It can be outrageously funny if your an uptight guy like Neil Page (Steve Martin) who hooks up with a guy like Del Griffith(John Candy) and gets dropped in the middle of the American mid-west. Neil Page is one dry, too tight,suit-and-tie kinda guy that is trying to get from New York to Chicago. Unfortunately for him, the weather re-routes him and his plane to Wichita, Kansas. Simple enough right? It should be but it ain't because Neil has the misfortune of sharing the trip with a kind-hearted yet hugely irritating shower-curtain ring salesman named Del Griffith to help him on his way. From the moment these two meet in New York there are events that have to be seen to be believed. John Hughes is to be commended for making such a movie that you can watch again and again and never stop laughing from beginning to end. I think it is Hughes' keen eye for the Midwest that makes this movie so truly funny, very real characters at every stop that you can relate to and say, yeah, I remember a guy like that.
Most of all, however, is Del Griffith, John Candy's greatest role. Del is someone who everyone has met in their life and probably try to avoid for the most part but Hughes shows a man that has an unreal ability for irritation but within that is a person that is truly a warm hearted, lovable and real man as well. The ending will make you teary eyed unless you have a heart of stone. The rest of the movie will have you memorizing lines like 'those aren't pillows', 'people train runs outta Stubbville' and "Flintstones, meet the Flintstones". This movie was so overlooked at the time, a lot of it due to it's 'R' rating for a scene using the f-word 17 times, be warned, and consequently it may have lost a lot of audience due to that reason. As well, because it was a comedy, Candy got overlooked for a role that deserved, at least, a best actor Oscar nomination and that is no exaggeration. Ebert at least had the good sense to include this as one of the 100 greatest movies of all time and it certainly is that. In my opinion, the greatest comedy movie ever made.
Most of all, however, is Del Griffith, John Candy's greatest role. Del is someone who everyone has met in their life and probably try to avoid for the most part but Hughes shows a man that has an unreal ability for irritation but within that is a person that is truly a warm hearted, lovable and real man as well. The ending will make you teary eyed unless you have a heart of stone. The rest of the movie will have you memorizing lines like 'those aren't pillows', 'people train runs outta Stubbville' and "Flintstones, meet the Flintstones". This movie was so overlooked at the time, a lot of it due to it's 'R' rating for a scene using the f-word 17 times, be warned, and consequently it may have lost a lot of audience due to that reason. As well, because it was a comedy, Candy got overlooked for a role that deserved, at least, a best actor Oscar nomination and that is no exaggeration. Ebert at least had the good sense to include this as one of the 100 greatest movies of all time and it certainly is that. In my opinion, the greatest comedy movie ever made.