Planes, Trains and Automobiles - ep 92

Here’s an idea: Have a point! It makes it so much more interesting for the listener.

Those famous, cruel words in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” aren’t always taken to heart on a typical episode of Old Millennials Remember Movies, but for the sake of this John Hughes comedy classic, we’ll give it a try this time.

While there aren’t many “Thanksgiving classics” out there, “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” lives comfortably at the top of the list, thanks to the dynamic between comedy legends Steve Martin and John Candy. It’s a family-friendly romp about an exasperated jerk and a cartoonish oaf battling poor weather and bad luck in order to make it home for Thanksgiving dinner. Well… it’s a family-friendly romp EXCEPT for that glorious, f-bomb riddled explosion by Martin at the car rental kiosk. Kids, if you need to learn how to swear properly, study this scene until you can recite every syllable.

Like so many of the movies discussed on Old Millennials Remember Movies, nostalgia plays a major role in how this movie plays in 2020. Old Millennials co-hosts Tyler and Angela had very different experiences growing up with “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” and so their reactions to the re-watch triggers some deeper than expected discussion. The Old Millennials analyze the enduring legacy of John Hughes and whether the modern film industry is even capable of delivering zeitgeist-triggering communal experiences that pass from generation to generation. See! We have a point to all this!

And if you take away just one thing from “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” remember that you can include this movie in your spirited games of “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.”

Also discussed in this episode:

Mangrove – from the Small Axe anthology by Steve McQueen (2020)
Over the Moon (2020)
Rebecca (2020)
The Queen’s Gambit (2020 limited TV series)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:27:06 — 39.9MB) | Embed