The iconic bridge vista in MANHATTAN |
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Sure, things aren't ideal across our great land. For example, as of this week I'm out of a job, like many other hardworking, brilliant Americans, but there are many reasons to feel patriotic this year. Our country has an amazing person in the White House, Serena brought another championship home,* Sarah Palin is quitting her job before it quits her.
Overall, it's a Happy Independence weekend! I have decided to honor America by showcasing some great American films that are named for some of our amazing places.
Many made the brainstorming list—SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE and PHILADELPHIA, for example, but I wanted choices that everyone hasn't already seen. I jotted down KANSAS and MILWAUKEE, MINNESOTA, but figured I'd do better writing about films that I have seen. I thought of FEELING MINNESOTA, but I like you, dear readers, and no one should see that trainwreck. Hence, here is my celebration of the diversity of this land and its artful filmmaking, every one of them named for a place in one of our glorious 50 states, and each one a film I would be happy to recommend.
NIAGARA (1953)
Neglected by critics and audiences, NIAGARA is a fabulous movie! Set in Niagara Falls (as you may have guessed), this thriller stars Marilyn Monroe as Rose Loomis, who is visiting the Falls with her husband George, an unhinged WWII vet (Joseph Cotten). Rose has taken a young lover, and together they plan to use this trip to off George. NIAGARA may be Monroe's first seriously dramatic role, and she pulls it off handsomely. The 
Marilyn in that red dress |
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famous "walking scenes" and the essence of her in that red dress work together, under the strong direction of Arthur Hathaway, to explain why otherwise good and moral men can be persuaded to do something bad, even murder.
MANHATTAN (1979)
This terrific rom-com might be my favorite of Woody Allen's films. Visually, it's stunning; filmed in black and white with many memorable views of the city, and it introduced audiences to Mariel Hemingway, who received an Oscar nomination and was only 16 during the filming. As Tracy, she captures the audience's hearts and her acting is so strong that she convinces us that a lovely, mentally healthy teenager would willingly date a neurotic 42-year-old writer who looks surprisingly like Woody Allen. Bonus: If you have DVR, you can record MANHATTAN on TCM Monday, July 6.
HAPPY, TEXAS (1999)
While there is actually a town in Texas called Happy, this movie was not filmed there. I forgive it for two reasons: it wasn't filmed in, say Calgary, and it is so frakkin' hilarious. Picture this scenario: Two straight escaped convicts arrive in a town with hopeful expectations that a gay duo they are waiting for will organize their silly little beauty pageant. The two (played by Steve Zahn and Jeremy Northam) serendipitously pose as this gay couple, but not everyone is so trusting: the town sheriff (William H. Macy) is a skeptical closeted homosexual attracted to one of the tricksters. How could hilarity not ensue?
BUFFALO '66 (1998)
I can think of few better 
You'll never forget the bowling alley scene in Buffalo '66 |
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screenplays than the one for BUFFALO '66, written by, directed by, and starring Vincent Gallo. Gallo plays Billy Brown, a gambler who did hard time because he couldn't pay his gambling debt, vowing to get his revenge on the Bills' kicker who missed a field goal and, Billy feels, is the reason for his bad luck and incarceration. After his release, Billy kidnaps Layla (Christina Ricci) on his way to visit his parents. He forces her to pretend to be his love interest from the life that he invented in his letters home. Anjelica Huston has perhaps the best character, Billy's mother, a horrible woman who blames Billy for all the pain that all Buffalo Bills fans have endured, starting with his birth in 1966 to the present.
KEY LARGO (1948)
Starring Lauren Bacall and her husband Humphrey Bogart, KEY LARGO was not filmed in Florida at all, but that's kind of not the point. Bogart plays Frank McCloud, who is recently stateside after serving in WWII. He travels to Key Largo to greet Nora, the widow of his brave WWII comrade. He finds Nora (Bacall) with her wheelchair-bound father (Lionel Barrymore) in a backwater hotel that's been taken over by some gangsters waiting for a hurricane to pass. In his state of malaise, at first McCloud is reluctant to do anything, but eventually he is motivated to act, and then it gets really good.
JERSEY GIRL (2004)
I know I'm gonna hear it about this one.
"You just like it because it's named after a Tom Waits song!" Naysayers will suggest. "That's only why I 
How did Bogart score such a stand up babe? |
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first agreed to see it," I'll counter.
"Kevin Smith's worst film," you'll say. I'll respond with, "Oh, yeah, did you ever see MALL RATS?"
"Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez in the same movie equals disaster," you'll note. "But she's dead the whole movie!" I'll defend.
"Formulaic!" you'll say. "Yeah, a little!" I'll retort indignantly.
Alright, I'm going to make a little stand here. No, JERSEY GIRL probably didn't change any lives. But it gave a couple hours of romantic comedy-grade entertainment. And the Sweeney Todd bit is pretty funny. Yes, JERSEY GIRL got a bad rap. People didn't know what to make of Kevin Smith making a regular movie with crewmembers and actors outside of his regular entourage. There's no Jay or Silent Bob in JERSEY GIRL. And when it came out, I myself asked how a Kevin Smith movie could possibly be rated PG-13. What, no snowballing? But I appreciated the fact that he branched out; that required cojones. It's a rom-com, but it's a strong rom-com. Liv Tyler is adorable as the video store girl, and except for voice work, this was George Carlin's last movie role, and his role was, like the whole film, a combination of great moments of humor and underlying intelligence and sensitivity.
So, you see, the idea that liberals don't love America is bullplop. I love my country and the beautiful art it creates. Happy Independence Day!
*At the time of this writing, the men's Wimbledon finals hadn't been played yet, so it's possible that Andy Roddick brought one home for the U.S. of A., too! w00t!
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