User:LancedSoul/sandbox/Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a 1987 American comedy film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes.

Plot
Easily excitable Neal Page (Steve Martin) is somewhat of a control freak. Trying to get home to Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with his wife (Laila Robins) and kids, his flight is rerouted to a distant city in Kansas because of a freak snowstorm, and his sanity begins to fray. Worse yet, he is forced to bunk up with talkative Del Griffith (John Candy), whom he finds extremely annoying. Together they must overcome the insanity of holiday travel to reach their intended destination.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Del Griffith's declaration that he knows what kind of person he is, and he's not going to change. It's clearly John Candy himself talking as much as the character, and easily the most moving scene of his far too short career.
 * 2) Like all John Hughes movies, this one has an amazing soundtrack comprised entirely of hidden gems from the era, featuring everything from gothy New Wave Music ("Modigliani" by Book of Love when Del is sitting alone in the burnt up remains of the rental car) to hard rock ("I'll Show You Something Special" by Balaam & The Angel playing on the taxi driver's radio) to country music (Emmylou Harris's cover of "Back In Baby's Arms" in the infamous "Those aren't pillows!" scene) to stuff that defies genre (Silicone Teens' cover of "Red River Rock" as Del is driving the rental car and "Ba-Na-Na-Bam-Boo" by Westworld during the scene on the bus).
 * 3) *Most famously is the instrumental version of "The Power to Believe" by Sophisti-Pop group Dream Academy, used to score Del's I Am What I Am speech and, later, becomes his leitmotif when Neil is riding the el train home and slowly realizes the truth about Del, keying in observant viewers that the story isn't over just yet and things are about to get much more serious. And of course, there's the proto-Stupid Statement Dance Mix "I Can Take Anything" during Neal's Rage-Breaking Point.