The Inspector, The Sentinel, The Trustee
Steve Martin was known for playing “wild and crazy guy” types, when suddenly he took a turn for the uptight with Neal Page. Neal and his travel buddy Del make yet another ISTJ/ENFP pair for this blog—like Spock and Kirk, or Zoë and Mal—and the personality conflicts make great fun. The cognitive function stacks are exactly flipped, so Neal and Del push each other’s buttons in just the right places on their wild and crazy adventure home for Thanksgiving.
Dominant Function: (Si) Introverted Sensing, “Relive the Experience”
Neal goes into every situation expecting things to be just so—a first class seat for a quick flight home, a clean and comfortable hotel, a rental car waiting in its assigned parking space—and he’s constantly disappointed. He suffers through the indignities of coach, cringes at the sight of his cheap motel room, and glares at his raucous fellow bus passengers with an air of put-upon longsuffering. He’s highly sensitive to annoying changes in his environment, and Del’s bodily functions, sloppy habits, and endless chatter drive him mad.
Neal’s family and home, waiting for him in the suburbs of Chicago, is warm and comfortable and traditional. He likes old-fashioned showtunes, a preference not shared by the other passengers on his bus. He wears crisp, neat business clothes and hat, slightly older than the current fashion (even for 1987, when the movie was released), and a very nice watch. He tries to maintain his decorum and appearance throughout his adventure, and each piece he loses strips him of a little more of his sanity. Continue reading
Heroes & Villains of MBTI 