Planes, Trains & Automobiles: Class Consciousness On The Road

In 1987, John Hughes debuted one of the best road trip comedies of all time. John Candy and Steve Martin put on a master class of the buddy comedy subgenre, and are the faces of one of the most well-known Thanksgiving movies that has ever been made. But Planes, Trains & Automobiles is not simply a Thanksgiving movie, it's a tale of class and the humbling nature of traveling. Whether you’re a road-tested salesman or a top marketing executive, traversing America is sure to bring out the best and worst of anybody.

Steve Martin portrays the impatient ad-man Neil Page trying to get home for Thanksgiving only to be delayed by factors out of his control. Traveling alongside him is his walking pet peeve Del Griffith, played by the all-time great John Candy. From the very first predicament he encounters, Neil is upset that he is being inconvenienced by people he sees as beneath him. Why shouldn’t he be annoyed? After all, he is paying top dollar for his first class ticket for a short two hour flight only to be denied his luxurious seat at the last moment.

Forced to sit in coach, Neil’s annoyed reaction is telling of his usual lifestyle and how he typically travels. As a marketing executive who is taking meetings in New York, he isn’t used to the cramped space of an economy section. Meanwhile, Del essentially lives on the road as a working-class salesman and doesn’t mind sitting in coach—he’s just happy to be on the flight. The overwhelming positivity displayed by Del is consistent throughout the challenges the duo face. Del loves the road; based on his enthusiasm and inventiveness, this is not his first rodeo.

Del is the type of guy who has no problem talking to strangers and that gets him where he’s going most of the time. He can call on various people in different regions of the country and know they will help him because they owe him a favor or he’s done business with them before. Neil, despite being in an influential corporate position, doesn’t have the same charismatic nature. If anything, Neil is used to paying a premium to get the best service while traveling. But without those comforts, he’s completely blindsided by middle America.

Once the plot takes us to Wichita, Neil checks in at home with his worried, yet suspicious wife and lets her know where he is. Del offers him a place to sleep when he realizes that Neil's only option is sleeping on the airport floor. In my experience, once your bag becomes a pillow and your coat becomes a blanket, the travel experience is over. Nothing good will come out of the trip moving forward until you get to your destination.

Even though Neil’s only other option is sleeping on the airport floor he’s still perturbed at the idea of Del’s subpar lodging. He has a place to sleep, but still can’t stifle his complaints for a single night. Why is this motel so off-putting for Neil? The answer is simple, he’s a marketing executive who is used to nothing but the best and would never once willingly go to Wichita. Sure it’s not the Four Seasons, but it’s a warm place to sleep and there’s even a vibrating bed—which is absolutely delightful for Del.

When Neil eventually explodes on Del for his various perceived slights, Del reveals that he's not a blundering oaf; he's a man who's endured plenty of tragedy and chooses to look at the positive side of life in spite of all that. Losing his wife is what gives Del his perspective, one that Neil doesn’t have. Del is a weathered traveler, living life out on the brutal highways and airports of the country. Successfully ignoring his past, Del has learned to enjoy the little things in life that Neil doesn’t. Neil’s fear of missing the all-important Thanksgiving meal with his loving family is his driving factor. But there’s more to it than simply making it home. He wants to be home in his massive suburban house and eat a bountiful meal that anyone of a lower class would look upon with envy. The image of the perfect family is what Neil desires, while Del wants the real deal; he wants to be loved and to be a part of a community bigger than himself.

Every inconvenience they encounter is a test of Del’s street smarts and shows how ignorant Neil is to the daily lives of “regular” people. The New York to Chicago flight is less than three hours, but if you’re used to driving that route, (which I’m sure Del is) the hours-long delay plus the flight time is not a major problem. Even being diverted to Wichita isn’t a massive headache for Del. In fact it’s a great opportunity to catch up with an old friend and call on that favor he’s owed. These are Del’s people, Midwesterners who will happily give you a lift in the back of their muddy pickup truck.

Traveling during Thanksgiving is arguably one of the worst times to be on the road or in an airport. Having been one of the many Americans that travels during this season, I can attest that everything is more crowded and the weather is always one bad storm away from slowing you down. A flight as routine as one from New York to Chicago should be simple, but holiday traffic and weather are always going to be a factor. If you have a company credit card or lots of money, you can skip the awful drive between major cities and fly. However, weather remains a humbling force that can bring entire cities to a standstill, and will strand even the wealthiest travelers. Transit is the equalizer for Neil that brings him to the lower-class America that he has quite possibly never experienced before.

To Neil, Del might as well be the embodiment of this lower-class America, the king of the yokels basking in the praise of his people. Whenever the crowd on the bus erupts during Del’s rendition of the Flintones theme, Neil is shocked that the bus riders are so easily entertained. The simple enjoyment of a well known TV theme is foreign to Neil, who tries and fails to entertain the crowd with a poor rendition of a Sinatra track. It’s clear the bus isn’t full of Sinatra fans.

At a certain point, the audience finally sees Neil give in to the simple pleasures of being on the road with Del. They get drunk together, they laugh, they reminisce about the families that they miss so much. This is the true turning point for Neil, where we really see him embrace the road-worn attitude of Del and accept his newfound friend. While Neil and Del are completely different people in their personal lives, they are still able to bond because the road has humbled both of them after this trip.

Neil’s redeeming moments come in the final scenes. He realizes Del doesn’t have a place to call home and opens his own home to a man who was a complete stranger less than 48 hours before. Del is included as part of a family for the first time in years and he is able to show Neil how to properly enjoy the holiday and cherish what he has. The two are able to bridge their class divide while learning something from one another. The road is a challenging place during the holidays. No matter what section of society Del and Neil are in they are able to conquer the road together while gaining a sense of empathy for the other. Del finds the community he has been searching for and Neil gains a better appreciation for what he has rather than the image he exudes. Who could ask for anything more from the Thanksgiving holiday than the chance to make connections and expand your community?