The best movie set in each state
Just in time for July 4th, we're taking a cinematic roadtrip across America to find the best film from all 50 states—and Washington D.C., too
Film Features Academy Awards
In Field Of Dreams, when Kevin Costner is asked of his homemade baseball diamond, “Is this Heaven?” there’s a reason he doesn’t answer, “No, it’s Alaska.” It’s the same reason that Judy Garland in The Wizard Of Oz doesn’t declare, “we’re not in New Jersey anymore.” Because even before actors are cast and cameras start rolling, the first clue as to what a movie is going to be is where it takes place. When a film plants its flag in a particular city and state, that area’s unique sociopolitical, economic, topographical, or cultural baggage provides a storytelling starting point.
All 50 American states—plus Washington D.C.—have some combination of spacious skies, mountains majesty, shining seas, and alabaster cities, and when a story finds its perfect location (think the sweltering New York City of Do The Right Thing), it serves as shorthand that puts us in the proper frame of mind, whether it’s the sun-baked and blood-soaked Miami of Brian De Palma’s immigrant story Scarface, or the glitz and glamor of Steven Soderbergh’s Las Vegas in the comedy caper Ocean’s Eleven.
With Fourth of July upon us, we’ve decided to spotlight the best films that take place in all 50 states. And don’t worry, we didn’t forget Washington D.C. Some of these final selections were tough (hello, California and New York) but each top choice is a great film that leans into a topography, urban layout, vibe, or culture unique to each state. Before we send you off to explore the list, just a heads up that we didn’t consider where the film was actually shot, just where the story takes place. With that in mind, let’s wish America a happy 247th birthday and embark on this uniquely cinematic road trip.
174 Comments
This list really seems to be: Here’s a movie set in this state, but down below we list a number of movies which are obviously and clearly better than the first movie we mentioned.
For example, Shawshank Redemption is fine and all that, but In the Bedroom is not only a better movie, it’s a better Maine movie in so many ways.
And without a single mention of Lake Placid in the Maine category?
Lake Placid is in New York. Unless that’s the joke….? (I’m so confused.)
The movie is set at the fictional Black Lake in Maine. A character, looking at the eerie flatness of the water, makes a crack about the name “Lake Placid” already being taken.
Oh, really? I never saw it. That’s just false advertising right there!
Do see it, it’s brilliant.
Really? Okay, I’ll add it to my halloween horror list. Thanks.
Don’t watch it on Halloween, give the spot to a purer horror. It’s a superbly fun creature feature, but Horror, it ain’t.
Thanks for the clarification. But the Halloween Horror list lasts all October and spans creature features, supernatural horror, classic horror, Twilight Zone episodes, drive-in B movies and anything even vaguely, tangentially, except for straight-up slasher movies (your Friday the 13ths, for instance.) “Placid” sounds like it’ll fit right in.But which do you like better, Lake Placid or Crawl?
I haven’t seen Crawl, but a friend from work whose movie tastes match mine pretty closely – which is why he’s a friend from work – said it was shit.
And in some cases, they still didn’t list the best one.
Blue Brothers is missing completely from the Illinois listing. But honestly that is kinda a hard one because, as a resident of the Land of Lincoln and life long suburbanite of the great city of Chicago, there are a lot of great Chicago movies but not a lot of great movies about the rest, aka the shitty parts, of Illinois. People who don’t live here often just think of the city and its ever growing suburbs as the state, and given the population it kinda is, but there are large portions of Illinois that are basically “What if Kentucky, Indiana and Missouri had a mean baby”. You get all the farm fed racism and bigotry of rural America but without any of that “good old fashion” hospitality. It’s honestly why, for me, The Bobs Country Bunker scene works so well. If you drive far enough south if Chicago you find that kinda place
I feel like they snubbed Blues Brothers on another one of these lists recently. Maybe they’re trying to avoid praising Landis at all?
And in some cases, they still didn’t list the best one.Case in point: omitting The Blues Brothers from the Illinois list.
The slideshow is so superficial, probably put together in a few hours. I mean, Cool Hand Luke was set in Florida and Scarface is hot garbage. It’s a famous movie, but no one outside of a college dorm claims it’s a “great” movie.
AV Club has gone so all in on these lists lately, it’s essentially a click bait site. It’s just a matter of time until the comments section gets dropped so it can focus on just getting clicks and ad revenue.
“… and Scarface is hot garbage. It’s a famous movie, but no one outside of a college dorm claims it’s a ‘great’ movie.”https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-scarface-1983:D 😀 :DSo, I know that self-reflection isn’t really big with you regulars, but— have you ever maybe, for one second, considered that perhaps the real reason this site seems to have ‘gone downhill’ to you is YOU (and your very narrow view of things like cinema)?? I mean, you don’t even see the obvious irony in your last couple of statements— that you’re gonna keep coming back and coming back, in between your complaining… 😀 😀
But they’re perfect for IA to write. After all, AI can count, and write like carp, or flounder, or scad…not that we’d notice any difference.
8 Mile? Really? 8 Mile!?? When True Romance or RoboCop are right there?
I think that was the most egregious choice for me. Either of those others has a case so it’s really just a question if you want True Romance’s capturing of a run-down declining city or RoboCop’s satire of where it could be heading. Two of my favorite movies so I’m calling a draw.
I’d have gone with “Escabana in da Moonlight”, Jeff Daniels’ comic look at life in the Upper Peninsula.
game of euchre later?
True Romance takes place in Los Angeles.
Mostly, but everything up to Dennis Hopper’s monologue is in Detroit.
I was being slightly pedantic, as I know sections of the movie are in Detroit. But over half is in L.A., so calling it a “Detroit” movie feels like a stretch to me.
The 2nd half is set in LA, the 1st half takes place in Detroit.
Yep, for example, Into the Wild is the best film set in Alaska. It tells a compelling story while showcasing the beauty of Alaska.
California and West Virginia were well-chosen, but I would’ve picked Boyhood (or Waking Life, or even Dazed and Confused) for Texas.
“Hi. Um… My name is Chris Parker. I live in Oak Park. That’s a suburb.”“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off isn’t a good Illinois movie.” That is correct, unless you live in a universe where the Blues Brothers was never made. Heck, “Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues,” summed up living in Illinois better than Wayne World or the Untouchables. Also, you’re picking 8 Miles over Escanaba in da Moonlight for Michigan? I’m surprised you didn’t throw American Pie in the mix since 30 seconds of it was filmed on MSU.
Don’t get me wrong, I like The Big Chill. But I’d have picked Bastard Out of Carolina, The Notebook, The Great Santini, The Prince of Tides, and Glory all ahead of it for movies from SC. Maybe even The Secret Life of Bees too.
You gonna cry?
Prince of Tides would be mine. Reading the novel the state is even more essential to the story and character. Glory’s great but isn’t only the final battle scene in SC?
Most of the movie takes place in New York though. I’m rereading Prince of Tides right now and it’s depressing how much good stuff they left out of the movie. And IMO The Big Chill, with all those self-involved Boomers, has aged like milk. I would’ve chosen Great Santini.
I’ve honestly forgotten the details of the movie, been a long time. I grew up in the south so we had Pat Conroy novels on the shelf, so Great Santini, Lords of Discipline and the like as all mentally fall into one South Carolina setting.
I love these “50 States, 50 Movies” lists. You really have to know your movies, and there’s rarely a single “right” selection for a state. I should know; I made my own list:https://pureblather.com/2019/06/24/50-states-50-movies-part-1/https://pureblather.com/2019/06/28/50-states-50-movies-part-2/https://pureblather.com/2019/07/06/50-states-50-movies-part-3/
Ew.
How does Out of Sight not even rank as a runner up for Michigan? It’s a far better film than even your top pick, 8 Mile. I can make a good argument that it’s Soderbergh’s best work.As for New York, there are obviously so many great choices and I love Do The Right Thing, but for me its a tie between After Hours and Dog Day Afternoon.
Please do one for all 10 Canadian provinces and 3 territories.
I’ll start – Alberta: Cool Runnings.
PEI: A Small Fortune. Put all that Anne shit on the bench.
Whichever one Toronto is in: Scott Pilgrim.
You are tragically wrong. The movie Youngblood takes place in Hamilton, Ontario; about 40 miles from Toronto.
Québec: Les Invasions Barbares (Barbarian Invasions, Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, 2004).
Nova Scotia: Goon
Goon is a stone-cold classic…
Which, apart from a couple of phoned-in establishing shots, was shot in Winnipeg.
Newfoundland: The Shipping News? (2001)
Another runner-up for Arkansas: Mud. Honestly, I would have chosen it over True Grit. Much of True Grit takes place in Indian Territory, which is modern day Oklahoma. Plus, as an Arkansan, I felt like it the most Arkansan movie I’ve seen.
Yeah I didn’t even realize any of the meat of the movie was in Arkansas. The point was that Chaney booked it out of the state for the frontier after killing Maddie’s dad, and she needed someone to go after him.
True Grit starts out in Fort Smith, which makes sense as that’s where Judge Isaac Parker served as U.S. District Judge from 1875 to 1896. He was famously known as the “Hanging Judge” because he sentenced 160 men to death; and 79 of them were hanged.
I prefer Mud II. You can’t beat lines like “How are we going to get rid of all this mud?”
MUD is great! Totally forgot about that one!
Mud is a great movie.
Thought True Grit was an odd choice, even if I really liked it. At least the original source material was written by a native Arkansan, the late Charles Portis.
No love for Jake and Elwood? Or Ben & “They’re Coming To Get You” Barbara?
I was coming here to say that – how do you not even MENTION The Blues Brothers???
In what universe is Bueller a better movie than Blues Brothers? My lord. Bueller fully enjoys all that Chicago has to offer but BB IS Chicago.
Totally agree. Ferris Bueller is kind of a tourist view of Chicago.
Well it is about a suburban kid. They’re basically tourists.
very true.
Depends on the suburb honestly. They drove to the city though, which is totally the tourist way to get around. My rule is that if you lived in a suburb that the L could access then you can kinda say you lived in Chicago. Assuming you actually rode it into the city to do shit
Ferris Beuhler is pretty much just a watered down, PG-13 version of The Blues Brothers. They are both screwball road movies following quirky characters who break the rules. Jake and Elwood go to more interesting places and into the neighborhoods while Ferris and his friends are just suburban kids visiting the tourist sites.
They are both pretty lousy films.
The stadium where Costner’s Durham Bulls played is now home to the North Carolina Central University Eagles. The real Bulls play at Durham Bulls Athletic Park where the famous snorting bull sign lives on … and, yes, if a Bulls players hits the sign, they still win a steak.While the current Bulls play at the DBAP (and have since 1995, a few years before the team moved up to AAA), the real Bulls played at the DAP at the time the movie was filmed. The DBAP is gorgeous and it’s amusing that the Rays’ AAA team has a stadium that’s significantly nicer than the big club’s.The snorting bull sign in the outfield is not the original, though it’s still cool as hell.It’s interesting that only Bulls players can win a steak, though I suppose it makes sense; the player gets a $100 gift certificate at Angus Barn in Raleigh and it seems like an opposing player would have a tough time redeeming it given that they’re in town for such a short time and it’s not like it’s right next to the ballpark.
Yeah but still a great scene. “Guy hit the fucking bull! He gets a free steak!”At least in Bull Durham world you know that kid making nothing as a low-level minor leaguer is heading straight to the steakhouse after the game for a real meal.
Hell yeah. And even today there are guys who aren’t making a lot of money in the Minor Leagues, even at AAA.Angus Barn is a darn good steakhouse, too. They should really up the gift card amount, though; $100 is barely enough to get a full meal.
How is The Wizard of Oz not the pick for Kansas?!
I guess because 95% of the movie is in Oz? Otherwise yeah, odd choice there.
Since the trip was all a concussion-induced hallucination, technically Dorothy never left Kansas….
So it’s an Australian movie?
It’s to be nice to Kansans who haven’t stopped hearing about The Wizard of Oz since like, 1940.
Not that I expect much from Florida, but Scarface is beyond terrible. Also, last reports that came in to this desk say that Fargo is in North Dakota.
Fargo doesn’t take place in Fargo, though, outside of one pivotal scene in the beginning.
The city of Fargo is, but most of the movie takes place in Brainderd, Minneapolis, and Moose Lake MN. I believe the hitmen are from Fargo.
I think it’s the same with My Own Private Idaho.They go to Idaho, but I wouldn’t say it’s “set” in Idaho.
What else is there for Idaho? The Reflecting Skin?
And how does North Dakota not warrant the inclusion of North By Northwest?
Maybe because it’s climax was at Mt. Rushmore, which is South Dakota?
…ah. You and Oglethorpe_NB make a very good point. I stand corrected.
Because Mount Rushmore is in South Dakota?
Florida Project
I’d put in either The Florida Project or Red Rocket for Florida, because those are really great movies and legit Florida.
Also, last reports that came in to this desk say that Fargo is in North Dakota.A pretty well-worn gripe in MN by this point. Honestly, the bigger issue is stereotyping our accent. Maybe it’s just because I’m a native Minnesotan, but I rarely hear the accent as pronounced as it is in the film.
In order to fully understand and respect your fine and noble culture, I have been studying your speech.
Oh… I never really noticed the Minnesota accent before seeing the movie, and admittedly it’s exaggerated, but not as much as you think. I’ve traveled quite a bit to Minnesota and Wisconsin over the years, and I hear some version or another of the “Fargo” accent all the time when I’m there.
You mean the Coen brothers produced a film with a heightened sense of reality? I’m shocked I tell yer.
Oh ya?
I mean, you hear it if you go up to Duluth.
To paraphrase Logan Roy, AV Club is not a serious website.
The best Florida movie is The Florida Project. Moody and desperate, with Willem Dafoe as a supporting actor for a lead cast of nobodys, centered around kids who don’t know how miserable things are because, well, they’re kids.
“Not that I expect much from Florida, but Scarface is beyond terrible.”https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-scarface-1983:D 😀 And then proceeds to get it completely wrong— about the Coen Brothers’ Fargo… 😀 😀 😀
I feel like you just kind of embarrassed yourself pretty bad.
“Durdin”? Also, I had no idea the skyscrapers were in delaware. State of incorporation probably has nothing to do with where business records are kept
That was always a ridiculous hole in the entire plan. 1. those records are digitized and obviously backed up off-site, and 2. no one houses data centers in class-A downtown office space. I don’t know if this was an oversight by the author and screenwriter, or deliberately meant to reinforce how stupid and futile the Fight Club ethos really was. I like to think the latter.
Very much the latter. The original novel ends not with the buildings blowing up but with the narrator in the loony bin.
Honestly, until I read this article the fact that Delaware existed escaped my mind. I’m slightly ashamed, but even being reminded that Delaware exists I can’t really associate anything with it. I went to look at google maps at work and inexplicably got distracted by actually working.I’m pretty sure Delaware is trying to Jedi mind trick me out of knowing about it’s existence. “Delewhere? Delewhat are you talking about?”
Joe Biden and Aubrey Plaza are from Delaware, so I’m aware of its existence
I guess Delaware mind-trick strikes again… or I just never question where anybody was born unless they make a big deal about it (Paul Rudd’s Kansas City fundraiser event) or it’s a “Well, that explains it” situation (like Texas, Florida or “The South”)
An “Oh yea!” moment for sure. (Glad I wasn’t the only one!) I literally Lol’ed at being reminded Delaware exists.
Look, I’ll be the first to admit that there aren’t a lot of movies set in Indiana, much less good ones, but A Christmas Story is terrible. Apart from the leg lamp scene. That scene owns.
I admit I’ve not seen Leprechaun, but should it be the pick for North Dakota, when the trailer itself declares, “The luck of the Irish is being packed, and shipped, to a little town in South Dakota…”
No Dances with Wolves for South Dakota? You may not like the film, but the cinematography was lovely.
I’d take Robocop over 8 Mile for Michigan.
HOW DID YOU NOT EVEN MENTION BLUES BROTHERSJFC I miss the AV Club
Echoing everyone who are (rightfully) slamming your oversight of The Blues Brothers, and frankly, Red Dawn needs to be at least in the runner-up list for Colorado.
So…D.C. gets a mention, but Puerto Rico and other US territories don’t?
I can think of four Washington movies that are better than Sleepless, including Harry and the Hendersons and the first Twilight.
I just don’t think Nora Ephron movies age all that well, save for When Harry met Sally, and I think that was thanks in part to an absolutely on fire Rob Reiner.
I doubt you intended it, but that has got to be one of the sickest burns I’ve ever seen. Twilight? Fuckin’ really?
It does a good job of capturing both the weather and scenery.
And that makes it a good movie?
Now do best movie filmed in each state. I’ll go first.North Carolina: Dirty Dancing
Ehhhh Scareface may have grown in popularity, from so-bad-it’s-good cult status to worst-guy-on-your-floor dorm-room-poster status, and there’s been some critical reevaluation, but you’re fuckin insane if you think it is an objectively better film than Moonlight, The Florida Project, or The Birdcage. That’s like saying The Room is the best film set in California.
Not bad but here are some for consideration…Alaska: Hold the Dark (Jeffrey Wright), Arizona: Revenge of the Nerds, U Turn (Sean Penn/Jlo), California: True Romance. Three billboards missouri was noticeably shot in North Carolina.
Runner-up for GA should include Smokey and the Bandit – which entirely filmed in GA, though part of it was supposed to be the Colorado Rockies.
What, no Blues Brothers? A severe omission.
I would expect more from the AV Club.Yes, The Witches of Eastwick movie is based in Eastwick, Rhode Island, as is the novel. Eastwick is really Wickford, Rhode Island. Wickford did not want to have the movie filmed there, so the production wanted to go to North Tiverton, Rhode Island. The town fathers there rejected it, so it was eventually filmed in Cohasset, Massachusetts.I was a college student at URI when this was in the news. I was livid that the people in North Tiverton were so short-sighted. Imagine my surprise when I met a girl after college who lived about three blocks away from Cohasset Center. We married in the Unitarian Church prominently featured in the movie.There really is no flavor or character of Rhode Island in the movie other than Cohasset standing in for WASPy town in South County. Go watch Housesitter (1992) which was also filmed in Cohasset, and see if that feels like Rhode Island.
I was shocked with how badly this list messed up the Rhode Island selections. In most of the other states, either the selection or the runners-up plausibly contained the actual best film, but not RI. Excluding both Outside Providence and Moonrise Kingdom is egregious.
Ya know, for the Best Rhode Island Movie, I’d go with this one. So it’s a concert film – sue me….
“I would expect more from the AV Club.”
Well, that’s your own fault.
Rocky is certainly the choice for Philly, which means it can’t be the choice for PA, since the rest of the state hates Philly.
It’s not even the best Philly movie – I’d go with Blow Out or The Sixth Sense.
How about this one?
Yeah that’s more like it.
So Philadelphia’s not Pennsylvania? Explain this to me.
You can say the same with pretty much every Chicago movie and Illinois. To that I say fuck those inbred south of I-80 assholes.
The Godfather or Goodfellas were obvious choices for NY. JfC.
HOW DID YOU NOT MENTION GOOD WILL HUNTING FOR MASSACHUSETTS?!?!
I skipped right over Massachusetts. Holy shit. That’s *egregious.*
GWH is definitely more “Massachusetts” than The Departed, which was only partially filmed in the state.
I thought the exact same thing. If you’re gonna also-mention Mystic River, you have to include GWH.
Exactly. GWH had the locales including the Baskin and Robbins (you like apples) in Harvard Square that (sadly) no longer exists. I mean Will Hunting rode the Red Line on the T. You could have told me (beyond the terrible accents) that The Departed took place in any other city (Chicago, NYC, LA, etc.) and I would have believed you. GWH was a Boston movie through and through.
Ferris Bueller my fuckin’ ass. (#LeeElia) And over The Fugitive? No.
Hinky.
If there’s a better Nebraska movie than Boys Don’t Cry, I don’t know it.
Yes, no doubt this is the best movie now on all the sets. Now if you want to download videos related to this movie from Pinterest then you must try pinvid. Thanks!
Got a better one for Virginia. Not only an important – and too often overlooked bit of history, most of it was actually filmed in that state.
As long as we’re picking comedies to round out Hawaii, 50 First Dates is there when Forgetting Sarah Marshall isn’t?
According to this comic panel from Amazing World of DC Comics #14 (March 1977)…Gotham City is located in New Jersey; and Metropolis is located in Delaware. So, all the Batman movies are runner-ups for the New Jersey selection; and all the Superman movies are runner-ups for the Delaware selection.
I’d add Arlington Road to the list of Virginia movies. Its a movie that stayed with me. Every time I hear a news cast reporting on a violent crime and speculating on the motives, I think of this movie and get chills. Really good, and really creepy.
I’m from Wisconsin, and before clicking all the way through, my guess was they’d choose “The Great Outdoors” with John Candy and Dan Aykroyd. I knew vaguely that Bridesmaids was set down around Chicago, but Milwaukee? Okay. Blanked on it, I guess. It’s tough because Wisco doesn’t get a lot of movie settings – TV shows, now we got a bunch of those. Looking at Google … probably “Lars and the Real Girl” has the most “Wisconsinality” (as we like to call it) other than “The Great Outdoors.” “Wayne’s World” and “Public Enemies” kinda share Wisconsin and Illinois.
Can Wisconsin technically claim Love Actually, since part of the movie takes place there?
I always pronounce Milwaukee like Alice Cooper in Wayne’s World. Driving to Milwaukee for some event is(or at least was in my day) part of the Chicago and burbs living experience. Saw several concerts there and regularly did the nerdy road trip to Gencon every year before they moved that to Indy.
Not entirely set in Kentucky, but the memorable climax is at Fort Knox: Goldfinger
There is a lot to choose from for Texas, and I lived there a long time (not that I’m proud of it), so all I can say is how in holy hell could you not choose No Country for Old Men?
As a Seattle resident, Sleepless in Seattle does a very good job at capturing Seattle – though there are better Seattle movies, like The Slender Thread – but a movie that captures most of the rest of Washington better would be Dante’s Peak, set in a fictional Washington town, and shot mostly in Idaho, but really captures the “small logging town in the cascades” look and feel perfectly, almost as good as Twin Peaks did (which was based on and partially shot around Snoqualmie and North Bend). I guess anything with the word “peak” in it. We have a lot of mountains.
Wow, have the listicles reached the bottom or what?
I’m gonna pitch some ideas for next week:“The best movies set on each day of the week!”“The best TV shows with a character named Murray!”“The best movies released in either the 70s, 80s, or 90s!”Keep up the great work, AV Club!
How is “best movie in each state” not a legit topic?
I find it a dopey concept, but if you enjoy it, power to you.
Departed over Jaws?? And how is Groundhog Day not Penn?
I too am upset over a list of movies on the internet!
“Michigan: 8 Mile”Fuck you, there’s no way this is ANYTHING but Robocop. Fucking 8 Mile? FUCK YOU.
Masschusetts itself picked The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) for best Massachusetts-based movie.
Pretty sure Citizen Kane, often cited as the best film ever made, is set in New York. But it didn’t even get honorable mention?
I was hoping for at least an honorable mention for Minari in the Arkansas bit. I am not Korean-American, but I did shelter in a manufactured home while a tornado raged above us. I knew at least three of the guy who dragged a cross around town. The chicken plants were a fixture. Minari is easily the best depiction of the Arkansas I grew up in that I’ve ever seen.
Bridesmaids fails in that a good many scenes happen on the road from Milwaukee to Chicago…which the filmmakers seem to think consists of cornfields, instead of Kwiktrips and cheese castles.
I have a friend who would be *appalled* that “White Christmas” isn’t on the list for Vermont. My mom would be offended “Funny Farm” and “Baby Boom” aren’t on there. (This is where I should note I was born and raised in Vermont. On that note: I love Broken Lizard but have never loved “Super Troopers” because, as a Vermonter, it doesn’t feel like a Vermont movie. It feels like what guys from upstate NY think Vermont is like, which makes sense, since Broken Lizard went to Colgate.)
Totally agree. I’ve seen DPS many times and don’t remember it’s being set in Vermont—I do know it was filmed in Delaware. OTOH White Christmas is famously set in Vermont (even if it was filmed on a soundstage). “Vermont should be beautiful this time of year, all that snow.” “This is Vermont, New England’s winter playground?”“It sounds very Vermont-y.”“You laid a Vermont volleyball.”
This is the worst list I’ve ever seen. I think someone just drew names from a hat.
I was sure they’d say Walk the Line for Tennessee, so I’m pleasantly surprised to see something slightly less predictable. I’m really just glad they didn’t say Gummo.
AV Club, I hate to inform you that your Deleware selection is incorrect. You name Fight Club the best movie to come from that state, because of “all the credit card companies that call Delaware home.”However, that is not a valid basis to determine where the movie takes place. Deleware is home to most of the major corporations in America – but only in terms of where they have registered their business entity. It’s very business friendly, and more than that, it has a very sophisticated court system that makes complex business litigation more predictable.The city Fight Club takes place in is fictional, but to the extent that it involves blowing up a series of skyscrapers to destroy the records of finance companies, there’s only a few places that could arguably fit the bill: New York, San Francisco, and Chicago.
As an Oregonian, I have to agree with the choice of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. However I would’ve at least added Kindergarten Cop to the runners-up list.
The best Washington movie is Class of 1999 and it’s not even close.
How on Earth can you not give New Mexico the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly?
Ferris Buellers Day Off….??
Runners-up: Wayne’s World, The Untouchables, Chicago, The Sting, Halloween, Medium CoolAre you smoking crack!!??
Fun fact about Washing D.C: The D stands for District. Listing it as a state could only happen if you’re not familiar with the United States. What country is the AV Club located in?
DC very much wants to be its own state; it definitely has the population.
As a New Hampshire native, I have to say our state is probably the weakest state in the Union for movies. On Golden Pond isn’t even that good, yet there doesn’t seem to be much competition. Most semi decent films set in New Hampshire seem to be about people visiting the state (Secaucus 7, What About Bob?) not about us locals. Maybe I’ll have to check out Live Free or Die.
Please tell me that Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia are on the list for Smokey And The Bandit. And that California is on for BTK.
I worked with a guy from Idaho fairly recently after Napoleon Dynamite came out. He said he grew up in the town next to Preston, and that “those were the rich, snobby kids.” That pretty much blew my mind.
Other than the establishing shot and the Art Museum, you could survey 1000 people who’ve seen Bridesmaids multiple times and I doubt 2 of them would know it was set in Milwaukee. More people probably recognize Milwaukee County Stadium from Major League (more on Ohio later). Not to pile it on, but there’s a fair amount of movies on this list (and in the runner-ups) that the state it’s based in plays no part in the movie other than an establishing shot or two. In fact, in some of those cases, saying it was from a particular state when it obviously wasn’t filmed there is distracting.
My favorite example has to be A Nightmare on Elm Street (in the runner-ups). It takes place in fictional Springwood, OH where beautiful palm trees live in the cemeteries and surrounding the bridge over the wonderful Venice Canals of… Ohio?
Trading Places is another iconic Philadelphia movie. Also gotta add 12 Monkeys. I was so mind-blown when Willis went above ground for the first time and saw — dun, dun, dun — Philadelphia City Hall!
Aw, man! I thought this was going to be a list of the actual movie SETS in each state!
Now, #4 was Arizona, and it said “Raising Arizona”… are we sure? Because “maybe it was Utah.”