I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Author Mark Leslie takes readers on a humorous and engaging journey to look behind the scenes of the making of John Hughes’s instant classic film Planes, Trains and Automobiles and the use of a very real book in a pivotal scene in his book, The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles”.
The Synopsis
The Prop Book That Keeps on Popping Up!
Yes, the cover of this book looks a lot like the one Del Griffith (John Candy) is reading at the New York airport in the 1987 movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles. A strikingly similar book also appears in 2018’s Deadpool 2. It was long believed that this was a prop book. But it was a real book published in the 1980s and from a company that went out of business before the end of the decade.
This re-imagined incarnation of The Canadian Mounted explores the use of this prop book and many other intriguing, insightful and entertaining behind-the-scenes details as they relate to the classic 1987 John Hughes film.
Created for fans of the movie and of John Hughes, this book explores and shares stories related to the writing and making of the film, curious tales and collected trivia associated with it, including:
The incident that inspired Hughes to write the original script
Del-isms
The film’s eclectic sound-track
Missing Oxford commas
Deleted scenes
Ryan Reynolds’ adoration of fellow Canadian John Candy
General trivia
And more…
If you love and regularly re-watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles, then this is a book you must read.
The Review
This is a truly detailed and captivating read. The author does an incredible job of finding just the right balance in tone between educational moments from the film and book in question and personable writing styles that make this feel like a shared experience between friends. The wit and charm with which the author crafts this narrative was incredibly inviting to the reader.
The vast amount of research and information the author provided the reader was spectacular. The way the author was able to implement everything from unused portions of the original script to behind-the-scenes commentary, and finds a natural way to blend this into the author’s own personal connection and history with the film and book itself made this such an inviting and unique read.
The Verdict
Informative, thoughtful, and humorous, author Mark Leslie’s “The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles” is a must-read film and pop culture trivia and reference book. The personable and imagery-heavy writing style really allowed these experiences both for the author and those involved in the original production of the film to come to life on the page, and this book makes the perfect story to pick up for longtime fans of this film and filmmaker John Hughes in general. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
About the Author
Mark is a writer, editor and bookseller who was born and grew up in Sudbury, spent many years in Ottawa and Hamilton and currently lives in Waterloo, Ontario.
When he is not writing, he tacks “Lefebvre” back onto his name and works as a book industry consultant, having been a bookseller since the 1992, the same year his first short story was published.
Apart from publishing novels and non-fiction paranormal explorations under the name Mark Leslie, having works occasionally appearing on his mother’s refrigerator door under the name Mark Lefebvre, and podcasting and consulting about the book industry under the name Mark Leslie Lefebvre for his Stark Publishing/Stark Reflections brand, Mark is a lover of craft beer.
When he’s not enjoying craft beer or playing around with his three given names, he can usually be found wandering, awestruck through bookstores or libraries.
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