Watching Movies: Steve Martin Wears A Gold Piaget and John Candy Wears a Casio in ‘Planes, Trains & Automobiles’

By Danny Milton

New York City, Two Days Before Thanksgiving.

These two title cards fading onto the screen set up a rollicking 1980s slapstick adventure that only John Hughes could put to film. We’re talking Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) today on Watching Movies – a holiday romp that may very well be the most quintessential Thanksgiving movie ever made. But it might also be one of the best, true, watch movies ever made, with direct call-outs to the wristwear in the film, and an excellent close-up to boot.

I’ll admit, it had been years since I last saw this one, but it will surely become seasonal viewing if for no other reason than the way it mixes horological intrigue with classic ’80s humor. In fact, the film’s stars (Steve Martin and John Candy) both consider this to be their favorite film they ever made. I can’t blame them. As the movie’s leading actors, they also wear the movie’s leading watches: A battery-powered, digital Casio, and a high-brow, gold dress watch emblematic of the “greed is good ” decade.

Why We’re Watching

If the above paragraph didn’t give it away, I’m not sure what to tell you. Let’s work backward. Today is Black Friday – the biggest shopping day of the year, where people line up in front of department stores near and far to get the sweet sweet deals on holiday gifts (I stay home). That means yesterday was Thanksgiving – the holiday at the center of Planes, Trains & Automobiles. Are you with me? That’s why we’re watching.

The film follows Steve Martin’s Neal Page, a big-shot marketing exec who needs to catch a flight from New York to Chicago to get back to his family for the holiday. A snowstorm, and all manner of hijinks, put a wrench in those plans. On this adventure, he meets traveling salesman, Del Griffith (played by Candy) and is forced to make the long journey home with him, braving regional airports, dingy hotels, and burnt-out cars in the process.