People remember the scene most for the location of John Candy's hand, but it's Steve Martin's hand that sells it as more than mere potty humor. These two men, who've been stranded in Manhattan two days before Thanksgiving and team up to trek across the country to get back home for the holidays, are uneasy around intimacy (not unlike the teenage heroes of Hughes' other popular films). And once they awaken to the disturbing realization that Candy's second hand is not, in fact, between two pillows, all hell breaks loose.
"You see that Bears game last week!" a terrified Martin shrieks.
"What a game! What a game! Bears gonna go all the way!" an equally twitchy Candy replies.
But before the outburst, they're just two lonely, spooning souls desperately in need of human contact. Hughes makes sure this cuddle plays for a hearty laugh — and a whole lot more.