AS SOME of you may have noticed, yesterday was Thanksgiving – the US national holiday where most of the country stuffs itself with turkey and trimmings to celebrate the Native American genocide.
It's basically like Christmas with added uncomfortably racist undertones and is very much a big deal Over There, with families having big get-togethers and generally enjoying the fact they don't have to go to work or school.
The annual rush to make it home for that all important Thanksgiving dinner drives John Hughes's classic 1987 comedy Planes, Trains & Automobiles: Steve Martin plays uptight businessman Neal Page, who's forced into close quarter, multi-platform trans-American transit with John Candy's hapless, motormouth travelling salesman Del Griffith as the pair attempt to over-come various weather, theft and fire-related mishaps to reach their respective destinations.
Martin shines as cold-fish Page, whose snootiness towards the blue collar Griffith and his fellow man in general gradually dissolves as the film's series of madcap episodes play out in reliably hilarious fashion.
Funny enough to overcome the inevitable schmaltz factor, PT&A can pretty much be regarded as the greatest Christmas movie that isn't actually Christmas movie – and thus is well worth re-visiting this Sunday evening at Belfast Film Festival's special screening in Belfast's Central Station (because 'trains', see?).
Alternatively, you can catch it at Belfast's Framewerk Gallery on December 23 in a charity double bill with another seasonally-themed John Hughes-penned gem, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
Price of admission? A generous donation of clothing and/or food for the Hope Harbour Homeless Organisation.
:: Tickets and full information at Belfastfilmfestival.org and Framewerkbelfast.com
