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L.A. Story

L.A. Story

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great movie - DVD formatting, not so much
Review: As far as I am concerned, "LA Story" is some of Steve Martin's best work. Martin is a very versatile actor, as anyone even considering one of his movies knows already - this movie is both hilarious and intelligent. I didn't find the movie overdone, but if you prefer movies where bodily fluids figure prominently, this won't be for you.
Not unlike movies like "Airplane", there are jokes and funny moments that will catch you off-guard. This is one of those movies that you can watch repeatedly and always come across something new. The chemistry between Martin and Victoria Tennant was GROWN-UP, so the moony-eyed sequences that people expect in romantic comedies is not there (go get "Sleepless in Seattle").
I don't know enough about the mechanics of transferring film to DVD to register an opinion there - the film comes across well enough to me. One thing that you will find repeated in these reviews is that there is no Director's Commentary. but the back of your DVD may mention it - DON'T BOTHER LOOKING FOR IT CAUSE IT AIN'T THERE!!
Get this DVD!!! Watch it today!!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Cute, Smart and Funny
Review: Good romance comedy. Good goofy laughs, but don't watch this movie looking for any great depth.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Where's the director's commentary?
Review: Just as an FYI, the case for this DVD refers to a separate track with the director's commentary, but the commentary is a no-show. Thus, only 4 stars instead of 5 for a great movie, but sub-par DVD.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful
Review: I first saw this movie just a few months after I had moved from the UK to LA. It really spoke to me. I almost died laughing. Someone had taken my observations of the craziness of LA and crystallized it into comedy. What a beautiful movie. Perfect for me.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: I'D LIKE A CAPPUCCINO, PLEASE
Review: Years ago, I watched "L.A. Story" on TV between commercials. A cute show. Now that I've seen the DVD-WOW! What a treasure! Even if you've never lived in sunny Los Angeles(or even California) a hidden treat is waiting for you. Here the perky, paranoid, ethereal under-belly of kooky Los Angeles is fully exposed by a life-time connoisseur, Steve Martin. Harris K. Telemacher(Martin) is a hippy-dippy TV weatherman. He loses his girlfriend(and his job), and begins a relationship with Sande, a sexy, vibrant Valley Girl(Sarah Jessica Parker). Then, a timely meeting with a lovely British tourist is challenged by a tryst with a giant electrical traffic warning billboard. It starts sending personal messages to the TV weatherman, suggesting how he can make improvements in his life. Sound nuts? It is. And so is this earnest, fast-paced tribute to the weirdo Southern California lifestyle; it's obsessions with food and physical appearance. The film is astonishing in the amount of material it contains. And there's a certain delicacy of tone that is finally bewitching. Steve Martin's lack of subtlety in early films like "The Jerk" has been replaced by a smoothness and unforced intelligence. Written by Martin over a 7-year period, "L.A. Story" is a remarkable addition to his later, more polished works, like "Parenthood", "Roxanne", and "Bowfinger". The star-studded cast includes Victoria Tennant(his then wife), Patrick Stewart, George Plimpton, Chevy Chase, Woody Harrelson, Rick Moranis, and John Lithgow(his scenes deleted.). This 98 minute DVD is 1.85:1 Letterbox, with generous chapters, bios, a featurette, and five Easter eggs. Sadly, the color is sometimes smoggy. When next you visit Beverly Hills, near Hollywood, you may be offered Maps of the Stars. The Maps lead you to houses without any stars. The outer case for "L.A. Story" refers to a Director's commentary. The DVD index leads you to no commentary without any director. Some things never change....

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: NO CHEMISTRY.
Review: It's an okay movie, but there was no chemistry between the stars (married in real life), and without the chemistry, I just didn't care enough to accept all the supernatural stuff. The motives and actions of the Victoria Tennant character were incomprehensible, and I found the character smug and unlikeable. I was kinda hoping the couple wouldn't get together, but it was all too predictable that they would.
On the plus side, Sarah Jessica Parker was bouncily wonderful.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My 2 cents
Review: If you think that Whimsy is boring, then don't watch this. If you have no idea what its like to be sentimental, then don't watch this. If you think intelligence only has to do with characters in great tragedy, then don't watch this.
If you think that magic shouldn't have to be explained, and that complexity is just something that happens when humans interact, then go see this.
If you sometimes wish that life had moments of magic, and it makes the whole world beautiful, then go see this.

This is not a movie for the masses necessarily, its for dreamers. People who want the world to be beautiful, even for a moment.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: I DON'T KNOW?
Review: I HAVE WATCHED STEVE MARTIN BEFORE AND HE REALLY MADE ME LAUAGH, BUT IN L.A STORY, HE PUT ME TO SLEEP!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An often under-rated comic gem
Review: LA Story is one of those movies that gets better and better with every viewing. The basic premise of this movie is not new. The production quality of this film on DVD isn't even good. What makes this a great movie is the depth of the humor--in all of its shallow jokes lies a surprisingly sophisticated silliness. Steve Martin hasn't always hit the nail on the head with previous movies, or those that have come since, but LA Story gets it just right. This is a story of life in LA, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury--signifying nothing. It's fantastic.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Archive-quality humor!
Review: One-liner: This is a funny movie about LA.

The details: Steve Martin's performance is truly wonderful.
The humor is funny without being vulgar or juvenile, and the
situational comedy (is that the right phrase?) hits the mark
time and time again imho. Yes, yes, I loved Animal House,
but it's not the type of movie I can watch year after year
after year and still thoroughly enjoy!

About half-way through I started to wonder if this movie was
perhaps funded by PBS and/or the BBC, and only distributed
by a Hollywood studio. And then I said, who cares! It's
genuinely funny, whether satire or documentary! ...just
joking. It's incredibly funny, and from what I see, soon
coming out on DVD. Good stuff. Put it in your collection
and enjoy it time and time again!


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