Movie Info
Movie Name: L.A. Story
Studio: Carolco Pictures
Genre(s): Comedy/Romance
Release Date(s): February 8, 1991
MPAA Rating: PG-13
L.A. Story captured the last time it rained in California…Believe It or Not!!!
L.A. is the land of dreamers, and a place where dreams can come true. For weatherman Harris K. Telemacher (Steve Martin), the idea of true love seems like it might only be a dream as he remains in a loveless relationship with Trudi (Marilu Henner). In the fast paced world of L.A. encounters can be fleeting, but an English reporter named Sara (Victoria Tennant) could be Harris’s chance at love. Harris is also trying to balance a relationship with a free-loving clothing seller named SanDeE (Sarah Jessica Parker). Guided by what seems like an unearthly force, Harris hopes that his dreams of real love do not fade away.
Directed by Mick Jackson, L.A. Story was written by Steve Martin. The movie performed well at the box-office and was a critical success.
Living on the dangerous streets of LA
L.A. Story is one of those movies that benefits from actually going to the location where it was set. The movie mocked a lot of the “new” culture of California. Watching the movie now, it is funny because the jokes of the “new” are pretty common across America (like the crazy coffee orders).
I don’t love L.A. Story however. It has a lot of merit, but with a reasonably entertaining love story, the comedy is rather wacky. The Sarah Jessica Parker—Steve Martin—Victoria Tennant triangle was a nice working relationship, but the billboard stuff was too over the top and didn’t really fit the tone of the rest of the movie.
Martin was at his peak when this movie was out. He has the timing and as the scriptwriter he knows how to get to his character. He was married to Tennant at the time of the movie and Sarah Jessica Parker was also rather young. The movie has lots of cameos by people like Iman, Chevy Chase, Paula Abdul, Rick Moranis, Martin Lawrence, and Woody Harrelson.
The rain already put this movie into fantasy mode, billboard
The movie utilizes its namesake. The L.A. setting is nice and the city looks great (minus the traffic). L.A. Story is a bit of a love story to the city, and the visuals demonstrate that. The movie is generally cited as one of the best movies about L.A.
L.A. Story is rather mundane. It doesn’t have a ton of laughs but a lot of smiles. I wanted to like the movie more, but ended up with “I didn’t hate it”. L.A. Story feels like it just need a little tweaking to be a great movie, but it is worth seeing if you are a fan of Martin and his style of humor.
