Delayed Reaction: LA Story

The Pitch: Steve Martin finds love in a surreal version of L.A.

How I Came Into It: While I didn't know much about this movie specifically, this Club 50 project has gotten me to finally get around to seeing a lot of Steve Martin movies. Movies such as Roxanne and Bowfinger have only solidified my love of Martin. I looked at it as a treat to have one more left on the list.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) This is such a beautifully strange movie. It has equal parts contempt and love for Los Angeles. To some extent, it outpaces Fletch with all the underplayed humor. It's a denser movie than it seems. I'll definitely need to see it again before I can come close to forming a real opinion on it.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: One of the main reasons I'll need to see this again sometime is because a lot of the things about this movie are things that instantly turn me off. I've grown tired of movies and TV shows pointing out how phony L.A. is. By now, I get it. Try to find a way to work through your issues that doesn't cost 10 million dollars. It also doesn't help that a good amount of it ends up being local humor. Sure, I know more about L.A. than I do Omaha. That doesn't mean I relate. As I mentioned, these are things that immediately put me on edge. Now that I know it's coming, I can appreciate the grace notes of the film more in the future.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend