Search - Planes, Trains and Automobiles / Summer Rental / Foul Play (Triple Feature) on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 12/29/2019...

5/5 Rating - Planes, Trains and Automobiles - Must see classic John Hughes comedy! Steve Martin and John Candy are at their best!

3/5 Rating - Foul Play - Fun comedy crime drama with Goldie Hawn shining and Chevy Chase not being so shiny and funny at all in this.

"Beware of the Dwarf!"

Randy E. Halford | Boise, ID | 01/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Three terrific comedies are packaged here from Paramount Studios.
First up: "Planes, Trains & Automobiles", writer-director John Hughes' exercise in incompatability and discomfort as two travelers--uptight ad exec Neal Page (Steve Martin) and obnoxious lovable slob/shower-ring curtain salesman Del Griffith (John Candy)--are thrown together through comic circumstances before Thanksgiving. Page wants nothing more than to get home for some turkey; instead, his travel plans are derailed at every turn, saddling him (and to his irritation, having to rely on him) with Griffith. There are some beautifully played-out comedy scenes, courtesy of Martin & Candy. But the real surprise is how they handle the more tense & frayed dramatic scenes. They learn as they go along to become better people, with Martin's character--repulsed, humiliated and rather snobbish--clashing with Candy's lower-class character, who's just yearning to be understood. A great holiday comedy about human nature and why "we can't all just get along".
"Summer Rental" tries to graduate up-and-coming comedy star Candy into a leading role. It's a pleasant but otherwise small-time, by-the-numbers comedy, obviously inspired by the success of "National Lampoon's Vacation" (which, coincidentally, Candy briefly appears). Playing a stressed-out air traffic controller, he packs up the family for a summertime excursion. Except it's anything but relaxing as Candy must suffer through all kinds of headaches--sunburns, lifeguards flirting with his teenage daughter, his beach house being a "main highway" for vacationers to get to an overcrowded beach, and clashes with a high-class jerk of a landlord, played wonderfully nasty by Richard Crenna. Halfway through the movie, Candy befriends a crusty but amiable old salt (the terrific Rip Torn) who runs a seafood restaurant (out of the remnants of his boat). Thus, a showdown between tenant & landlord is inevitable, with Candy using the old boat to challenge Crenna during a sailing competition. What is otherwise a routine comedy is brightened by Candy's likability as lead and given breezy direction by comedy veteran Carl Reiner.
"Foul Play" brings SNL alumni Chevy Chase to the big screen, wisely hitching his wagon to one of Hollywood's brightest stars, Goldie Hawn, for this irrevent comedy about a plot to assassinate the Pope during a San Francisco visit. This mystery-suspense-comedy manages to make a routine genre fun to watch as it introduces odd twists, weird characters and offbeat laughs. Hawn's character is a bright but sheltered librarian who becomes hopelessly entangled in the evil plan. Chase is the police detective who finds himself protecting Hawn while becoming romantically involved. Hawn is charming as a slightly ditzy but endearing damsel-in-distress; Chase make a good first impression, walking the fine line between sarcastic bumbler and leading man. Burgess Meredith is wonderful as Hawn's kindly landlord (watch for the highlight where he uses self-defense/karate to battle a baddie). But it's Dudley Moore that nearly steals the film (he launched his solo career with this movie) as loser/swinger Stanley, making every sporadic scene he appears in hilarious.
No extras are included with this package, but the films themselves are crisply transferred to DVD format. You just can't go wrong with this collection!"