Did Writer/Director John Hughes ever write a bad movie?
Among the films he wrote:
Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Home Alone, Weird Science, Pretty in Pink, Home Alone 2, Some Kind of Wonderful, Uncle Buck, National Lampoon’s Vacation, The Great Outdoors, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, She’s having a Baby, and the great Planes, Trains and Automobiles along with a host of other films.
He directed many of those classics, including Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
The man was a vastly under-appreciated genius who gave us many of the best comedies of the 1980′s.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles came out in 1987. I was stationed in England at the time and British Television was not one to run a bunch of commercials hyping newly released American movies, so I had never heard of this movie when it came to the theater in a neighboring town. I figured that between Steve Martin and John Candy, surely it would be a good movie.
It was a great movie and is sill one of my favorite 80′s comedies!
It was made for $15 Million and ended up making over $150 Million at the box office which made it one of the biggest films of John Candy’s career.
John Hughes had made comedies targeting more of a teen audience and this was his first attempt at a “adult” comedy.
The film earned an R-Rating for one notorious and absolutely hilarious scene in which Steve Martin vents his anger at a Rental Car Agent and ends up dropping about 17 “F-Bombs” during his tirade. It has to be the funniest obscene tirade in film history.
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Car Rental Agent: [cheerfully] Welcome to Marathon, may I help you?
Neal: Yes.
Car Rental Agent: How may I help you?
Neal: You can start by wiping that fu**ing dumb-ass smile off your rosey, fu**ing, cheeks! Then you can give me a fu**ing automobile: a fu**ing Datsun, a fu**ing Toyota, a fu**ing Mustang, a fu**ing Buick! Four fu**ing wheels and a seat!
Car Rental Agent: I really don’t care for the way you’re speaking to me.
Neal: And I really don’t care for the way your company left me in the middle of fu**ing nowhere with fu**ing keys to a fu**ing car that isn’t fu**ing there. And I really didn’t care to fu**ing walk down a fu**ing highway and across a fu**ing runway to get back here to have you smile in my fu**ing face. I want a fu**ing car RIGHT FU**ING NOW!
Car Rental Agent: May I see your rental agreement?
Neal: I threw it away.
Car Rental Agent: Oh boy.
Neal: Oh boy, what?
Car Rental Agent: You’re fu**ed!
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! One of my all time fav movies! I just did a whole bit of that movie with the hubs.. it was from the scene when they were riding in the back of the hilly billy “Owen’s” truck where his wife had a kid that came out sideways… anyway, it was when SM was trying to get the gloves and the dog snapped at him and SM kept saying, “nippppp, nipppp…. I had just smashed my finger and was doing that…
By: apieceoflifespie on August 15, 2011
at 9:08 pm
Planes Trains and Automobiles is one of the few movies I simply can’t watch. I cringe through it. So many things go wrong I just wanna cry instead of laugh. It completely stresses me out!!! What does that say about me??!!! haha
By: Livvy Ospry on August 15, 2011
at 10:10 pm
I attended my 12 Step meeting and one guy we’ll call J shared and used the F word 34 times. When he was done , I slipped him a note and asked why did he have to use the F word 34 times? He wrote something on the note and sent it back. It said “F you. That’s 35.”
By: Carl D'Agostino on August 16, 2011
at 4:31 am
F**king hysterical!
By: Kathryn McCullough on August 16, 2011
at 5:34 am
Missss Viiitttttooooo – I figured you would have loved that movie
By: TheIdiotSpeaketh on August 16, 2011
at 6:33 am
Don’t think I’ve ever seen it all the way through. A buddy worked in a big cinema house in Aurora, Ill, during the late 80s, and I saw a LOT of 5-10 minute bits of movies.
Though having rented a fair number of cars, and having dealt with a number of brain-dead rental agents, I can certainly sympathise on the tirade.
And Carl – “F**k You, that’s 35.” Love it!
By: johncerickson on August 16, 2011
at 1:07 pm