Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Continuity mistake: When Neal and Del are waiting for Owen in the Braidwood parking lot, a couple of the cars change type and position between the overhead shot when Neal says "Just get me to the train station" and when we see Owen's truck pulling up. There was not enough time between shots for any cars to have moved.

Plot hole: After the car burns, and they arrive at the motel, Neal only has $17.00 on him and nothing but melted credit cards, forcing him to give up his watch to help pay for the room. Del only has $2.00 but his watch doesn't quite flip the bill. At this point, between Neal and Del, they only have $2.00. However, when Neal invites Del into the room, so he doesn't freeze to death, they are eating Doritos and drinking shooters. Even in 1987 Doritos and a bunch of shooters must have cost more than $2.00. This is assuming Del didn't already have them in his trunk. But even if he did, at the end, Neal gets on his train, makes a return trip to find Del just where he thought he'd be, and then they'd both have to get back onto that train. After all, they both showed up at Neal's home. Once again, It would take money to get on that train. Four train fares with only $2.00. Neal's first trip, return trip, and Neal with Del for the last trip = four fares.

DrLoomis1978

Continuity mistake: When Neal is walking to the space where his rental car is supposed to be, he looks down as he walks past stalls V-2 and V-3, yet after V-3 he passes two more cars before arriving at stall V-5.

Continuity mistake: When Neal is scanning the parking spaces in the rental car lot, the shot switches to Neal's POV and back. When the camera is on Neal, he walks completely past the Mercury Sable in stall V-2, yet when it switches to his POV he's only just beginning to pass the same spot. As he approaches V-3 in the POV shot, the camera switches again and he's now well past it.

Bus Lover: Why don't you take a picture? It'll last longer.

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Trivia: When Neal's wife is watching TV in bed, she is impossibly viewing the John Hughes film "She's Having a Baby," which didn't even premier in theaters until February of 1988, three months after "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" premiered in November 1987. John Hughes (who directed both films) used his own unreleased "She's Having A Baby" footage/soundtrack and a cameo by Kevin Bacon as teasers for the upcoming 1988 film. There's still some speculation that the plots of the two films actually intersect, and that Kevin Bacon (who is credited as the Taxi-Racer in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles") was playing his character, Jake, from "She's Having a Baby."

Charles Austin Miller

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Question: This question is about the scene where John Candy is the driver, and Steve Martin is the passenger in the rented car. Steve is unaware at one point, that they are going the wrong way on the highway. He becomes aware, after looking out the window and down onto the shoulder of the road with the wet snow splashing up. As soon as he looks at that, he knows they are going the wrong way. What was it about the road that made him realize it?

Answer: The reason was that the snowbank was on his side (the passenger side) when it should have been on the driver's side if they were driving in the right direction. Also and I'm not sure if you could see this in the film but the deflecters on the road which separate the lanes if you are going in the right direction shine yellow and if you are going the wrong way shine red.

Tobin OReilly

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