L.A. Story is a 1991 movie directed by Mick Jackson and written by Steve Martin. Set in Los Angeles, California, it tells the story of Harris K. Telemacher, an L.A. weatherman (played by Martin) who falls in and out of love with the aid of a talking freeway variable message sign which arguably speaks for the city itself. The film is a fantastical but loving satire of L.A. culture. Some noted lines/scenes include:
- Harris Telemacher's one-note job as the "wacky" weatherman ("Today, it's sunny! Tomorrow, it's—sunny! Next day, it's sunny!")
- Harris' self-reflection: "I was deeply unhappy, but I didn't know it, because I was so happy all the time."
- Sarah Jessica Parker portrays Martin's wannabe-spokesmodel girlfriend, a bouncy big-haired gum-chewing lovable ditz who spells her name SanDeE* ("Big S, small a, small n, big D, small e, Big E ... and a star") and takes Martin for a "cleansing high colonic" on their first date.
- A mini-ballet of suburb-dwellers waltzing out of a row of homes to pick up their morning papers
- Martin's madcap "shortcuts" through alleys and sidestreets to avoid traffic
- The often quoted exchange:
| L.A. Story | |
|---|---|
| File:Lastory.jpg | |
| Directed by | Mick Jackson |
| Written by | Steve Martin |
| Produced by | Mario Kassar Steve Martin Daniel Melnick Michael I. Rachmil |
| Starring | Steve Martin Victoria Tennant Richard E. Grant Marilu Henner Sarah Jessica Parker |
| Distributed by | Columbia TriStar Films |
Release dates | 8 February, 1991 |
Running time | 95 min. |
| Language | English |
Guy with neck-support: I'll have a decaf coffee.
Trudi: I'll have a decaf espresso.
Movie critic: I'll have a double decaf cappuccino.
Policeman: Give me decaffeinated coffee ice cream.
Harris: I'll have a half double decaffeinated half-caf, with a twist of lemon.
Trudi: I'll have a twist of lemon.
Guy with neck-support: I'll have a twist of lemon.
- Martin getting into his car, driving twenty feet, and getting out to go to his neighbor's house
- Orderly robberies at the ATM: "Hi. My name is Bob. I'll be your robber today."
- Lovemaking dialogue between Harris & SanDeE*. He: "Your...your breasts feel weird. / She: "Oh, that's 'cause they're real."
- A casual L.A. freeway shootout
- Patrick Stewart as a snobby maitre d' who screens Harris' credit before deigning to make a dining reservation.
The Enya songs, "On Your Shore", "Exile" (both from Watermark (album)) and "Epona" (from The Celts (album)) were featured strongly in the film, and increased its emotional appeal. The French pop song "La Mer" by Charles Trenet, known in English as "Beyond the Sea", is also a repeated motif in the film, as is Do-Wah-Diddy-Diddy (written by The Exciters, but best known by Manfred Mann).
The movie bears some resemblance to William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and occasionally references his Hamlet.
Cast members include Victoria Tennant (Martin's wife at the time), Richard E. Grant, Marilu Henner, Woody Harrelson, Patrick Stewart, Rick Moranis, and Kevin Pollak.
John Lithgow was originally in the film, but almost all of his performance was removed during editing. Only one scene with Lithgow remains; he is the man Harris sees talking to the freeway sign near the beginning of the film. His character's name, Harry Zell, is also mentioned in the film. In 1992, Lithgow hosted a featurette on Showtime where he presented his deleted scenes from the film.
Scott Bakula's scenes from the film were also removed during editing. He was to play Harris' neighbor, who was a boxer.
The recently released 15th anniversary version of the movie includes these deleted scenes as well as others