One week from now, I can rest easy. One week from now, I won't have midterms, papers, quizzes, labs or any other stresses in my life. I'll be curled on the couch, in a partially vegetative state in a tryptophan-induced coma and enjoying some of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions. I wake up for the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, then flip back and forth between the Westminster Dog Show and watching the Detroit Lions lose to whatever team they're playing. However, one tradition that has yet to catch on in my family is the Thanksgiving movie.
Years before the idea of having a traditional movie to watch on Turkey Day crossed my mind, I already had my Halloween and Christmas favorites.
Halloween isn't the same without a
requisite viewing of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas."" Although the movie actually concerns Christmas, as its title suggests, the film's twisted nature makes it a perfect Halloween treat.
You may not have a Halloween favorite, but most families have some classic to watch every Christmas. Whether it's ""Miracle on 34th St.,"" ""It's A Wonderful Life"" or ""The Wizard of Oz,"" cable networks make sure you have ample chances to view these films.
Personally, my yuletide film of choice has always been ""Home Alone."" Whether it was because of Macaulay Culkin's sadistically violent booby traps or the fact that the iconic scream of ""KEVIN!"" resonates all too well with my own childhood memories, ""Home Alone"" has always stuck with me. With its endlessly quotable lines, it's common to hear me yell, ""Look what you did, you little jerk!"" to one of my messier roommates, or check my Facebook to see if any new updates have been made to one of my favorite groups, ""Buzz's girlfriend, WOOF!""
Given all the wonderful things ""Home Alone"" has brought into my life, I can only wonder why it took me so long to pick out the perfect Thanksgiving film. After much deliberation and soul-searching, I narrowed my search to one film: ""Planes, Trains & Automobiles.""
""PT&A"" has it all. Like ""Home Alone,"" it's about someone (Steve Martin) desperately trying to get home in time to celebrate with his family. Also like ""Home Alone,"" it stars the dearly departed comedy genius John Candy. Just like ""Home Alone,"" Candy is insufferable on the ride home, whether it is his roving polka band from Sheboygan in ""Home Alone"" or his delightfully manic turn as Del Griffith in ""PT&A.""
The one problem with my plan of transportation domination come Thanksgiving is the obscene nature of ""Planes, Trains & Automobiles."" Although most of the film is relatively tame, a few choice scenes would leave my mother scrambling to cover my little brother's ears. Martin's encounter with an unhelpful car rental lady contains a higher concentration of F-bombs than I've ever seen in any other movie.
That being said, ""Planes, Trains & Automobiles"" has sat below the radar for too long. It stars Steve Martin and John Candy in their comedic primes, and is directed by legendary '80s director John Hughes (""The Breakfast Club,"" ""Sixteen Candles,"" ""Ferris Bueller's Day Off,"" ""Weird Science""). Come to think of it, John Hughes wrote the script for - you guessed it - ""Home Alone."" So when you get tired of the yammering relatives, or you can't stomach another minute of uncompetitive football (or Grandma's stuffing for that matter), pop in ""Planes, Trains & Automobiles"" and prepare to laugh.
If you want to gripe about the exclusion of boats from the title of ""Planes, Trains & Automobiles,"" e-mail Kevin at kevslane@gmail.com.
