Movie Review: L.A. Story
L.A. Story (1991)
Starring: Steve Martin, Victoria Tennant, Richard E. Grant, Marilu Henner, Sarah Jessica Parker, and more celebrity cameos then you can shake a stick at!
On another fine evening of late-night laziness, Mr. Spice pulled off his shelf three movie selections that it was my duty to choose from for our viewing pleasure. They were Contact, About a Boy, and L.A. Story. Being in the mood for a comedy and having seen the first two films anyway, I choose the third.
I can honestly say I made a fabulous choice. Not having a clue what I was getting myself into other then knowing I've always loved pretty much anything involving Steve Martin, this quirky romantic comedy had me at "let us just say: I was deeply unhappy, but I didn't know it, because I was so happy all the time".
Harris Telemacher (Martin) is the "Wacky Weather" presenter for a Los Angeles television station. He finds himself battling the insane conditions and people caused by the manic chaos that is Los Angeles. Striving to achieve happiness (or at least a date), he finds a helping hand from the last person he expected: the city of Los Angeles itself.
Having lived in L.A. for several years now, I can say a lot of my enjoyment of the film came from the frighteningly accurate portrayal of the ridiculousness of socializing in this city. But there is also an absolute sweetness of the love story at the center of the film that is one that anyone can relate to. It's complex and it's messy and it's beautiful. When Harris tells Sara, "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 take off", I was all but balling. It was a little less intense a tear-jerker as The Notebook, but definitely more heart-wrenching then, say, Pretty Woman.
I'd have to say a highlight of the film is Patrick Stewart's cameo as Mr. Perdue, Maitre D' at L'Idiot, the high-class restaurant that you have to make reservations for months in advance and that's only after an extensive background credit check. Mr. Perdue rules his restaurant with an iron fist. It's almost Hiter-like. And we all know how I feel about Mr. Hiter...
All in all, I'd say Steve Martin has done some of his finest work here, holding up strongly with such other fine Martin projects as Roxanne and, dare I say, The Jerk.
4 out of 5