A Chicago advertising man must struggle to travel home from New York for Thanksgiving, with a lovable oaf of a shower-curtain-ring salesman as his only companion.A Chicago advertising man must struggle to travel home from New York for Thanksgiving, with a lovable oaf of a shower-curtain-ring salesman as his only companion.A Chicago advertising man must struggle to travel home from New York for Thanksgiving, with a lovable oaf of a shower-curtain-ring salesman as his only companion.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
- Waitress
- (as Susan Kellerman)
- Martin
- (as George O. Petrie)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJohn Hughes, in an interview on the "Those Aren't Pillows" DVD, said he was inspired to write the film's story after an actual flight he was on from New York to Chicago. The flight was diverted to Wichita, Kansas, taking him five days to get home.
- GoofsWhen the L train is coming back to the station at the end of the movie there is an aerial view of the actual train which uses reversed footage. On the ground below you see (very quickly) a person walking backwards.
- Quotes
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 fucking dumb-ass smile off your rosy fucking cheeks! Then you can give me a fucking automobile! A fucking Datsun, a fucking Toyota, a fucking Mustang, a fucking Buick! Four fucking 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 fucking nowhere with fucking keys to a fucking car that isn't fucking there. And I really didn't care to fucking walk down a fucking highway and across a fucking runway to get back here to have you smile in my fucking face. I want a fucking car... right... fucking... now.
[pause]
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: [narrows her eyes] You're fucked.
- Crazy creditsAfter all the end credits, there's a shot of advertising executive William Windom in the office as in the scene in the beginning of the movie, still examining the pictures Neal Page was waiting for him to finish perusing at the staff meeting.
- Alternate versionsThe theatrical and VHS releases have the closing Paramount logo after the post-credits scene. On further releases including the DVD, the logo is edited out, and the movie ends immediately.
- SoundtracksBa-Na-Na-Bam-Boo
Written by Elizabeth Westwood, Nick Burton & Robert Andrews
Performed by Westworld
Produced by Mark Ferda
Westworld performs courtesy of BMG Records (UK) Ltd.
Steve Martin and John Candy find themselves stuck travelling across the country together to get home for Thanksgiving. It's hate-at-first-sight for Steve and he treats his travelling companion pretty badly, even though John never means to do any harm. That's my only complaint about this movie, and really the only reason watching this movie isn't an annual tradition. Steve Martin's character is so mean! There's a famous conversation between my mom and my brother my family frequently references: my mom was upset that a total stranger was mean to her, but she tried to cut the person some slack, in case he/she was having a bad day. "Would you treat someone that way if you were having a bad day?" my brother asked. Since the answer was obviously "no," we've had a hard time cutting people slack for that reason ever since.
I have a hard time cutting Steve Martin's character slack because he's having a travelling nightmare. Yes, his meeting runs late, he literally falls on his face and loses a cab to Kevin Bacon, he's seated next to the chatty John Candy on the airplane, a blizzard forces an early landing, he gets robbed, all the rental cars are taken, the train breaks down, and countless other accidents through the second half of the movie, but in my opinion, he wouldn't take out his frustration on an innocent, friendly, well-intentioned man who has endured all the same travelling hiccups, if he was a nice person. I recently had to travel across the country for a wedding, and after many things went wrong, I ended up in tears but I didn't insult anyone.
The good parts of the movie are the hilarious and realistic mishaps throughout the cross-country journey, and of course, John Candy. He's lovable, sensitive, funny, and kind. He continually sees the best in mean people, inspiring charity in audience members' hearts at the start of the holiday season. If you've never seen it, or if it's been a few years, rent it this Thanksgiving. At the very least, you'll be reminded to be grateful whenever your travelling plans go smoothly.
- HotToastyRag
- Sep 12, 2019
- Permalink
Everything New on Paramount+ in October
Everything New on Paramount+ in October
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Mejor solo que mal acompañado
- Filming locations
- Batavia, New York, USA(thruway Scenes)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $49,530,280
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $7,009,482
- Nov 29, 1987
- Gross worldwide
- $49,530,280
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1