# Nitpick the 50 states' movies -- especially your own
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [July 4, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366 "2014-07-04T21:05:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2014, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/61 "2014-07-05T16:44:41Z")
> [@meenie7](#):
>
> But, there aren’t a lot of movies set in Connecticut that I know of, anyway.
Before I saw the list the first movie that came to mind for Connecticut was Mystic Pizza. It’s a good movie, it couldn’t have been filmed anywhere else (the story and characters could be transported but not the location), and it’s about decent, working-class people who are born there, not just using it as a bedroom and train station.
---
### Author:  [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2014, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/62 "2014-07-05T17:08:26Z")
I said, “It couldn’t have been filmed anywhere else”
That’s not quite true. While there’s only one Mystic, CT, where the movie is set, it was filmed elsewhere. I knew that a huge star was in a bit role but I couldn’t think who, so I just looked the movie up at IMDB. I read that there were too many tourists around and filming would disrupt that very important industry, so they had to film most of the movie in a small town in nearby Rhode Island.
There were too many tourists to film tourists being touristy in a famous tourist town so they went out of state to a non-tourist town to film extras as tourists being tourists in a famous tourist town. My head hurts.
Oh, the famous guy was Matt Damon. It’s his feature film debut. Affleck also auditioned for the film but missed out.
---
### Author:  [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2014, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/63 "2014-07-05T17:08:31Z")
_One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest_ isn’t set in Oregon, it’s set in a mental hospital. The Oregonest Oregon movie is _The Goonies_.
---
### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/64 "2014-07-05T17:33:24Z")
> [@chicagowhitesox1173](#):
>
> Yeah I’d say Aurora is Naperville area. Yeah outside of Chicago you kinda have the big 3…
>
> 1. Elgin…North…Primal Fear
> 2. Aurora…West…Waynes World
> 3. Joliet…South…Rudy
>
> I always thought of these three cities as being the end of the Chicago suburbs…Also to keep in spirit of the thread I added 3 movies which came out of each city.
For me, Joliet is The Blues Brothers. He’s in the Joliet Co Prison and his name is Joliet Jake. IIRC, both of these things are established very early in the movie. I don’t know how much of it takes place in Joliet or Cook or various other counties, but to me (as an outsider), I always think of Joliet.
---
### Author:  [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/65 "2014-07-05T17:38:56Z")
Poor Rhode Island. Me, Myself & Irene? Admittedly I’ve never seen it, but it sounds horrible. Maybe I’m wrong. I’d guess better movies would include Reversal of Fortune, Dan In Real Life, My Sister’s Keeper and even the mentions-a-Rhode Island-town The Witches of Eastwick. Arguably the 1956 movie High Society, with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly (her last movie before becoming a princess) or There’s Something About Mary are better.
---
### Author:  [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/66 "2014-07-05T18:22:54Z")
Never mind, somehow replied when I meant to make a new topic. Mods please delete.
---
### Author:  [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/67 "2014-07-05T20:57:23Z")
Wow! I did not know that _High Noon_ was set in New Mexico!
Much better than _Young Guns_, or _Outrageous Fortune_, which are entertaining flicks, but certainly not Great Art. Or _Gas, Food, Lodging_, which is a nice pretentious little art film, but few people have ever seen.
---
### Author:  [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2014, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/68 "2014-07-05T21:11:03Z")
> [@Superdude](#):
>
> I can’t disagree with _Hoosiers_ for Indiana.
I can. _Breaking Away_ was actually filmed entirely in Indiana. It’s also a better movie, IMO.
One reason I wouldn’t quibble with _Manhattan_ for New York was that it was also filmed there. 'Course, so was _Rosemary’s Baby_.
---
### Author:  [@chicagowhitesox1173](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chicagowhitesox1173)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2014, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/69 "2014-07-05T21:13:08Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#):
>
> I can. _Breaking Away_ was actually filmed entirely in Indiana. It’s also a better movie, IMO.
>
> One reason I wouldn’t quibble with _Manhattan_ for New York was that it was also filmed there. 'Course, so was _Rosemary’s Baby_.
Breaking Away? Cmon…wasn’t Kelly Leake from the Bad News Bears in that movie?
---
### Author:  [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/70 "2014-07-05T21:14:09Z")
I wholeheartedly approve of the choice for Maine.
I think [Remember the Titans](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remember_the_Titans) might be a better choice for Virginia. It helps that I have lived most of my life near where it took place, but it also discusses one of the state’s and the country’s most serious historical problems. Donnie Darko, the author’s selection, is interesting but I wouldn’t call it a classic. It does have a special relationship to the state though, as it references the legend of the [Bunnyman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunny_Man), part of Fairfax County lore which may have originated with confused witnesses of KKK violence mistaking the signature KKK robe as a white bunny costume.
---
### Author:  [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/71 "2014-07-05T21:35:29Z")
> [@chicagowhitesox1173](#):
>
> Breaking Away? Cmon…wasn’t Kelly Leake from the Bad News Bears in that movie?
Yes, and Leak was played by Jackie Earl Haley, who was great in _Breaking Away_ and has had some great roles as an adult, too, including Rorschach in _Watchmen_.
---
### Author:  [@chicagowhitesox1173](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chicagowhitesox1173)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/72 "2014-07-05T21:40:22Z")
> [@Tangent](#):
>
> Yes, and Leak was played by Jackie Earl Haley, who was great in _Breaking Away_ and has had some great roles as an adult, too, including Rorschach in _Watchmen_.
Don’t forget about his child molestation role. I will say he has turned into a decent actor. He was not great in Breaking Away though.
---
### Author:  [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2014, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/73 "2014-07-05T21:44:19Z")
> [@crucible](#):
>
> Or, maybe, something about small town Ohio love for Football! Can’t find a great example, though there have been a number of excellent documentaries.
>
> Bye Bye Birdie was about a small town in Ohio, filmed in Ohio.
Or American Splendor.
---
### Author:  [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2014, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/74 "2014-07-05T21:48:45Z")
> [@mbh](#):
>
> Or _Gas, Food, Lodging_, which is a nice pretentious little art film, but few people have ever seen.
I saw it. What in the world makes it pretentious, or even an “art film”? It’s a pretty straightforward movie about a waitress single mother (Brooke Adams) raising two very different teenage daughters. One (Ione Skye) is flighty and irresponsible, the other (Fairuza Balk) is thoughtful and serious. It’s just a few days in their life in a very small town, that both girls want to leave. It’s got a slow and easy pace that lets you get to know the characters, but that doesn’t make a movie pretentious, just as having a fairly low budget and being directed by a woman (Alison Anders) doesn’t make it an art film.
---
### Author:  [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/75 "2014-07-05T22:04:23Z")
> [@Equipoise](#):
>
> I saw it. What in the world makes it pretentious, or even an “art film”? It’s a pretty straightforward movie about a waitress single mother (Brooke Adams) raising two very different teenage daughters. One (Ione Skye) is flighty and irresponsible, the other (Fairuza Balk) is thoughtful and serious. It’s just a few days in their life in a very small town, that both girls want to leave. It’s got a slow and easy pace that lets you get to know the characters, but that doesn’t make a movie pretentious, just as having a fairly low budget and being directed by a woman (Alison Anders) doesn’t make it an art film.
I loved that film. We shows it where I worked in college, and so I watched it several times.
---
### Author:  [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2014, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/76 "2014-07-05T23:09:27Z")
Choosing Fargo for North Dakota is pretty ignorant.
---
### Author:  [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2014, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/77 "2014-07-05T23:20:16Z")
> [@Equipoise](#):
>
> I saw it. What in the world makes it pretentious, or even an “art film”? It’s a pretty straightforward movie about a waitress single mother (Brooke Adams) raising two very different teenage daughters. One (Ione Skye) is flighty and irresponsible, the other (Fairuza Balk) is thoughtful and serious. It’s just a few days in their life in a very small town, that both girls want to leave. It’s got a slow and easy pace that lets you get to know the characters, but that doesn’t make a movie pretentious, just as having a fairly low budget and being directed by a woman (Alison Anders) doesn’t make it an art film.
I didn’t think it was pretentious at all. Just boring.
---
### Author:  [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2014, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/78 "2014-07-05T23:37:09Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#):
>
> Choosing Fargo for North Dakota is pretty ignorant.
Part of it took place there. What are the other choices? _Jesus Camp_? _Leprechaun_? Not that many films are set in North Dakota.
---
### Author:  [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)
#### Post date: [July 6, 2014, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/79 "2014-07-06T00:33:58Z")
I’m okay with Michigan’s. Sure, there’s a lot more to Michigan than Detroit, but the only film I can even think of that take’s place in Michigan that isn’t set in Detroit is “The Road to Wellville”.
So if it has to be Detroit, it might as well be a decent movie. Although, I haven’t seen it myself I’ve just heard that it’s good. If it was just down to movies I’ve actually seen, then the best I can come up with is “Robocop”, if Future Michigan counts.
---
### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [July 6, 2014, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366/80 "2014-07-06T01:34:52Z")
I think Legend of Boggy Creek would have been better for Arkansas. It was filmed here. The locations in Fouke Ark are pretty much unchanged since it was made in 72.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown is another choice. Fictionalized account of the investigation of the [Moonlight Murders](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texarkana_Moonlight_Murders) in Texarkana. A real serial killer that murdered people just after WWII. The case was never solved.
Sling Blade is a great movie. I never knew it was supposed to represent my home state. The setting and characters seemed pretty generic Southern to me. I haven’t seen it in over 14 years. There may be some Arkansas references I’ve forgotten.
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366.md?page=3)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-the-50-states-movies-especially-your-own/692366.md?page=5)