Alternate Film Canon: Los Angeles
I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Scalzi‘s listings from the Rough Guides‘ Movie guides. They make me wonder what the canon lists of movies would be for specific topics. I’ve listed a few that I think should be on the list (sticking to movies that I’ve seen, of which there are far too few). What else belongs there?
It occurred to me the other day that as of this fall I’ve lived in California (Los Angeles in particular) longer than I’ve lived in any other state. For a while now it’s felt like home, but I feel better about saying things like “I’m from Los Angeles” now that I have some sort of numbers backing me up. Now that I’ve got a new home town, I feel like I really should know what the important movies about it are.
For my money, “The Big Lebowksi” is the defining movie about Los Angeles. There are a lot of opinions floating around out there about what LA is and isn’t, what kind of people live here and what they do. Lots of people in other parts of the country view us as a city full of movie stars and rock bands, which is a pretty comical thing to hear after living here for a while. LA is the world’s largest suburb. There’s no single part of town or occupation that dominates the city. All different sorts of people live here and do pretty well anything you can think of. The one common thread is that they’re (we’re, actually) all just a little off center. “Lebowski” shows this side of Los Angeles like no other movie I’ve seen.
All that said, I know that there are a lot of movies about Los Angeles. What are the good ones? When you think about LA, what movies come to mind? I’d love to know.
- Bowfinger
- Boyz ‘n the Hood
- Chinatown
- LA Confidential
- The Big Lebowski
More Alternate Film Canons.
November 16th, 2005 at 10:18 am
LA Story. It’s kind of a sucky love story with this weird street sign that talks, but the scene where Steve Martin is driving, shooting at a road rager, and talking on his cell phone simultaneously is priceless. Mulholland Drive has a nice LA atmosphere to it. Of course, there is no competition for The Big Lebow. The worst LA movie ever made is Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles.
November 16th, 2005 at 8:01 pm
Swingers, for a little slice of ’90s L.a. Although the part about taking 5 different cars to get to the same place is always true.
November 16th, 2005 at 10:52 pm
How about Falling Down? Or Volcano? There’s something so fulfilling about seeing LA explode in firey death… :)
November 17th, 2005 at 6:34 am
Falling Down, definitely. It mixed social commentary and an unconventional tour of Los Angeles very well.
Couldn’t Volcano have been set in any city without any change to the script? It was set in Los Angeles out of convenience rather than by design.
November 17th, 2005 at 3:14 pm
The Big Sleep – Noir LA Rebel Without a Cause – Hepcat ’50s LA Pulp Fiction – Ultraviolent Non-Chronological LA Beverly Hills Cop – ’80s Early-Cocaine LA Barfly – Scuzzy Bukowski LA Stand and Deliver – Inspirational East LA Clueless – Mall culture LA
November 18th, 2005 at 11:07 pm
Boys in the Hood Chinatown Stand and Deliver Friday Repo Man
Those are, I think, the most LA movies I think of.
November 23rd, 2005 at 2:26 pm
I second Rebel, Pulp, Stand and Deliver, and Swingers.
If you want a book, I recommend Somtow’s ‘Tagging the Moon,’ which might make a great set of movie vignets, since they’re all set in this town.
November 23rd, 2005 at 2:27 pm
Oh, I forgot. Mulholland Drive would be “David Lynch’s kaleidascopic” take on LA, and a damned piece of art if there was one.
December 16th, 2005 at 10:36 pm
I must add “Free Enterprise” which is a nice little romantic comedy a bit like “Swingers” meets… my sad, Trekkie middle school years.
Also, “Grand Canyon” as the “Fail Safe” to LA Story’s Dr. Strangelove. (See all four films and report back on what that means).