Rating: 
Summary: Silly, Snide, & Smart Makes For Great Comedy
Review: I loved this movie the first time I saw it way back in the early 90's, and I still love it now in 2004. I came across this movie while aimlessly searching through Amazon and I remembered how much I liked it so I impulse bought it and am completely satisfied with my purchase. It perfectly captures the end of the 80's as they uncomfortably segued into the 90's in a witty and hilarious manner. Steve Martin is a genius, and Sarah Jessica Parker was at the peak of her hotness.
Rating: 
Summary: Should have been better but still great
Review: There is always something amusing to look at or listen to in this movie that ends up, unfortunately, being a little less than the sum of all its marvelous parts. That being said, however, I can watch any clip from this film and have fun. My 12-year old son has now discovered it and he is a huge fan.I could just watch Sara Jessica Parket over and over -- she is such a whack-job free spirit and scene-stealer -- I get the feeling that she is playing herself. I want to like Tennant and I guess I do, but I don't love her in this. Henner, on the other hand, could not be more perfect, and Steve Martin is so lovable in it. I would tell anyone to watch this movie, manage their expectations, and have FUN!
Rating: 
Summary: Yow! Yow! Yow!
Review: I can't understand who this film could possibly appeal to, or who would want to promote it. A high school english instructor in backwoods Vermont? Someone with some financial connection to this film and stands to profit from it? The bottom line is, the last thing anyone needed was for Steve Martin to create "A Midsummer Night's Dream" redux. Anyone who thinks that anything about this film is clever or humorous ought to consider getting help from some sort of 12-step program. Martin became too clever for his own good when he concocted the concept for this abortion. I rate it as one star, because it deserves it...
Rating:
Summary: A Comedic Masterpiece
Review: This film is an amazing acheivement in terms of comedy. In terms of filmmaking, it barely drops a notch. In twenty years from now, it will be appreciated for what it is. It takes Los Angeles of 1990 and puts it into a time capsule. This retelling of Midsummer Night's Dream in Los Angeles contains all of the mysticism and mixes it with a Woody Allen-ish sense of humor. The music in the film is perfect, all of the little jokes pay off in spades...In the background, there's as many jokes as in the foreground. Jokes you will never notice, sometimes, like the shower switching from on to slow-mo which I didnt see till my fourth time watching. Out of all my DVDs this has been played more than any. It is the one I watch when I am depressed. It is the one I watch when I'm happy. It is the one I watch to be inspired. It is the one I bring to have friends watch. Any (serious) film student or film buff should understand the beauty and art in this film...and the rest of you should like it too. p.s. dont be fooled by DVD box that says commentary...there is none.
Rating:
Summary: Comedy is not Pretty...
Review: After having seen my previous review get voted down by a sizeable margin, I decided to revisit "L.A. Story". One evening, I rented a DVD copy of the film from a local video store. My purpose, of course, was to give the film another chance. "After all," I reasoned, "I could have been out of sorts when I saw 'L.A. Story' the first time. I only saw the first half of it, and it's possible I'm wrong. This could be a fine little film." I took the disc home, put it in my DVD player, and began watching. For about two hours, I watched the feature presentation, occasionally munching on popcorn and drinking gatorade. After watching the entire film, I took the disk outside in my backyard and blew it apart with a 12 gauge Remington shotgun... Cut it right in half. My gut instincts reaffirmed, I returned to my home, more concerned than ever before. Scratch one copy of "L.A. Story!" Yet, thousands of copies still exist!!! Like a cancer, this awful creation is alive and is hungry! It will devour anything in its path... Die, Monster, Die!
Rating:
Summary: One of Martin's Best!
Review: Nobody does comedy like Steve Martin, and nobody writes comedy like Steve Martin, either. His comedy is borderline wacky, and he is the expert at physical humor, but unlike Jim Carrey he knows when to contain himself, how to make a real character, and how to make those zany qualities work just right. His writing is dazzling and offbeat and wacky and outrageous. Part of my computer's harddrive is dedicated to old Steve Martin albums from "Saturday Night Live" and his standup routines. I give him credit for coming up with the word "Google" in his "Googlephonics" skit. But anyway. "L.A. Story" (1991) is Martin's homage to Los Angeles. It's a slapstick comedy and a touching romance story. Sometimes we get jokes nearing ridiculous, and sometimes we get moments of pure reality. Normally this uneven blending of two very different genres would never work, but give the guy credit for making it work splendidly well. In "L.A. Story," Martin plays Wacky Weatherman Harris K. Telemacher, the type of loony guy you sometimes wish would take the place of those boring meterologists on your local news channel that point at their boards and seem as if they're about to fall asleep. Harris has got it all, living the highlife in rich L.A. with a beautiful gal (Marilu Henner) and a great job. But then, one day, he's fired, his girlfriend dumps him for his agent (Kevin Pollack), and he's got nowhere to go in life. That's when he meets Sara (Victoria Tennant, Martin's real-life wife), a British journalist researching L.A. for a news article. Harris takes her on a tour of L.A. "Some of these buildings are over twenty years old," he says. Harris also sparks a relationship with a young ditz named SanDeE* (Sarah Jessica Parker), who doesn't care if she's being used as long as she's having fun. She twirls around and does cartwheels and makes Harris feel young again. And thrown together with all this is an electronic highway sign. The sign gives Harris a riddle to unscramble throughout the film, and when the answer is finally revealed it's pure Steve Martin humor. Steve Martin has a way of parodying anything. I laughed so hard at "L.A. Story" I cried; but then the movie takes a break from being silly and throws in lots of romance and such. But, unlike other movies, it seems to fit perfectly. It's beautiful and offbeat. It sort of reminds me of last year's "Punch-Drunk Love," only "L.A. Story" seems to have a bit more purpose and the characters are a lot more likable. It's also a lot funnier. This is probably one of the most quotable films of all time. It's not as good as Martin's "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (1987), but I'll admit that Martin's writing lends better one-liners than the former (which is strangely funnier, though). I just can't get enough of Steve Martin's wonderful wit. Every time you think that "L.A. Story" is settling down to go into the typical romantic comedy cliches, such as the slow-motion shower scene with the beautiful woman splashing her wet hair over the camera, something happens. (In this case, we see Harris in HIS shower, bathing himself and glancing down at the tap. One knob says "Slow Motion," he turns it, and suddenly he's splashing over his hair and the camera in slow motion.) The movie features cameos ranging from Rick Moranis (who has starred in four films with Martin), Patrick Stewart, Woody Harrelson and even Chevy Chase. The best is undoubtedly Moranis' British gravedigger ("Finally," Harris says, "a funny gravedigger!") I wouldn't want to ruin some of the scenes or quotes, but the beginning sequence with Harris in his car, swerving through neighbors' backyards and sidewalks and down stairs to avoid rush hour traffic, had me laughing hysterically, and so did a scene where he grabs a handgun from his glove compartment and gets in a road duel with a delivery truck. They key to all this humor, I think, is how delightfully over the top and realistic it is. Martin finds a funny social topic -- such as restaurant booking procedures -- and stretches it out into the absurd. And you know what? It works. Because it's Steve Martin. And Steve Martin has hit gold with "L.A. Story." Fans and non-fans alike will love this movie. And I'm going to end with a quote from the film: "Sitting there at that moment I thought of something else Shakespeare said. He said, 'Hey...life is pretty stupid; with lots of hubbub to keep you busy, but really not amounting to much.' Of course, I'm paraphrasing: 'Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.'" I love that wild wit.
Rating:
Summary: A Grown-Up "Teen Movie"
Review: I'm not sure what the detractors of this film are seeing that they find so distasteful. Perhaps it's that the two romantic leads (Martin/Tennant), are neither young, nor tan. Some people, unfortunately feel that romance is the provence of the young, and that middle-aged people should keep that stuff to themselves. Perhaps they found a romance that didn't involve histrionics at every turn, dull. I, however, found the Martin/Tennant match-up to be quite attractive and believable (they were, after all, married at the time.). I quite enjoyed seeing the courtship dance performed in a more mature manner. Maybe, since they may not be from L.A., they didn't get the jokes, or perhaps they got them all too well, and didn't like being made fun of. I really enjoyed seeing the pomposity and silliness that we all exhibit, on occasion, being skewered. People have become so accustomed to laughing AT others, what with all of the "reality" programming about, and the complete UNreality of the "teen" comedies currently out now (not criticising, they're quite good also - some of them), that they seem to have forgotten how to laugh at themselves. An unfortunate product of today's society is that we sem to take things too seriously, especially if they apply to US. And really, criticising the MUSIC? It's Enya! You may not like her music, but in what possible context could you find it irritating? Just because you don't like a form of music, or film, or art of any kind, or even another race, culture, or religion, does NOT mean that it has no validity. Our opinions are OUR opinions, and we need to stop trying to act as if our opinions, or beliefs, need to be enforced somehow, and that anything we don't like is somehow invalid. Enough pontificating on my part. Overall, I found this film to be great fun, a solid romantic comedy, overlaid with an intelligent humor applied to life in general, and specifically to L.A. It's the first "fairy tale" based in Los Angeles that I know of, and it is well done. My only complaint (along with other reviewers), is the quality of the DVD itself. It really is poorly done. Perhaps some genius at some studio will have the common sense to have this classic "remastered" and presented properly. If you have lost, or are losing your faith in life, love, and romance, watch this film - it will give you hope, and leave you with a good feeling inside - and what's wrong with that?
Rating: 
Summary: Meeeh!
Review: Well...what can I say?
It's not a great movie, nor a good movie. But it is wothwhile!
One thing destroys this movie, THE MUSIC, I mean what were they thinking!!! It's hiddious, terrible.
The directing is allright, but the 'signpost' thing is too far fetched. One thing is great though!: Rick Moranis's part!! He's great. I really stopped liking Rick after seeing "Honey, I shrunk the kids" but here's he's very good. (He's also good in 'Splitting Heiers'.
All in all...you CAN watch this movie. Just don't get your hopes up.
Ooohh...go on, watch it...it's really not ALL bad.
:-)
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, wonderful, and most wonderful
Review: This is my favorite Steve Martin film. It's also a cult favorite for me and my friends. This film is a romantic tale set against a tribute to all the wonderful and wacky things about L.A. L.A. Story is brilliant, funny, and a true work of art. A must-see for all Steve Martin fans. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Rated AAA: Awful! Awful! Awful!
Review: "L.A. Story" is the Mother of all Self-Indulgent Comic-Turned-Actor/Director Films. Anyone who has anything good to say about this dog is probably either a financial investor in the film or is otherwise making money from it in some way. Steve Martin once joked that you can't do much with two dollars except throw it into the street. Believe me, if you purchase or rent "L.A. Story", you're better off throwing any money you spend on it into the street. After being a fan of Steve Martin's for many years, I saw this piece of drivel and promptly decided I never wanted to see another Steve Martin film again as long as I lived. "L.A. Story" is full of the sort of self-righteous pomp generated by tired comics turned actor/directors who are long past their prime. In fact, "L.A. Story" seems to take on a life of its own and revel in its awfulness. It was truly a hateful experience to watch this dog. I walked out of the theatre after about an hour, and demanded my money back. The theatre's manager said that he couldn't refund money, and gave me a couple of complimentary tickets instead. What an awful film!
| 
