Movie Night: Make Me Laugh

Planes, Trains and Automobiles; Oh boy! Where, oh where, do I begin? It’s the funniest movie ever! Ok, maybe one of the funniest.

There as so many funny parts to this movie, I don’t know where to start. Well, maybe from the beginning. This movie starts out funny. Coming off of a business trip, Neal Page (played by Steve Martin) only wants to get home to his wife and kids in time for Thanksgiving (two days away). So, he’s trying to catch the 6 o’clock flight to Chicago. His colleague told him “You’ll never make the six.”, but Neil is a determined man. So, he’s racing a stranger to get the only available cab in the busy streets of New York. He loses out in the end after tripping over some random trunk someone left off the sidewalk. After spotting another cab, he offers $10 to an attorney in exchange for his place in the cab; after the good-natured man raises the price to $75 and walks off with Neal’s money, the cab is then stolen away by Del Griffith (played by John Candy). Oh, and that trunk he tripped over, causing him to miss the first cab, it was Del’s. Well, if you don’t already know, you could guess by now that he didn’t make the six. But only because the flight was delayed.

In this movie, it’s one thing after another, after another, after another. I mean, talk about having a bad day, or two. Anyway, if you’ve seen the movie, you know the story. If not, it’s worth the 92 minutes of side-piercing laughter. Well, at least that’s how it was for me. :-)

Here’s a taste of what this movie has to offer:

Neal is frustrated and is arguing with Del after having to share a single-bed hotel room with him:

Del: “Well, who let you stay in the room? I even let you pay for it so you wouldn’t feel like an intruder, which you certainly are.”

Neal: “Oh, I’m an intruder?”

Del: “Yes. You’re an intruder. I was having a perfectly nice trip until you walked into my life.”

Neal: I walked into your life? Who was that who talked my ear off on the plane? Who was that? I’m curious.”

Del: “Well, who told you to book a room? I did, out of the goodness of my dumb ol’ heart. Boy! You’re an ungrateful jerk, Neal. Well, go ahead, sleep in the lobby. See if I care. I hope you wake up so stiff, you can’t even move.”

Neal: “You’re no saint. You got a free cab, a free room and someone who’ll listen to your boring stories. I mean, didn’t you notice on the plane when you started talking, eventually I started reading the vomit bag? Didn’t that give you some sort of clue like, ‘Hey, maybe this guy’s not enjoying it’? You know, everything is not an anecdote. You have to discriminate. You choose things that are funny or mildly amusing or interesting. You're a miracle—your stories have none of that. They're not even amusing accidentally!

‘Honey, I'd like you to meet Del Griffith, he's got some amusing anecdotes for ya. Oh, and here's a gun so you can blow your brains out! You'll thank me for it.’

I could tolerate any insurance seminar. For days I could sit there and listen to them go on and on with a big smile on my face. They'd say, ‘How can you stand it?’ I'd say, ‘Cause I've been with Del Griffith. I can take anything."

You know what they'd say? They'd say, ‘I know what you mean. The shower curtain ring guy. Whoa!’

It's like going on a date with a Chatty Cathy doll. I expect you to have a little string on your chest that I pull out and have to snap back. Except I wouldn't pull it out and snap it back — you would. ‘Aah, aah, aah, aah!’

And by the way, when you're telling these little stories? Here's a good idea — have a point. It makes it so much more interesting, for the listener!”

After a long night, Neal and Del fall asleep. They wake up holding each other. Oh yeah, and Del is kissing on Neal’s ear.

Neal: “Del?”

Del: (eyes closed) “Hmm?

Neal: “Why did you kiss my ear?”

Del: (eyes now open) “Why are you holding my hand?”

Neal: “Where’s your other hand?”

Del: “Between two pillows.”

Neal: “Those aren’t pillows!”

After the ear-kissing, hand-holding, pillow incident, Neal splashes his face with cold water at the hotel bathroom sink, just to realize that the water in the sink has Del’s dirty socks in it. He’d been soaking them overnight. Disgusted, Neal reaches for a towel. He dries his face and looks into the mirror. In pure HORROR, he holds up the towel. It’s a pair of Del’s whitey-tighties!