John Hughes · 1987 · road

John Hughes's 1987 comedy of a journey that should have been simple. All Neal Page wants is to get from New York to Chicago for Thanksgiving; a snowstorm and a hopeless travelling companion turn it into a three-day odyssey by plane, train, automobile, and bus across the wintry Midwest. Beneath the farce is one of cinema's warmest portraits of unlikely friendship.

1. 1
   New York

   Marketing man Neal Page just wants to fly home to Chicago for Thanksgiving.

2. 2
   Wichita

   A blizzard diverts his flight to Wichita, stranding him with the maddening, big-hearted shower-curtain-ring salesman Del Griffith.

3. 3
   St Louis

   By rental car the mismatched pair battle their way to St Louis through every indignity the road can offer.

4. 4
   Chicago

   Trains, automobiles, and a final act of unexpected grace finally carry Neal home to Chicago, where he learns what Del has been hiding.