't want to say any movies because there's a lot of movies that I respect. Yeah. Or people who made these movies that I respect that I don't want to say. But they're definitely there's a genre of these certain movies that are like I don't know, they just feel packaged. Right. And they're like they have they're form formalaic and they have big stars in them, and you know, they're they're all made for that purpose. Right. And one of the things that Steve Martin said about being drawn to the movie, this particular movie and this particular script was that the uh especially him staying within that that serious acting lent itself to the comedy. Right. You know, and so like um when he gets frustrated, you know, he it it ends up being funny, yeah, right. Right. And there's these funny parts in it, even though it's serious, yeah. And there's a little bit of awkwardness for even laughing, you know, like it's just yeah, it's um, I mean, particularly when he when he goes off and um on Dell in the hotel, and it and it becomes this like you know you feel bad for it. You do you do and you see his face and and he's like, you know, this is who I am, and right, you know, and all that, and and you know, it it just uh it's it's just so well written. And and again with Steve Martin and John Candy, they're great comedians, you know, even from before this movie. They they were you know they were the ones that you know John Hughes was like, we want I want you guys because these characters are are written for you, essentially. Right, you know um yeah, that's pretty great. And and so I think it just goes back to the talent of writing and not just being formulaic, not just trying to pump out a holiday movie, right? You know, because it wasn't this movie in particular wasn't written to be necessarily a holiday movie, yeah. You know, it wasn't like, oh, we need we need a Thanksgiving movie, so John, John, you write one for me, right? Right we need to pump out uh you know Christmas, whatever, right? He was just like I'm writing this this movie, you know.
DYLAN:Yeah, I'm right, you know, he was kind of it was almost like you know, I'm writing this movie, and then what is my reason for getting him on the airplane in the first place?
JOE:Yeah.
DYLAN:And that's that's a lot how it felt, and like it didn't it didn't feel forced and it it felt nice. There was a reason why, and yeah. So, but yeah, um yeah, but I think this is the first movie uh that I've ever seen where a guy gets lifted by his testicles. Yeah, yeah.
JOE:Yeah. I can think of very few where um there's one in particular I'm thinking of, and I can't think of the name right now.
DYLAN:It's gonna come back to you in the middle of the night.
JOE:Oh yeah. Actually, it's Back to the Future 2, which we haven't touched on. I'll point it out when we do that movie. Okay.
DYLAN:You're like, remember when? But yeah, um Steve Martin as Neil Page, like he did such a good job of showing the you know, a guy slowly losing his mind.
JOE:Yeah. Because he's perfectly, I mean, you know, him and his coworker are a little frustrated just getting into the scene. Right, you know, because they're like, okay, our boss has anal has analyzed these photos for the whole day, yeah, and we're all trying to get out of here. Um he's he's convinced, he's so convinced that he's gonna get home in time that he leaves his glove behind gloves behind. Yeah. You know, like it just he's just like, okay, this is just gonna be a normal day, you know. And yeah, it slowly, I mean, just from when he hits the pavement, and he has the the face-off with Kevin Bacon, they're running after the taxi, yeah, you know, so it just starts from there.
DYLAN:Yeah, and then and then Steve Martin tripping over the luggage that's just pretty much just abandoned there. Yeah, you know, doesn't see anybody around for it. And yeah, I love the kind of the introduction then of um of John Candy um as Dale Griffith that um without like all you see at first is his arm and the blue jacket, you know, banging on the back of the cab. Yeah. And you know, he's trying to sit there and barter with the with the heartless guy.
JOE:Yeah. So one of the details that I missed the first time I watched it was when the taxi speeds away. Yeah. In the ground on the ground in the water are floating um uh curtain rings.
DYLAN:Oh, no way.
JOE:Yeah.
DYLAN:So it's like a little telltale sign. That's so funny. Um he could have sold him his earrings. Yeah.
JOE:I know.
DYLAN:Yeah, and then chasing down the street after it and yanking open the door, and and and Dale is sitting there and he's like, uh Yeah, yeah, yeah. He looks at him, oh right, he's all scared.
JOE:Steve Martin has a just a perfect way of running, like, you know, when he's running with his, you know, in the street at that point, and then later on he has all his stuff, and he's just like, ah.
DYLAN:Yeah, because he, I mean, it's really it's a super wide run, and he's kind of throwing the stuff out to the side. Yeah, yeah. It's just it looks it looks perfect. Like he does such a good job with that. Yeah. But yeah, um. Who did you like better um in the movie of Steve Martin or John Candy?
JOE:I don't I that's yeah, I don't even know. That's a hard one. Yeah, because I feel like they were pretty balanced. Um because even though John Candy's character came off as in some ways he seemed incompetent, there really was a lot of competence to him, and he just had a different way of doing things. For sure. For sure. And and so it was it was more of you know uh yeah, it's I can't really that's hard.
DYLAN:Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think I think my favorite out of the two was definitely um John Candy. Just he's just I just love him. He's you know, in the movie he was just so so warm, but also also annoying, and but yeah, he's just lovable, and then like the end is just kind of heartbreaking. Yeah. And so they just have like you know, that perfect chemistry though, where they work together and you know, they just elevate such a simple premise of the movie into something so spectacular.
JOE:Yeah. I I think I mean Steve Martin, I think Steve Martin would even say he liked John Candy better. So I might go I might go with you on that.
DYLAN:Just yeah, it it's but it's one of those things too. It's like you you can't have one without the other. Yeah. So it's yeah, it's just that balance of the I know that there was Kevin Bacon in it. Yeah. And he was the one that was you know racing for the taxi. So as you said the what other cameos were there? Um because I know you said the the gal as a as the I was gonna say clerk, but parking attendant or um rental.
JOE:Yeah, the the rental agent. Yeah, yeah. Um, yeah, she's been on she's been on a lot of things. Um I'm trying to think of because Kevin Bacon up to that point he had done Footloose, so that was a huge movie. Yeah. And the reason why he was on this movie was he he was filming um She's Having a Baby, or they had just finished that. Oh really? And and so just time and place, huh? Yeah, and he had told John Hughes, he goes, if you're filming anything and you and you need a bus boy or a water boy or whatever, so wash windows in the back, he's like, I'll be there. So he took him up on it. Yeah, and I mean he had you know a star power name, and right, you know, and and um there was a lot of like as far as ensemble cast, a lot of you know, even like Matthew Lawrence's first movie, like he, you know, he he's just been in a lot of things, yeah. Um, and there's just a lot of actors, like there was a certain amount of cast members, um Ben Stein, um Edie Edie McClure, um who's the other one? Oh, the coworker who in the beginning, those three and one more were all filming on Ferris Wheeler's Day Off, and so they came over and did that. Oh, that's so cool. Yeah. So it's like there's just all these inner kind of intermingling of actors among John Hughes movies.
DYLAN:So yeah.
JOE:But I was gonna say a little earlier with Steve Martin. Um, have you ever heard of what his first job was? This was my trivia I was talking about the other day. Oh I have not. So this makes me proud because I I'm a I'm a Disneyland person at heart. Uh-huh. Steve Martin was originally one of his first jobs, if not his first job out of high school, was uh being a magician on Main Street Disneyland. Oh, that's so cool. It's yeah, he does this. Um, so when you go to Disneyland, there's this little theater, and they they tell the history of like hosted by Donald and Steve Martin and you know, different people, yeah. And they show him they show pictures of him in the park doing magic and you know, in the store and stuff. Yeah, yeah. So it's like to see where he started and and to go and visit that. And you know, I grew up going to Disneyland high school. We would uh go at least once a year for band. Yeah, do a parade and get to march, yeah. So you know, it's just it's just like a it's like an at-home kind of thing, right? You know, yeah, and and just I I don't know, he he's he's a great actor, and I don't know what the whole story is with his hair, but I feel like he's been able to play the same age for a long time, right?
DYLAN:Like even now, I could buy that he's 40 because he looked for that age of you know so yeah, um and then is John Candy um in Home Alone is that a cameo or like a nod to this movie?
JOE:Yeah, I don't know that it's necessarily a nod as so much as it's another John Hughes film. Okay. Um, so he uh John Hughes wrote and directed Home Alone, so it you know it's just I think it's just throwing in his actors and you know having John Candy. I I don't know that I've heard that that's a throwback. I try to find out, but I couldn't if somebody wants to write in, right? Try in um P.O. Box 354.
DYLAN:Not really. Yeah, I mean you can text into the podcast now. You can um but yeah, I was sitting there like in it, like watching it, and I was like, I wonder, because like you know, John Candy, the band, yeah, you know, travels in the back of the truck, and I was like, ooh, I wonder.
JOE:I really wish, I really wish you know he could have been named Dell or you know, somehow because you would think like maybe he picked up another shtick, you know, like maybe he's now he's going with bands with the polka band. Yeah, yeah, because you know, he really he really does help her get home and yeah.
DYLAN:But yeah, um the the whole structure, like you know, kind of the road movie structure, you're you kinda I don't know, you kind of wonder, like what you know what were you thinking trying to do this? Because like the whole idea of it is that you're just trying to get home and like I don't know about you, but my you know, my travel adventures have not been nearly this yeah uh I was gonna say interesting, but I I don't I don't want it to be this interesting.
JOE:Yeah. Well, yeah, I mean the whole thing came from John Hughes having to take a flight and and he was trying I think he was trying to go from New York to Chicago and he got diverted and so what ended up it was supposed to be a five-hour trip ended up taking five days. Oh man so essentially that whole start of of the you know it took him he said when he started writing it, it took him like three days to write the whole the whole story. Yeah, but coming from that one incident, he wrote the movie.
DYLAN:Wow, you know, yeah, because like just the like the escalating disasters that you know just throughout the whole movie, they just get like more more wilder than the previous one. And you're like, how how are you gonna top that?
JOE:Yeah, and and I think there's a certain amount of belief in it because I think everybody's been in at least one of those scenarios, yeah. Like a um maybe not a train breaking down, but definitely being uh driving down the wrong way on a highway, yeah, accidentally, yeah. Which happens a lot in Montana and particularly Bozeman right now. Oh my goodness. Look it up. Yeah. Yeah. I mean that that is uh common common thing right now, but um but yeah, being delayed on a plane, being delayed for hours to you know, however long, um having run-ins with you know um basically like uh service people who you know take just take their job a little too seriously or think they have all the control. And even from the first point when he walks into the plane and he's like, I was supposed to have a first class ticket, she's like, No, you know, right.
DYLAN:Um you were assigned, you know, the cattle car.
JOE:Right, right, exactly. And that that that's the funny thing, there's a deleted scene um in that, and it's a little longer. And so she's talking to him saying, No, there's you know, you're you have a uh coach seat, you're assigned coach, you're you're bugging me, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, and the other guy comes and says, Hey, you know, you know, oh, and she's like, Oh, hi, John, or whatever, and take whatever seat you want, and blah, blah, blah. He's like, What? You know, so then she turns around and there's a little kid in his first class seat saying, Hey, I ordered a Coke, you know, five minutes ago. And she's like, Yes, sir, I'll get it right now. Oh, please hold on. And she's super nice to him, and she turns back around to Nil and is like, You're annoying me. So it's kind of funny. Like, I I would love to see um a longer cut of this movie, like yeah, yeah. It's just with all the extended extended scenes.
DYLAN:Yeah, I hope somebody does that. Yeah, but just the the humor style throughout the whole thing is just it's just so good. Yeah, yeah. It it just so off the cuff. And yeah, because they definitely go for like that slapstick, like kind of cringe comedy. Right. And yeah, yeah.
JOE:I mean, they they push it and and again, deleted scenes, they push it even more. Yeah. It's just I I love like even you know, okay, so uh Neil sits down to the plane and Dell's there, and he's like, oh no. And Del's like, I hope I'm not being uh what does he say?
DYLAN:Uh what is it? A loud mouth. The loud mouth.
JOE:I you know, I hate when people, you know, right meanwhile he's doing it, and he just does not pick up on like read the room, bro. Right.
DYLAN:Yeah. I know people in real life like that. Yeah. Oh yeah. Right. But yeah, just the you know, the the physical gags and like the the sharp dialogue throughout the whole thing is great too.
JOE:Yeah, like when they're in the middle of the road and they're looking at the the fire, and then Neil does something and turns around to walk away. Uh he doesn't hit him. He does he punches them. He punches him, punches him in the stomach.
DYLAN:Yep, and then walks away and just completely eats it. Yeah, that was so great.
JOE:That was so great. Because like that's the type of thing that would actually happen, right? You know, like that that, you know, not that I believe in it, but the instant karma. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I love that line later on because he's like, you know, you you really shouldn't have punched me like that. You could have killed me. You could have killed me. Yeah, Houdini died that way. You know. Yeah. It's funny because when he did that, I thought of that and then he said it. Oh yeah. Yeah, there's this movie um based on Harry Houdini that I I seen on uh TMC a long time ago, and they show you know that he got punched in the gut, and yeah, then he went to do his final trick and he died because like uh his appendix ruptured or something. Yeah. So I immediately thought of that. And then he says it. I was like, oh, that's classic. Yeah.
DYLAN:Yeah. And I thought it was um, I thought it was so funny just from coming back right after the the semi-sene of driving right between two of them going the wrong way down the highway.
JOE:That scene is so great too, because oh, that looks like it can buff out. Yeah. Yeah. Well, like the beginning, they're they're going the wrong way. And and uh the great part is they're both in the same in the same mindset, and they're people are yelling at, oh, they're drunk, they're drunk, you're going the wrong way, you're going the wrong way. And and and Del's like, how does he know which way we're going? And then Neil's like, yeah, how does he know? Yep. It's like and then when they they cut between those trucks, and then they that they have that flash of um they turn into skeletons. Yep, you know, which um a nod to Home Alone, yeah. Or well, uh later on, right, but in Home Alone when um he gets electrocuted and jumps to a skeleton. Yeah. So it's just and then he uh and then Dell turns into a a devil. He's like Yes.
DYLAN:Because watching it, it's so funny because you're just like, where did this come from?
JOE:It just turns a corner.
DYLAN:Right. Oh. But yeah, and then just the it's so good just from like the emotion from the whole just like from the whole thing. Like you just you don't really get it, you know, at the beginning. It's just super subtle. And the way that they wrote it, that it just slowly builds throughout the entire thing, where like it's not super noticeable, but then once you get to the end, yeah, like it's such an easy turn into it.
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DYLAN:When he gets to the car lot from getting his car. Yeah. Or, you know, to get his car. And I love the camera work in it. Like I really noticed the camera work in that scene. Yeah. Because, like, you know, we're tracking along and looking down at the ground. You know, here's two, here's three. Yeah. And then it's back at him and walking along. And like you never see the spot. You never see like that you're walking up to it. Yeah. And you're just like, I just know that there's going to be something wrong. Like, I didn't know what, like, yeah. I just thought that there's going to be like a really weird vehicle. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Like, yeah, just a piece. Yeah. Right. And then and then he gets there and it's just not there. Empty. Right. And there's the the tire marks on the ground. Yeah. It looked like it got stolen or something.
JOE:Yeah.
DYLAN:And then um in that scene, you know, he throws his throws his briefcase and he throws the paper. And I was like, ooh, that's not going to be good. Yeah. You know, because I I knew I was like, oh, the the that's going to come back later. Yeah. And then and then coming to, you know, to the highway, walking back to the I'm like, oh, how how did you how did you get you know there in the first place?
JOE:Well, yeah, the bus drove him over, and it's like, yeah. So he had to go through. I mean, I can I can empathize with that because if you've ever been to LAX, uh, and sometimes you have to take a bus from one place to the other, and you just get like, um, where were we? We were at another airport where we rented a car and we were taken all the way to like yeah, yeah, in the middle of nowhere. And I could imagine it it being almost impossible to even get a ride back if the car wasn't there, or call for that. So it was like that's definitely yeah, well, and that was a time that he they couldn't call. Yeah, and when he went to the the highway, I just I was just like, man, this could be a sad ending, you know. Like he just falls off the freeway, gets hit by a truck, and then the end comedy, yeah.
DYLAN:Wow, dark that got dark fast, it's called dark humor, yeah. Exactly. Yeah, um, but yeah, like slip and sliding down the hill right as the semis come in and just barely barely squeaks by and his hat gets run over. Yep. And yeah, well, him walking, you know, the next scene is him walking into the airport, yeah, and he's he's lost his shoes. Yeah. So you just hear like the squish of the socks, and you're like, oh his face is all dirty, and and then he you know gets to to the car car rental counter.
JOE:Uh-huh. And uh he lays down the F bumps. Yeah. So he he spewed him out for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Cause he was so ticked by the time he walked from that place to the other, he was just like, right. I want my effing car. Yep.
DYLAN:Which I get it. Yeah. Yeah. I would I would be very upset too. Not that it gives anybody the right to treat somebody like that. But yeah, 19 F bombs in just under a minute. Yeah. 60 seconds, 19. Yeah.
JOE:And that includes hers. Um. But they they actually, when they were doing the editing, they tried to appeal the ratings board on it. And they tried like two or three times and they could not get it removed. Oh funny.
DYLAN:I mean, because like the whole thing would have been like what PGG 13. Yeah. And then you get to that scene and sitting beside your wife, and she turns and goes, That's why it's rated R. Yeah, exactly.
JOE:Yeah. Yeah.
DYLAN:What are some of your favorite scenes in the movie?
JOE:Um well one one thing about that is um the building of that. So the actress Edie McClerg, she was, you know, she was filming uh Ferris Bueller uh before this movie. Yeah. And John Hughes during a break walked up to her and said, Hey, can you read these lines for me? And so she read out the whole scene with Steve Martin's part to him. Yeah. And she and he goes, Okay, can you can you try saying it this way? And she said it, you know. Uh-huh. Okay, cool, thanks. And she was just like, Oh, you know, she just he just wanted me to read some stuff out. That's cool, you know, whatever. And a month later, she gets a call and they're like, Hey, we want you on, you know, the set for planes, trains, and automobiles. And she's like, Oh, that that that was an audition. So when they came to filming it, it was originally just gonna be, you know, she was taking care of business, she was talking on the phone about you know a rental or something like that. Yeah. And so he said, Why don't you just try talking about Thanksgiving? And so that whole dialogue she came up with herself. Oh, it's just ad lib. Yeah. Oh man. And so, like, even from watching the the like the uh outtakes and some of the um snippets of of that scene. Me and my wife both love that part because she's like, you know, um, you know, see you in Thanksgiving, gobble, gobble, gobble. Right.
DYLAN:It's just hilarious. Yeah. And it's so funny, like thinking that like she's got a line of people, meanwhile, she's just taking a personal phone call.
JOE:Exactly. That's that's the classic, you know. Yup, yep. That's I mean, how many times do you does that happen, right? Like just like, and and and and even seeing it from Steve Martin's point of view, of like I just walked from walking through the highway, and I'm showing up trying to get service, and she's talking on the phone about you know, with her family or taking her personal phone call, you know.
DYLAN:Right. Oh but yeah, one of my one of my favorites is the is Del selling the the shower curtain rings, this dinosaur sawyer earrings. Yeah, yeah. You you've seen 60 minutes, haven't you?
JOE:Right.
DYLAN:And it's so funny, like each each shot of him selling him to a different person, and you know, each one has a different different thing behind it.
JOE:Yeah, it finally shows the gal, and she's just got like the shower curtain hoop in her in her ear, and yeah, and then he's like, he's like, you know, they they really make you look older, uh 18, probably probably 19, and then they show the three little girls and they had the money, right? It's so great. Like that was the thing about their personalities, it's like he could do something like that. He was such a good salesman, right? Like, even after when they get to the hotel and uh Neil's able to get a hotel for himself, and then Dell has to kind of sell his own thing, right? I love the way he pulls out the his arm and puts the Casio along his arm. Right, like it shows sparkling, right? Such a great salesman. Yep. Um, yeah, when they get into the hotel, that whole scene, yeah, I mean, that that whole thing. So, like my first drop every time they show this clip, I just I just roll. Like yesterday I was watching, watching a clip and my face was gonna explode. It's just right when they walk in and they get settled, and and Del goes, shower, Neil's like, no, no, no, yeah. He's like, no, no, that's not what I meant.
DYLAN:Yeah, because he says, doesn't you say, like, not with me? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not with me. Yeah, that's not what I meant.
JOE:But he just like automatically, no, yeah, and then yeah, they they have to sleep in the same bed, and the whole thing happens. But uh apparently, Steve Martin said um the hotel set. Yeah, filming on it and everything. Apparently, he ended up with Athletes foot. Oh no, oh, that's so gross. Yeah, yeah. And he's like, he said something like, I haven't had it since I was 15, so that was a little encouraging kind of thing. I could still get athlete's foot. Oh, it takes me back.
DYLAN:Yeah, exactly. Man, yeah, that's what oh, him like stepping out of the shower and just like tiptoeing and it's just oh yeah.
JOE:They were very good about the foley, you know, the squishiness. Yeah, you know, just that. Uh yeah, two fault. Yeah, even when when uh at the car rental and she's scratching her head, you just hear that. Yeah.
DYLAN:Yeah. Um it was so funny too in the in the hotel scene when he he like slips the quarter in and the the bed starts like vibrating. Yeah.
JOE:Yeah. Oh, and then you know, um is it oh, I can't remember what he's what he's doing exactly, but he goes and washes his face and then his socks are gets up in the morning. Oh yeah, gets up in the morning, washes his face, and then Dell's like, hey, if you're gonna brush your teeth, can you take my socks out of the sink?
DYLAN:It's like ah and then he's he dries his face on a pair of tidy whiteies. Yes, yeah, the classic tidy whiteies. Yep.
JOE:Were they Calvin Klein? No, no, not at this time.
DYLAN:Oh, and the morning scene is so funny too, because you come to, and I love like, you know, it it just slowly like pans over, and you you see John Candy's like side of the bed and back, and there's like Karma Corne all stuck to his back in the bed, and and then it just keeps panning over, and his all all big, you know, big spoon to Steve Martin. Yeah. And then you're you're like waiting for him to wake up, and then he kisses him on the ear. Steve Martin goes, Dell, did you kiss me on the ear? Then, you know, John Candy is Neil, why are you holding my hand? Yeah. Where's your other hand? Between two pillows. Those are pillows! And they jump out of the bed and shake it off. Did you see the bears game the other day?
JOE:Yeah, oh yeah.
DYLAN:Great, good game.
JOE:Seems like they're gonna go far. Right. They have to they have to go from like the most feminine thing to the most manly thing. Right. Right.
DYLAN:They're like, yeah, this will this will save my image. Talk about sports ball, that'll be uh so I have to ask when we did our road trip together and you took a shower after I did, is that what it was like getting out of the shower? Water just everywhere. No. Like, thankfully not. Yeah, thankfully not. Not a wrapper on the floor. Right. Because I know I always have to have multiple towels, you know, one for my body, another for the hair, right?
JOE:Yeah. One towel. I don't I don't need much for for my hair. Well, if you had hair, then you could be different. Might be fighting over towels.
DYLAN:Yeah. Thankfully the hair on your back isn't thickened enough. Yeah, no. Another good scene is you know, the the burned out car still running. Yeah.
JOE:Oh, and how that all happens and it just yeah, that scene apparently that that was a longer scene. Oh yeah. Yeah, so um apparently Michael McKean was called in to play the state trooper for a longer version of that. Oh, really? And supposedly, like, and I don't know if it was gonna make the movie longer, but they had gone off course so far, and and so when he stops them originally, he's like, We're headed to Chicago. He's like, Oh, well, you're like way past oh really and so there's a lot longer stick to that. Oh, finally, and the scene was gonna end differently and they were gonna end up in jail. And oh really, yeah. So they ended up changing it and calling him back to like do some reshoots and things like that. Gotcha. But um, he was on Laverne and Shirley. Kind of I meant mentioned Penny Marshall in um Hocus Pocus. Um so Penny Marshall starred in she was Laverne on Laverne and Shirley, and Michael McKean was uh I think he was Lenny on there, but there was Lenny and Squiggy, and they were kind of like two guys who hung out with them. Oh funny. Yeah, but then he was on um if you've ever heard of Spinal Tap, nope. Uh recently he was on Call Saul or Breaking Bad, kind of you know, so he's a pretty well-known actor, so he was kind of like that. Was definitely a cameo to bring him in to not do that part.
DYLAN:So yeah. Do you know how fast you're going? Well, actually, I don't because all of the gauges burned melted off. Right, right, right.
JOE:And his response, do you feel like this car is suitable for driving? I do. I I really do. I feel it in my heart. What does he say? I feel it in my phone. Something like that.
DYLAN:It's like, I do, I really do. Yeah, I just as sincere as he can say it. The radio worked.
JOE:It's the thing about John Candy too. Right in that moment, like you kind of buy it. He's so he's so sensitive and so right, right. I do, I really do.
DYLAN:Yeah, yeah, just the way he says it.
JOE:And Michael McKean, I love his face the whole time. He has like his his um his mouth open and his eyes kind of like wide, like he's just I can't believe you're trying to get out of this, you know.
DYLAN:Yeah. Just a good scene. Yeah, and then you know, of course, the the final train station moment. You know, you you can't get past that. It's it's the emotional reveal, you know, of the whole movie. Yeah, comes to a point there, and you know, he when I I was honestly sad, like when when he left on the train, and I was like, I was like, almost. So he's just gonna go home to his family, and yeah, nothing's gonna happen. And then and then yeah, he g goes back to the train station and it's like, what are you doing here? Right. So yeah. So it was it was so good.
JOE:Yeah. Yeah, and apparently the the outtakes from another scene they put in for that. So Oh really? Yeah, so they took some outtakes to make that scene happen, and so it wasn't necessarily for that, yeah, but the way they captured it, um it just fit for what, you know, doing the kind of having his his reaction and having the scene to everything he was thinking about. Um it yeah, it's just great, you know, cutting of film and and editing and making it work. And um, but yeah, I totally you just totally think like, oh, oh, those, you know, the times that, you know, the things that they were going through and you know, how mad he was and how bad he felt about yelling at him and making him feel that way and not realizing like wow, like there's more going on here than you know.
DYLAN:Yep. So yeah, definitely goes below surface level on that. Yeah, yeah, super deep. Yeah.
JOE:And um yeah, about the time that they they kind of they're walking down the street with the trunk. I looked over at my wife and she's already tearing up. Yeah, yeah. It was so great. Um, that's so cute. Yeah. And it's it's such a good, it's such a good ending with that. I was waiting for him because when he originally yells at him, he says something to the effect of Oh, yeah, I'm gonna take you take you home and introduce you to my family and say, Hey, this is Del. He tells great stories, or something like that. I was waiting for him to say, Hey, this is Del, he tells some great stories. Like that would have been callback, yeah. Total callback to like that would have been the apology, right? You know, right.
DYLAN:Yeah. So how how long was the full cut of the movie? Yeah, originally it was three hours.
JOE:Man, which I think with so um I just bought the 4K version um and so I bought the still book 4K. Yeah. I was thinking, because more normally when you get when you get a you know, 4K or like a collector's edition or whatever, you get a Blu-ray copy, a digital copy, and a 4K copy. Yeah. The Blu-ray was just completely deleted scenes. Oh, cool. Yeah, so there's like hours of of deleted scenes on there, and so like I'm just waiting for somebody to do a full cut because there's so much on there. Like, there's they're all taken from like VHS, uh, because some of those deleted scenes were on televised versions. Oh really? Um, or from vaults from like Paramount and things like that, and they kind of explain, you know, these were from here, they're we got these from these sources, but we wanted to preserve them and give them to you so that you could see them in their full length.
DYLAN:Oh, so cool. Yeah, so I mean, because the final version is cut down to to what 90 minutes? Uh-huh. Something like that's like just past that idea.
JOE:Yeah, somewhere around there. And but with um one of the things that I want to check out after we've we've watched it, but um, there's a longer scene of um of Dell at the end kind of giving a speech of some kind. Yeah. And Steve Martin said he was like he was kind of mad that that got cut because he he said that was some of John Candy's best work. Wow. I know. So but I'm glad that we can watch it at home and and have it. I mean, uh after all these years of being able to find stuff like that. Yeah, you know, yeah.
DYLAN:That's so cool though.
JOE:Well, it took a long time for them to do the um the hotel scene because because of that pan shot, yeah, a lot of the crew couldn't even get past the first part of the panning because they were in that position and people wouldn't just start laughing, and they said they even have cuts where the camera's shaking because they would just laugh and they couldn't hold it in.
DYLAN:That's so good. Yeah, and you were saying earlier about um during during the car rental meltdown that um John Hughes was laughing so hard off camera.
JOE:Yeah, he can barely breathe. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That scene was hilarious. I I can imagine. I mean, she's such a great actress, and even in um when you uh if you uh well when we when we watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off, she's in it, and she's such a great character actor. I I mean she's just she was in another she was in a TV show called Small Wonder, and she was like the the neighbor, and she was just so great, she's just like this kind, nice person. And so like even in that scene, she kind of shows that that she's this kind, nice person, and then she gets messed with and she's like, Oh yeah.
DYLAN:Right. I was reading somewhere that the the airport scenes uh were filmed during an an active uh flight delay, which like creates the perfect, you know, background crowd of you know the the frustration you know that you could just see throughout the entire thing. Uh-huh.
JOE:Yeah.
DYLAN:I mean that's definitely something that happens on holidays and just uh well especially in the colder seasons when snow is a huge factor in travel. Yeah. So Joe, how many burned out cars out of ten would you rate this film?
JOE:I want to say like an 8.5.
DYLAN:Yeah. I really yeah, I totally get that.
JOE:Yeah.
DYLAN:Um, yeah, I was I was thinking like a good seven. Yeah. Um for for re-watchability, I would love to watch it again. Um, you know, maybe not right away, yeah, but like, you know, next year around this time, I'd still pull it out and watch it.
JOE:Well, next week is Thanksgiving.
DYLAN:So after watching it though, I really do feel like it would be a you know a tradition to kind of re-watch it around, you know, Thanksgiving time and stuff.
JOE:Definitely. Yeah, I it it kind of goes up there. I would put it in line with like even one of the uh peanuts movies and yeah and stuff, because I I don't think there's enough Thanksgiving uh versions. Yeah, and that's just yeah, especially again going back to the purpose of where it was written for the purpose of explaining what happened, but at the same time it ended up being a Thanksgiving movie, and that's okay. Yeah, because it's not it wasn't the first reason for it, right?
DYLAN:And and so right, it wasn't written because we needed a Thanksgiving movie, yeah, yeah. And I feel like that definitely works in its favor. You know, you're it's not like a Hallmark movie where it's just yeah, shoved at you the whole time. Yeah, I feel like it definitely holds up kind of the the comedy and then the emotional punch at the end though. It definitely definitely holds up. Yeah.
JOE:It's again so well written that you don't expect the amount of emotion to come out of it. Right. But it builds and builds and slowly kind of puts puts more in the basket kind of thing. Right. And then it just explodes at the end, you know. Just that scene of them walking down the street with with the the um the the trunk. Yeah, you know, because the funny thing about that trunk is it's almost like the bane of his existence at at the beginning. Right, you know, because they show it, and then like the person with the trunk took his cab. Yep. And so that's just the imp impetus of like, yeah. And then you finally see he's accepted the trunk. The trunk is his friend. Yeah.
DYLAN:So yeah, where where do you feel like this lands in kind of the the John Hughes lineup?
JOE:Man, it it's hard because there's maybe one movie I don't know as well. Yeah. And it's right up there because it was getting towards the hit the end of his, you know, like his indie career sort of you know, like because like Breakfast Club and a couple of those were were kind of he was kind of on his own. And and so when he got to this, I think he had like more of a financial like ability to do more of what he wanted.
DYLAN:Yeah.
JOE:And so like the stars that he wanted, he was able to get at that point. And he would say that the characters that he writes on paper, he kind of envisions sort of sort of the actors who are in it, but the actors who could pull that out. Yeah. And so he thinks about the characters first, but then can write for the actor and think like, okay, these are these are gonna be the people. And there were other casting choices or people who auditioned, but ultimately it was like these people owned it, yeah, and they took it on, you know. And even everybody in the from even the uh the guy who shows up to give them a ride.
DYLAN:Yeah.
JOE:You know, I mean, there's a full 10-minute d deleted scene on the on the disc with with his audition. Really? Yeah, and it's you could see him forming that character, and that was his first major film. But really. So yeah, I think that John Hughes was just on on the track of building his kind of I don't know, I want to say universe, but you know, that it's kind of a but building building his production. Right. He created uh I think at this point he created a record company just to be able to put out soundtracks that he wanted to mold and and mix and have the right people um from because a lot of his other films have a lot more pop music and current music and and things like that. And so this was a little more there's some mainstream stuff. Right um Daryl Hall wrote the last song um and uh the ending song for the movie. Uh and so you had a good collaboration of um artists that that came in to help. Um it's like the biggest, you know, they have they're singing Blue Moon of Kentucky, um, you have the Flintstones theme. Yeah. But one of the biggest songs that was out at the time was Every Time You Go Away. Um and so that was written by Daryl Hall, but there's another version that that was out that they ended up using just like a cover version by a band called Blue Room. Oh yeah. Um but uh but yeah, that it was really so that and song where they come into the house and that kind of starts. playing. Yeah. You know, I I that's the thing about the way John Hughes kind of sets things up is a lot of the the emotion um it's driven by the writing but he picks such good music to put into those scenes like whatever it is from when they're singing the Flintstones to you know he he writes to music and and so I think he that or he wrote to music and I think that drew out more of his creativity to be able to hear the soundtrack in his head and then to put what was going on on paper and then you know so I I think um I I think he was just getting getting warmed up at that point. Yeah thanks for traveling with us even if you lost your your rental reservation we really appreciate you taking this wild Thanksgiving road trip with us.
DYLAN:And since this is our Thanksgiving episode we just want to say how truly thankful we are for every listener who hangs out with us each week. You make this show what it is have a safe holiday enjoy the people around you and we'll be back next week with more movies more laughs and hopefully fewer burned cars. Happy Thanksgiving and we'll see you next time for another premiere you want to hurt me?
JOE:Go right ahead of it make you feel any better I'm an easy target. Yeah you're right I talk too much you should fade out on that okay hey Dylan how do you turn this thing off ouch