Films That Respects Your Life

[BillyG]

Not necessarily a film that connects with you emotionally or resonates with a time in your life, but a film that shows slices of your life that maybe nobody else appreciates. I'm really most interested in hearing from those not in NY/LA areas, which have been shown to death as far as landmarks and culture go. Lisa, Tim, Ed, Iggy, what about the places in NY and LA that were shown in tiny roles like some corner shop or bar that the average viewer doesn't know?

Or for our pond hopping amigos, Ben and Bobby. What films work for you guys on that level. What film has some guy walking down a street in Belfast that you can point at and say this hits it right on the head. I go to that cafe! Or, that actor nailed the attitude of the city at this time perfectly.

And Russ, well we can all watch Dallas and cry for you.

[Captain Russ]

RoboCop hits it right on the head.

Everyday in the summer, I feel just like Emil.

[Ed Hocken]

Oddly enough, Boogie Nights shows the Valley very well. So does Adam Carolla's movie The Hammer.

People don't seem to get the idea that LA much anywhere else is made up of distinct neighborhoods. Miracle Mile is another great example.

[Howard]

Man. Reality Bites. Perfectly captured my West U days.

[Matt]

'A Simple Plan' absolutely NAILS the MN winter, especially in the small towns. I drive through Delano (where many of the exteriors were filmed) all the time.

'Grumpy Old Men' also does a good job of nailing the ice fishing scene. There's more truth in that movie than I'd care to admit...

'Fargo' gets the environment right. The MN accent is way overdone, but the day-to-day OH MY GOD THIS WINTER WILL NEVER END feeling that the film conveys is dead on.

[Nathan]

Gummo pretty much got it right.

[Ed Hocken]

Die Hard perfectly details what Christmas in LA is like.

And Repo Man pretty much sums up my kind of humor.

[Matt]

Die Hard perfectly details what Christmas in LA is like.

Fuckin' California...come out to the coast, we'll get together, have a few laughs...

[Ed Hocken]

Yeah, it's pretty goddamn phony. Isn't it?

Oh well

[Shit Dickface]

Miracle Mile is my jam, mostly because all that shit was filmed...well, right in my neighborhood.

Also, Minnie and Moskowitz. They eat at Pink's, Minnie works at LACMA, they drink at the Frolic Room at one point, etc. etc.

[Timothy225]

I can relate to Clerks quite a bit, both on a personal level and 'cause I know the area the film was made in (Leonardo, NJ, plus the magazine I worked for at the time is on prominent display on the racks in Dante's store).

Garden State, The Sopranos, Atlantic City, War of the Worlds (fucking Howell, NJ - my hometown, before my family moved to Jackson!). All have elements I can personally relate to or have locales I used to frequent.

[Matt]

'Clerks' is 100% DEAD ON in regards to the retail life. It perfectly captures the boredom AND the customer-hatred that all retail personnel feel.

[Timothy225]

I briefly worked at a Cumberland Farms on weekends back in college, and Smith fucking nailed it. The boredom was soul-crushing, and it instilled in me a life-long hatred for anything coffee related.

[V]

My last girlfriend said I was exactly like Ben Kingsley in "You Kill Me"... but without the whole killing and going to AA thing.

[Captain Russ]

Yer a Pollack?

(Not judgin'. I'm still Angus Bethune.)