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Like any good buddy comedy, “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” is about bringing two totally opposite characters together. But there are other, subtler pairs of opposites that can subconsciously affect your response to the movie, even if it takes a couple of viewings to consciously recognize them.
For instance, Neal and Del’s disastrous road trip is bookended by two motel stays — first, when Del buys a room for an unwilling Neal, and second, when Neal willingly invites Del in out of the cold. This gesture of kindness shows how far their relationship has come, and director John Hughes solidifies that impression with an infectiously joyful scene of the pair joking, laughing, and drinking together. Their lively dialogue parallels Neal’s earlier monologue about all the reasons he hates Del. On their first night together, Del buys himself a beer and spills it all over the bed, leaving poor Neal to spend the night in a puddle of alcohol. On their last night together, they share drinks from the minibar, about as old a symbol of friendship as you could ask for.
The last piece of parallelism is pure visual storytelling, letting the setting influence our response to the action. The first motel room is dingy and cramped, with a cold color scheme that reflects Neal’s cold attitude. The last motel room is done up like a cozy log cabin, with the warm browns of the wooden walls and furniture saying just as much as any of the dialogue.
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