The Untold Truth Of Planes, Trains And Automobiles

Content-wise, Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a very mild movie. That's part of why it's a perennial classic that can be viewed and enjoyed by whole families every Thanksgiving. Still, the film's original, theatrical cut carries an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, even after an appeal was filed by its filmmakers. (So that means, to the MPAA, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, a funny and touching comedy of errors about travel, is just as harmful for kids as other R-rated movies of 1987, such as the ultra-violent RoboCop and Predator.)

So why the stiff rating? Well, Planes, Trains and Automobiles got its restricted rating because of 19 utterances of the F-word ... all of which come in a single scene. After an exasperated Neal finds his rental car missing from a lot, he traipses through miles of snow, mud, runways, and embankments back to an airport and demands a car from the agency's desk clerk (Edie McClurg) with a profane rant riddled with 18 F-bombs. When the incredibly rude Neal fails to produce his rental agreement, McClurg gets the last word, proclaiming, "You're f***ed."