John Hughes strikes again! If you remember, Ferris Bueller's Day Off was a great comedy film, but I think this tops it. Steve Martin and John Candy just can't be topped with both in top comedic form. So now for a review.
Plot:
Enter Neal Page, a marketing executive who is in New York on a business trip. The meeting goes long and he has to rush to get to his flight back home to Chicago on time. In a mad rush for a taxicab during rush hour in New York, he ends up getting one for $75, but while he's bargaining, someone takes the cab. He chases after him, gets a glimpse of him, but the cab takes off.
After catching a bus to the airport, Neal finds out that his flight has been delayed due to bad weather. He fears that because it's Thanksgiving all other types of travel will be booked. He notices the man sitting across from him is the guy who stole his cab. The guy quickly tries to apologize and gets on Neal's nerves. Soon the flight is ready to board.
Neal's first class ticket it denied since the flight is late and ends up sitting in coach, right next to the cab stealer. He introduces himself as Del Griffith, a shower-curtain-ring salesman. He keeps getting on Neal's nerves further. But the trouble is just beginning when they land in Witchita, Kansas due to a blizzard in Chicago.
Neal phones his wife and says he will be delayed even further. Del tells Neal that most hotels will be full and reccomends that the two go to an inn. After Neal sees the alternative, which is sleeping on the floor at the airport, he accepts. After quite a cab ride over, they realize they have the last room of the night and must share a bed.
After Del continues his disturbances to Neal, Neal freaks and cruelly criticizes Del on all that has happened in the past 12 hours or so. Del continually gets sadder and sadder as Neal continues to the point where Del defends himself in one of the most moving monolague's of screen history. Neal decides to stay figuring things can't get worse.
The two wake up in a very awkward position and go for breakfast in a diner. When they finish, they realize that both of them have been robbed. They assume that the airline is completely unreliable and decide to get a ride with the inn's son to the train station.
After having to ride in back of a pickup in 1 degree winter in Kansas, they get on the train. Unfortunately it breaks down and they end up having to walk to the bus station that takes them to St. Louis. They get to the airport there and Del sells enough shower-curtain-rings to get a good lunch. No airplanes are available, and Neal leaves and goes to rent a car to drive to Chicago.
Neal is dropped off at the car lot and sees his car is not there. So he marches into the rental car agency, drops about 17 f-bombs in one of the most memorable scenes in frustration, and ends up being punched and almost hit by Del, who happens to have a car.
The two, reunited, start driving to Chicago, but soon Del drives the wrong way on the interstate, gets squeezed between two semi-trucks in another memorable scene, and a cigarette he threw out earlier but ended up stuck in the back seat makes the car catch fire. Neal asks Del how he got a car in the first place without a credit card and Del reveals he used one of Neal's. The two fight and manage to drive the car to a motel.
Neal says they each get their own room, but Del can't afford it and sits in the burnt out car for the night. Neal notices him all alone and allows him to come in to the room. Luckily they each have their own bed this time, but the two talk about their wives and sort of bond while drinking and eating chips.
The two then leave the motel in crashing style but since the speedometer is melted they can't keep track of their speed and get pulled over. The cop doesn't let them drive anymore and the two end up catching a ride with a semi-driver who doesn't let them sit up in his cab. So they sit in the back of the trailer with frozen fish.
Neal gets to a monarail station where he will get one last ride home. He says goodbye to Del, and the two realize that they will miss each other's company. On the ride, Neal thinks about the last couple days and it seems like Del didn't really have a place to go, and decides to go back and talk with him about this.
When he gets back to the station he sees Del sitting by himself. He asks what he's still there for and Del reveals that his wife, whom he mentioned once in a while throughout the movie, has been dead for 8 years and that he has no home. Neal, out of courtesy and new friendship allows Del to come home with him for a nice Thanksgiving meal.
Now for the grading scale:
Acting: 10 out of 10. While the supporting cast seems almost non-existant, the two guys are excellent.
Entertainment: 10 out of 10. Great throughout.
Screenplay: 10 out of 10. Hughes always writes extremely well.
Directing: 10 out of 10. Hughes does an excellent job directing as well.
Technical Credits: 6 out of 10. Cinematography is pretty great, but the rest is standard.
Genre Fit: 8 out of 10. Crosses into drama a bit here and there, as expected, but pretty funny.
MPAA Rating: 5 out of 10. With the exception of the f-bomb scene, the film would be PG.
Stupid Scenes: 10 out of 10. None.
Deeper Message: 10 out of 10. Bonds of friendship can come from anywhere, literally. There's no place like home. I could go on for hours with this.
Beginning: 29 out of 30. Great start.
Middle: 28 out of 30. Great middle.
Ending: 30 out of 30. Fantastic ending.
Final Score: 166/180 or 92%. An A, well deserved for a deserving film of travel and fun.
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