The movie Charlize Theron has watched over 100 times: “You cannot get better”
Charlize Theron didn’t rise to fame through her comedic work. She is more associated with breathtaking action movies and awardsy dramas. However, she can appreciate great comedy when she sees it, and there is one movie in the genre that she loves so much she’s seen it about 150 times.
Theron has been one of the most accomplished actors of her generation since she broke out in the 1990s. Although she was initially typecast in traditionally empty, glamorous roles, she established early on that she was a force to be reckoned with both as a dramatic actor and as an action star. In the early 2000s, she earned widespread critical acclaim for her performances in dramas like Monster, for which she won an Oscar, and North Country, which earned her another nomination from the Academy.
More recently, movies like Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde, and The Old Guard have singled her out as one of Hollywood’s only female action stars. Known for doing many of her own stunts, she deserves just as much acclaim in the industry for her blockbuster roles as she does for her dramatic ones.
In the realm of comedy, she’s been decidedly less dominant. There were the two Diablo Cody movies, Young Adult and Tully, which were definitely on the darker side of the humour spectrum, and that terrible ensemble spoof A Million Ways to Die in the West. There was also that surprisingly deep movie with Seth Rogen, Long Shot, which flew under the radar. Aside from that handful of exceptions, Theron has steered clear of comedy, but that hasn’t kept her from loving the genre as a viewer.
During an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, the Atomic Blonde star revealed that the 1987 holiday classic Planes, Trains & Automobiles is one of her favourite movies of all time. “You cannot go wrong with that film, and I’ve seen it probably a hundred and fifty times,” she said. “It just gets better.” Directed by John Hughes, it stars Steve Martin as an advertising executive trying to get home for Thanksgiving who reluctantly teams up with a gregarious shower curtain salesman played by John Candy.
It is a buddy comedy in the classic mould. Martin is uptight and humourless; Candy is an open book who loves to chat with strangers. Martin starts out despising and trying to get rid of his unwanted companion, only to discover along their tortuous journey that he judged him too quickly. If you’re used to saccharine holiday fare, this isn’t it. Martin’s character is surprisingly cruel for most of the movie’s runtime, and Candy’s character is occasionally heartbreaking.
Nearly four decades after its release, however, it remains a classic. The holiday movie genre is crammed with options, but this one has stood the test of time as one of the most entertaining, heartfelt, and least sentimental. Sure, it ends on a sugary, tear-jerking note, but it doesn’t plant itself fully into the usual cheesy territory until late. As Theron attested, it also gets better the more you watch it.
