Being the holiday season, even in a crazy year like 2020, travel hits its peak during December, as people go home to see their families. Plus, years of dating apps have taught me that everyone loves to travel. So naturally, there’s going to be some movies that deal with the travel experience, exotic locales, transportation, whatever.
Below are 6 classic examples of movie travels. In addition to movie rating, I’ll throw a Trip Advisor Rating and quote in that the experiencer might give their trip.
Now swipe right if you like travel!
| Movie Title | Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987) |
| Movie Rating | |
| The Trip | Intent to get home to Chicago before Thanksgiving dinner, a neurotic uptight business executive is forced to join forces with a salesman because of travel related complications. |
| Trip Advisor Rating | “EVERY STOP ON THE JOURNEY WAS FILLED WITH UNHELPFUL B*TCHES AND AHOLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WILL BE SUING ALL OF YOU IN THE FUTURE. DO NOT GO TO KANSAS CITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The food was ok” |
| Why the Movie’s Good… | John Hughes, everyman extraordinaire, has a knack for identifying the day to day struggles of families and workers. Hughes makes the NYC to Chicago flight like descending into Dante’s 7 Circles of Hell for Steve Martin, as he finds all the ways a simple 2 hour flight can go horribly wrong in totally relatable ways for anyone having to travel during the holiday season. While those things are obviously enjoyable in little doses, the movie works because of how well Steve Martin and John Candy are as a comedic duo: a safe, smart place to build your movie. If any of y’all are looking for a reason to see why people like John Candy, this is the movie that shows how brilliant he is, playing innocent goofball to a delight, and excellently off of the high strung Martin. |
| Movie Title | The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) |
| Movie Rating | |
| The Trip | Family on their way to Marrakesh becomes involved in an assassination plot. |
| Trip Advisor Rating | “The first day was great! Met a bunch of nice people and learned some customs. Plus we ate like kings and got to see the acrobats in the marketplace! That’s in no thanks to the tour guide, who ditched us at dinner AND ALMOST GOT MY KID KILLED!” |
| Why the Movie’s Good… | I mean, it’s Alfred Hitchcock sending Jimmy Stewart to exotic locales, and throwing in an assassination plot to boot. Awesome! This film is easier to figure out and more surface level in its delights, but it remains entertaining as hell, with pieces of that suspense Hitchcock is famous for mastering. But hey, if that sort of high level movie entertainment isn’t your bag, Doris Day would sing “Que Sera Sera,” and you can go on your merry way. |
| Movie Title | Paris, Texas (1984) |
| Movie Rating | |
| The Trip | A quiet recluse, his son, and his brother go on a journey through rural America, and the recluse’s past. |
| Trip Advisor Rating | “All our motels were serviceable, but nothing special. I think your peep show should have better security. I could walk everywhere and no one came to stop me.” |
| Why the Movie’s Good… | This is a European film masquerading around the US, because Wim Wenders from West Germany is the director. What does that mean? Well, the movie has no desire to be inspirational or push a happy ending. Instead, it uses well designed epic shots of countryside and slow character development to suck you into its world. While that maybe doesn’t make for the most action heavy film, it does hit you emotionally when Harry Dean Stanton starts to open up and deal with all the pain and loss he had been holding in for most of the film. It’s dated for sure, but it’s themes of dealing with loss, and moving forward will resonate with everyone. |
| Movie Title | Grand Hotel (1932) |
| Movie Rating | |
| The Trip | Takes place in a 5 Star Berlin Hotel, focusing on the various types of people that end up there. |
| Trip Advisor Rating | There are a lot of guests, so naturally, a lot of reviews as experiences vary. Here are a couple below: – “Security is terrible; my harlot of a wife double crossed me, and security thought I did it and GOT ME LANDED IN THE CLINK!!” – “I fell in love, but lost that love because of hotel failures. However, the food and rooms are magnificent, like I am!” – “As a person of little means, I got to live an entire lifetime here, making many new friends and growing my perspective on how the world works. Not all experiences were pleasant, but all were meaningful, and the accommodations were magnificent.” – “My life was forever changed because of the love your hotel and its patrons gave to me. The hotel provided a lifetime’s worth of experiences and connections I will not soon forget!” |
| Why the Movie’s Good… | A very old school movie concept. Studios would occasionally take their stars under contract and put them all in a movie, to flex a little to the other studios. Think Ocean’s Eleven in 1932. Turns out MGM’s stars were pretty great: in particular, Joan Crawford is excellent as the every woman, Greta Garbo as the love-obsessed pop star, and the Barrymore’s as a charmer and tragic figure. The stars look awesome, the sets look even better. There’s an excellent shocker in the third act. Just a fun time. |
| Movie Title | Columbus (2017) |
| Movie Rating | |
| The Trip | A medical emergency of an architecture professor at a local university brings his son to Columbus, Indiana, where he also gets to see the city anew through the eyes of an aimless twentysomething architecture fan. |
| Trip Advisor Rating | “I have complicated feelings about this city, mostly bad. That all changed because of your tour guide: a wonderful woman who made me see the city with new perspective, and helped me enjoy a trip I was dreading!” |
| Why the Movie’s Good… | John Cho and Haley Lu Richardson are two of my favorite actors working today, consistently taking chances with their scripts and characters. This movie reeks of insufferable melodrama. And yet, Kogonada’s beautiful direction coupled with the excellent performances of Cho and Richardson turn this movie into almost something ephemeral, like a place where you’re in stasis, and have to figure out what to do to go forward, but you can take your time doing so. They make somewhere in Indiana, one of the lesser US states, seem like a cool place to visit too! High praise! |
| Movie Title | Sleepless in Seattle (1993) |
| Movie Rating | |
| The Trip | A Baltimore reporter hears a radio talk show story about a widowed Seattle man and his son, and slowly falls in love with the man despite never meeting him. |
| Trip Advisor Rating | “The planner of my Seattle to New York Trip was on point! I discovered what I really want at our Space Needle Dinner. And I met the love of my life on that Empire State Building Tour that somehow got me in right before closing! Forever grateful!” |
| Why the Movie’s Good… | Do you remember the first time you fell in love? Well this movie lives in the swoon. The Hanks/Ryan connection is so good that they spend the whole movie apart, and yet, you still feel their bond. It also helps that Norah Ephron wrote most of the amazing words, and picked the most romantic places of 3-4 separate US cities that make your heart melt the minute you see them. Plus, who’s gonna turn down cute kids and teddy bears? Just smart, Norah. Well done. |