Planes, Trains and Automobiles

If any of Hughes’ characters approximate what he’s like in real life, I’d be willing to bet it’s Steve Martin’s Neal Page. He’s a good man who’s smart enough to be cynical but mature enough to be open-minded. Like Clark Griswold, he occasionally loses control of himself during his arduous road trip but at the end of the day, he’s the straight man, not the fuck-up. He’s outgrown high school and the easy compartments high-schoolers in Hughes’ films fit into. That’s why he may be the most recognizable character in the filmmaker’s whole career.