The Undisputed Greatest Thanksgiving Movie Of All Time

I was thinking earlier today that this is the only category that I can do this in. That is, select a single film that is the 'greatest' without a doubt in a certain category. For example, 'Christmas' could go to Home Alone, Die Hard (yes, Die Hard is a Christmas movie), It's A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, or Scrooged. But not Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is claimed by Steve Martin and John Candy.

Planes Trains and Automobiles. Done and done. The most heartfelt comedy there is. Every Thanksgiving, after I dominate my brothers in our eating competition, my family retires to the basement and watches Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and it never gets old.

Directed by John Hughes in 1987 (the best year of the 80s), it's got that classic and cozy 80s feeling that is simply gone from today's films. In PTA, Neal Page (Steve Martin) is trying to get home to his family for Thanksgiving when problems start to occur. After his flight gets diverted due to bad weather, he teams up with Del Griffith (John Candy), a talkative and unkempt Shower Curtain Ring Salesman and the two of them try all sorts of ways to get home.

I could go on and on about this film. About how John Candy deserves an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, about how everyone should respect the fact that John Hughes refused to appeal to the studio and kept one scene that makes the film R instead of PG (the word 'fucking' is used 18 times in 60 seconds), about the hundreds of quotable lines ("We'd have better luck playing pick up sticks with your buttcheeks than we will getting a flight out of here") (I just laughed reading that), about it's rumored three-hour cut which if released would make me crap my pants, or about how it's Steve Martin's favorite film of his own.

But all you have to do is watch it and you'd already understand all of that. It's a work of art. AND...the music is pretty dope.

Here's the trailer.

Which brings me to two great "Thanksgiving" songs in the film. They aren't really "Thanksgiving" in the traditional sense, but after watching this film every year at Thanksgiving, they just only feel right when played around the holiday.

Blue Room - Everytime You Go Away

Originally on a Hall & Oates Album, the song was covered by Blue Room (Who's lead singer is Paul Young) for PTA. This is kinda the 'theme' song of PTA. A classic 80s jam.

Ray Charles - The Mess Around

This song plays during a great scene when John Candy is driving. If you've seen the film you know what I'm talking about. It's just John Candy with a cheesy mustache puffin on a cig and jammin out, and what more could you ask for. The progression from Candy's 'oh this is a pretty good song' to full on dashboard jam sesh gets me everytime. His facial expressions could not be funnier. This is one of my favorite songs and John Candy is one of my favorite actors. I don't think anybody can think about him and not be a little happier. He's one of those people who you never heard anything bad about. Based on his film choices, he also seems like he cared deeply. About what, I don't know. But I do know that he was a great guy and that there's nobody else like him.