“Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” remains one of the most underrated comedies from the 1980s. The film is easily the best Thanksgiving comedy (“Prisoners” is the best Thanksgiving movie, in general—fight me) and is a classic that showcases the talents of two of the biggest comedic actors of the era, Steve Martin and John Candy. And as we know, Hollywood is obsessed with remakes and so, it was only a matter of time before “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” goes back into development one more time.
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According to Deadline, up-and-coming writer, Aeysha Carr, is set to write a new version of “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” that is set to star Will Smith and Kevin Hart in the starring roles with both men producing. Normally, we’d be a bit harsh towards the idea of remaking a classic film, and even though there’s nothing about Hart and Smith that proves the new version will be great, the two actors are some of the most charismatic leading men who know a thing or two about effective comedy. That is to say, it could be a lot worse.
“Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” follows the story of two disparate men that have to join forces to find some way to get home for Thanksgiving. One of the men is a bit of an uptight a-hole that is uncomfortable with his new travel buddy, a more easy-going, jovial shower curtain-ring salesman. As you might imagine from that pairing, hilarity most definitely ensues. The original film is one of the legendary films from writer-director John Hughes.
Smith and Hart are both A-listers with a ton of huge credits to their names. Both have also carved similar careers, starting with more comedic roles and morphing into franchise pictures, with Hart just starting to appear in action films such as “Jumanji” and “Hobbs & Shaw.” It’s unclear how the two men will work together since it’s unclear if Smith will play the real straight man or not, with Hart providing the comic relief. Or if the two men will fight each other for comedic one-liners.
Either way, “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” has a good chance of being a huge hit with both men involved. So, it’ll at least be interesting to see how they take Hughes’ classic comedy and update it for a more modern era.
