Ehirerapp Waste of time

GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Lawbolisted Powerful

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

oliviaharper LA Story is an ode to Los Angeles- the sunny city of angels. Bathed in early 90s sunlight, which when exposed to the film stock of that time created an atmosphere without even trying LA Story is Steve Martin at his best. This is a quirky, offbeat and yet endearing film that includes among other things a reference to Mel Gibson and a talking freeway Billboard. Victoria Tennant is nice as the newly arrived Englishwoman who Martin's character falls for. And Sarah Jessica Parker is fresh faced as the bumbling sales girl before she took off to rule the streets of New York. But this is Steve Martin's movie and he is excellent as the straight faced funnyman trying to make sense of his career and the city he lives in. This is early 90s movie magic at its finest and one of the best heartwarming comedy films out there.

Vonia L.A. Story (1991) A love letter to Los Angeles. A satire on the city the great Steve Martin has taken to calling his home. A surreal, whimsical romance. More like a series of comedic sketches. Like in stand up comedy, there are some sketches that make you laugh out loud, but others that unfortunately fall flat. Though the ones that stand out are so memorable that the slow moments seem negligible. The Good. The Cameos (Paula Abdul, Chevy Chase, Iman, Woody Harrelson, Terry Jones, Martin Lawrence, Patrick Stewart, Rick Moranis, and more; The DVD has a cute little separate menu providing details on them). The opening traffic avoidance scene, where everyone waves to him, as if he navigates sidewalks like this all the time (a tribute to Fellini's La dolce vita). Sara's subsequent senseless driving. The coffee and lemon ordering. The roller skating through fine art galleries. Commentaries on the ridiculousness in Hollywood. How SanDeE* must be spelled like that and all material, official or not, writes it out like that (her endless prancing and twirling is ever so annoying but young Parker still manages to be adorable). The Hard Rock Cafe scene where her boyfriend happens to be sitting at the bar, eerily watching them. L'Idiot, the pretentious dining establishment (where Patrick Stewart is Maitre D') that barters reservations and menu allowances (You think with a financial statement like this you can have the duck?"). The hotel in Santa Barbara is called "El Pollo del Mar" ("Chicken of the Sea"). Filmed in California. I am a California girl, so this was (mostly) positively regarded. Shakespeare references and quotes. (some misquoted or paraphrased, of course). Priceless one-liners. I will refrain from listing more than a few: "Hello, this is Harris. I'm in right now, so you can talk to me personally. Please start talking at the sound of the beep."; "Rather than doing an interview with me, which would be fascinating by the way, because of the interesting word usements I structure."; Why is it that you don't always recognize the moment when love begins but you always know when it ends?"; "Let your mind go and your body will follow."; "All I know is, on the day your plane was to leave, if I had the power, I would turn the winds around, I would roll in the fog, I would bring in storms, I would change the polarity of the earth so compasses couldn't work, so your plane couldn't leave." (The billboard does this for him later!); "There are only two things in my life I will never forget. One is that there is someone for everyone. Even if you need a pickax, a compass, and night goggles to find them. And the other is tonight. When I learned that romance does exist deep in the heart of Los Angeles." Alright, several. The Bad. There were some moments where I was a little bored, probably because I was not understanding the humor. I had to look into some of it in order to understand them. You would need to have lived in California- and preferably in the nineties- to truly appreciate many of the references. Somewhat dated. The Enya songs honestly did not seem to match the scenes. I loved Enya as much as anyone, but she did not seem to fit here. I did feel like there was a little much going on. Steve Martin apparently worked on the script for seven years. A lot of material squeezed into the two hours made for some characters I did not care for or wanted to know better, a few random vignettes that did not seem to go anywhere, sometimes what seemed like a lack of focus. The Amazing. And I saved the best for last, my favorite character, the adorably communicative electronic highway billboard sign. That gives love advice. And wants to be hugges. Insists on it. I might want billboards for my friends after this. Overall, though? Characters I cared for, witty writing, heartfelt romance, and good laughs. Plus, I have to be honest. I am biased in favor of anything from this man I have long deemed a genius. News flash. 42 is no longer the answer to life. "How Daddy is Doing" = "Sing Doo Wah Diddy". Enough said. End credits.

calu-655-759413 The way this movie is put together, with all the little things ( like he drives to work in that Chrysler with the Garfield doll on the rear window? Or the famous one liners? If I was a woman, I would stay home and play with my brests all day! Hilarious! I still use it to date.The music of Enya makes the romance complete. At the end, that song gives me goose bumps...I think this is the best one Steve has ever made.I wish I could tell it to him some day.There is just something about this movie that you just can not grasp.......it's sheer magic!

DAVID SIM LA Story was one of the rare films Steve Martin wrote a screenplay for. Something he should do more often. His writing style is often fresh and engaging. Its unfortunate that he spends all his time nowadays churning out mediocre stuff in front of the camera, when his work on the printed page really crackles with wit. Look no further than the underrated Shopgirl. Martin's best film in ages, and all because he was acting from a script he wrote.LA Story is quite possibly the one worthy film of Steve Martin's in the 1990s, because right after, he started the gradual decline of his career. Unchallenging, soft-headed fluff that were a waste of Martin's talents. Beginning with the trite and terrible Father of the Bride. And it only got worse from there.But LA Story had Steve Martin at the pinnacle of his powers. It is to Los Angeles what Woody Allen's Manhattan was to New York. LA Story is a film bound to sharply divide people. If you can swallow the film's pill (and its a pretty big pill I'll admit), you'll find much to enjoy. If you can't, LA Story will most likely leave you cold. Look no further than Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel's opposite sides of the spectrum regarding this film.Martin plays wacky weatherman Harris K. Telemacher. Harris takes the daily grindings of LA life in his stride. He's come to expect the random muggings, the snooty restaurants and the dull as dishwater art museums that are all part of the wonderful world of Los Angeles. But he couldn't possibly have expected help in his lovelife from an electronic road sign. Before long, Harris is caught between two women in his life, the free spirited SanDeE* (Sarah Jessica Parker, brilliant!) and the prim English rose, Sara (Victoria Tennant).The success of LA Story rides upon how much you're willing to give in to the film's conceit. After all the very idea of a freeway sign being a possible oracle of the ages is bound to raise more than a few eyebrows. But I put disbelief aside, and was swept away by the film's dazzling turns and delightful wit. As I said before, Steve Martin's skills as a writer have often been undervalued, and his rich and accessible screenplay makes LA Story an astonishing, powerful ode to the city of Los Angeles.Steve Martin's feelings about the city can often seem ambivalent. On the one hand he doesn't resist the temptation to satirise LA's shallow, superficial side (who wouldn't?!). But on the other, buried within the film's jokes and opinions, there does seem a gentle affection for the city. Perhaps even an admiration. The different people we meet all seem to ennoble a particular facet. To the point that the city of Los Angeles almost takes on a life of its own and becomes a character in of itself.Steve Martin's trademark manic energy is relatively restrained here (barring his hilarious weather forecasts, always wrong), but his enthusiasm for the role shines just as bright as LA itself! He never misses an opportunity to make a glib quip about LA. There are really too many to mention, but none of them feel unwelcome. And he's supported himself with a fine cast.In a brief but very memorable role, Marilu Henner plays Harris' vain, upwardly mobile girlfriend Trudie. A woman that embodies everything wrong with LA. Even when stuck in traffic, she's more concerned with outward appearance. Her relationship with Harris is hilarious, and when he learns she's been cheating on him for three years, his response is priceless ("this has been going on since the 80s!").The scene stealer of the whole film is Sarah Jessica Parker. What a wonderful performance! Although she plays the role of a typical ditzy, LA valley girl, she brings so much energy and enthusiasm she walks away with the entire movie. Never has SJP had such fun in a film. Clearly enjoying herself immensely, she hops, skips and cartwheels her way from one end of the screen to the next. If she stood still for more then ten seconds she would probably explode! The crux of the film is the blossoming love between Harris and Sara, but I was secretly hoping he would wind up with SanDeE*!But no. That could never be. Victoria Tennant is Steve Martin's true love (ironically three years before they divorced). I'm not convinced Tennant is all that much of an actress, but her straight-faced style of acting is appropriate when confronted with the outlandish city streets of LA. She's as baffled by its wackiness as Harris is.And things don't get much wackier than the ending, where it seems LA itself steps in to play matchmaker between Harris and Sara. Its an ending of such cosmic proportions it will either leave you completely awed or cursing the heavens. I chose the former. The ending could seem ridiculous, but not when you take the rest of the film into account beforehand. The emotional climax is earned the way it pieces it together from lots of different elements scattered throughout the film. But that's something you couldn't possibly know until you've seen the film a few dozen times.LA Story is a true classic. Mick Jackson's direction is so whimsical and lush, every frame bursts out with a joy and exuberance not often found in Hollywood entertainment. I felt flattened by the film's finale, helped no end by the exhilarating Exile, sung hauntingly by Enya. It all adds up to a rather delectable confection. They say Los Angeles is the City of Angels. I think of it more as a City of Dreamers. And LA Story shows how the dreams of the few can sometimes come true.