Your filmic recommendations of small town American life!

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sling blade screened last night and has me craving other films that depict the comings and goings in rural America. i loved ulee's gold and the straight story. what are some others?

― Chris Radford (Chris Radford), Monday, 9 June 2003 02:34 (twenty-three years ago)

hoosiers

― keith (keithmcl), Monday, 9 June 2003 02:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Back to the Future

― s1utsky (slutsky), Monday, 9 June 2003 02:40 (twenty-three years ago)

Footmotherfuckingloose

― oops (Oops), Monday, 9 June 2003 02:40 (twenty-three years ago)

To Kill a Mockingbird

― oops (Oops), Monday, 9 June 2003 02:40 (twenty-three years ago)

(man I haven't seen Hoosiers in ages)

― s1utsky (slutsky), Monday, 9 June 2003 02:40 (twenty-three years ago)

and perhaps some reasons why

― Chris Radford (Chris Radford), Monday, 9 June 2003 02:41 (twenty-three years ago)

Dazed and Confused - With a few minor changes, this was still suburban Texas in the '90s.

Or maybe my friends and I just modelled our lives on the movie. Either/or.

The Straight Story - David Lynch's best film?

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Monday, 9 June 2003 02:50 (twenty-three years ago)

The Yearling... or Vacation

― Aaron A., Monday, 9 June 2003 02:51 (twenty-three years ago)

Hud -- a Paul Newman classic, he plays such an SOB.

The Last Picture Show -- if you haven't seen this one, you will get a kick out of seeing so many classic actors at such a young age, but this movie is pretty classy with a great cast.

Falling from Grace -- much better than you might expect, considering who starred and directed the movie. (Mind you...it isn't really in the same class with the other movies, I mentioned, but it is decent and Claude Akins is quite good, in a supporting role.)

Shadow of a Doubt -- I'm suprised no one has tried to remake this one yet. It was the Hitch's favorite.

Dazed and Confused was also fairly true to growing up in Indiana in the late 80s. The Matthew McConauhey character is a near replicant of someone at home, down to the line "I get older but they stay the same age".

― earlnash, Monday, 9 June 2003 03:04 (twenty-three years ago)

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

― ejad (daje), Monday, 9 June 2003 03:06 (twenty-three years ago)

Aaah, The River's Edge

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 9 June 2003 03:48 (twenty-three years ago)

clerks

― Tad (llamasfur), Monday, 9 June 2003 03:50 (twenty-three years ago)

Pleasantville

― ryan (ryan), Monday, 9 June 2003 03:50 (twenty-three years ago)

True Stories.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Monday, 9 June 2003 04:37 (twenty-three years ago)

Shadow of a Doubt

― James Blount (James Blount), Monday, 9 June 2003 04:44 (twenty-three years ago)

Gummo.

― g--ff c-nn-n (gcannon), Monday, 9 June 2003 04:47 (twenty-three years ago)

Blood Simple

― oops (Oops), Monday, 9 June 2003 04:50 (twenty-three years ago)

as long as they don't have to be cheery, eye of god and heavy are good. also ruby in paradise, but i guess that's kind of medium town

the farmer's wife is a great documentary about a midwestern farming family (strangely enough)

norma rae

― ron (ron), Monday, 9 June 2003 05:02 (twenty-three years ago)

Sweet Bird of Youth

― oops (Oops), Monday, 9 June 2003 05:06 (twenty-three years ago)

i saw the farmer's wife. bleak but riveting viewing. can't remember where the doco left that family. she was off to college wasn't she?

― Chris Radford (Chris Radford), Monday, 9 June 2003 05:16 (twenty-three years ago)

i can't recall either, but i'm glad you saw it

― ron (ron), Monday, 9 June 2003 05:20 (twenty-three years ago)

Boys Don't Cry

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Monday, 9 June 2003 05:46 (twenty-three years ago)

Dogville! Love the settings!

― nathalie (nathalie), Monday, 9 June 2003 06:35 (twenty-three years ago)

The Magnificent Ambersons.

― Justyn Dillingham (Justyn Dillingham), Monday, 9 June 2003 07:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The Hills Have Eyes

― dave q, Monday, 9 June 2003 07:06 (twenty-three years ago)

You Can Count On Me.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 9 June 2003 08:43 (twenty-three years ago)

The Last Picture Show is a great call - one of my favourite movies. The book is great too, and while its novel-sequels may be even better, the film of book two, Texasville, is pretty terrible.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 9 June 2003 11:37 (twenty-three years ago)

Funny Farm

― Chris V. (Chris V), Monday, 9 June 2003 11:39 (twenty-three years ago)

Doc Hollywood

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 9 June 2003 12:35 (twenty-three years ago)

Ghost World, Election, and another vote for Clerks. There really aren't a lot of (contemporary) movies about small town America that don't fall into the 'look-at-the-freaks' mode, to me..
Oh yeah, anyone see La traversée? Parisian filmmaker makes a documentary about his friend who's on a road trip from NYC to rural Kentucky, to meet his father for the first time. I liked it.

― daria g, Monday, 9 June 2003 12:41 (twenty-three years ago)

Breaking Away, Gas Food Lodging

― Carey (Carey), Monday, 9 June 2003 13:22 (twenty-three years ago)

If your not so picky about American life, New Waterford Girl takes place in the far flung corner of Cape Breton.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Monday, 9 June 2003 13:51 (twenty-three years ago)

new waterford girl is great

― ron (ron), Monday, 9 June 2003 14:02 (twenty-three years ago)

Over the Edge

― Chris V. (Chris V), Monday, 9 June 2003 14:07 (twenty-three years ago)

Tapping into Noodles' vein (so to speak), there are other great Canadian films too. I'd suggest Bruce McDonald's Highway 61, which starts in rural Ontario and winds its way down through the middle of the U.S., hitting a few major centres along the way. Dance Me Outside is also very good, though it's more a movie set on the reservation than in a small town; along that line--and from the U.S.--I also enjoyed Smoke Signals, but not quite as much.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Monday, 9 June 2003 14:14 (twenty-three years ago)

def "over the edge"

Stand by me,
IT

― james (james), Monday, 9 June 2003 14:44 (twenty-three years ago)

Does Pecker count, even though Baltimore is a fairly large town? It's certainly made to look small and parochially eccentric in the film.

― Daniel (dancity), Monday, 9 June 2003 16:27 (twenty-three years ago)

24 Hour Party People

― James Blount (James Blount), Monday, 9 June 2003 16:28 (twenty-three years ago)

Over the Edge was filmed in my HOME TOWN!! WHICH IS SMALL, AND RURAL.

― Mandee, Monday, 9 June 2003 17:16 (twenty-three years ago)

Over the Edge is a masterpiece.

― Chris V. (Chris V), Monday, 9 June 2003 17:17 (twenty-three years ago)

So is The River's Edge, if just for Crispin Glover's totally insane performance. He overacts enough to even overshadow Dennis Hopper, who plays a one-legged man with a blow-up doll for a wife.

― NA. (Nick A.), Monday, 9 June 2003 17:32 (twenty-three years ago)

try all the real girls. amazing and in a small town/rural area.

― todd swiss (eliti), Monday, 9 June 2003 17:45 (twenty-three years ago)

Night of the Hunter...sort of.

― Joe (Joe), Monday, 9 June 2003 17:47 (twenty-three years ago)

Hands On A Hardbody

― Dale the Merciless (cprek), Monday, 9 June 2003 17:51 (twenty-three years ago)

Desert Blue

― Sommermute (Wintermute), Monday, 9 June 2003 18:35 (twenty-three years ago)

State and Main

― I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Monday, 9 June 2003 18:50 (twenty-three years ago)

hands on a hardbody is rocking

desert blue is not rocking, sorry

mumford

― ron (ron), Monday, 9 June 2003 23:40 (twenty-three years ago)

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

I second this recomendation. The most accurate depection of small-town Iowa ever.

― Christine 'Green Leafy Dragon' Indigo (cindigo), Monday, 9 June 2003 23:43 (twenty-three years ago)

(and I'd move back in a second, if I could.)

― Christine 'Green Leafy Dragon' Indigo (cindigo), Monday, 9 June 2003 23:43 (twenty-three years ago)

slc punk
fargo
rich in love

on a comedic bent, the greater tuna hbo special if available, or happy texas

― kevin (unclegrumpy), Thursday, 12 June 2003 01:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Three documentaries:
American Movie
Brother's Keeper
Devil's Workshop

― David Beckhouse (David Beckhouse), Thursday, 12 June 2003 02:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Sterling's right, True Stories is brill.

My entry: The Last Picture Show.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 12 June 2003 02:57 (twenty-two years ago)

My original entry:

Lone Star. More Texas-specific than most of the movies on this thread, but a great, under-seen movie.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 12 June 2003 03:00 (twenty-two years ago)

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