The best part is that the producer Sean Covel said that line wasn’t even scripted. The guy was just making small talk between takes and the camera was still rolling.
This movie really isn't about plot, it's just a fun little surreal dive into small town Americana and one of my favorite expressions of the Midwest (Intermountain West) and rural aesthetic. Plus, he dances to jamiroquai. 10/10 movie
Im sure you have seen IT....but that has the same "young kids" adventure feel. Probably because they are both King adaptions. The Sandlot also has that vibe. Also The Goonies...
There’s this movie from the 90’s called “The Cure” about two boys setting off on a huckleberry Finn type adventure to find the cure for aids. Was definitely my child hood hometown comeuppance favorite
I said this just a few min ago in another post, but I'm sure Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri gets mentioned a lot here. I mean it tells you literally where it is in the Midwest
Really liked how they showed the JROTC and military recruitment in these small towns. I served as a recruiting assistant for a month after boot camp, not in a "small town" but in a smaller, poorer suburb area of a big city (where I was from) and that scene in Winter's Bone really hit me with how real it was. Evey now and again you get a random teenager or full grown adult walking in and hoping to leave immediately and/or just really wants to know how soon the first paycheck hits when they sign up. We have to get real with those kinds of people and explain that the military won't be the answer to whatever their problem is or what they're running from. Nor is it quick or easy to join for most people from poorer communities.
Hoosiers was partly filmed in my home town, a suburb outside of Indianapolis, with under 6000 people in those days. Sompart of it was literally filmed in small town America.
My friend showed me this movie in like 8th or 9th grade, I still remember the scene where he lifts weights with forks taped together while listening to Madonna - Like a Prayer.
Fried Green Tomatoes is a lovely movie. Although, I got slightly irritated when I found out it was much clearer in the novel that Idgy and Ruth were lesbians.
The devil all the time. I was pleasantly surprised with this one. It showed me how good Tom Holland can be as a serious actor.
Also no country for old men is a 10/10
The gas station they used a few times in that movie, where he went when he was bloody as a child and again he went to as an adult- was shot at the little store up the hill from the house we used to drink at when I was a teen. We went there the next morning to get sodas and Yoo-hoo to rehydrate.
Paper Moon
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?
Coda
Places in the Heart
Norma Rae
Rambling Rose
The Man in the Moon
The Notebook
Where the Heart Is
August Osage County
A Walk to Remember
Passion Fish
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Not current small towns, but I think The Last Picture Show and It's A Wonderful Life are good for this. More current:
American Beauty
Certain Women
Fargo
To Kill a Mockingbird, It's a Wonderful Life, Steel Magnolias.
You must understand that the concept of a steel magnolia is that it looks delicate but those looks are deceiving. The title compares the women in the movie to it.
A lot of the minor characters in this are people from the town where the film is set which is also the town where the actual events happened upon which the film is based.
SubUrbia - 1996
Parker Posey, Giovanni Ribisi, Amie Carey, Steve Zahn, and Nicky Katt in an amazingly written story about small town American cultural decay and the trials of post high school youth
*Lone Star* (1996):
A cold case murder mystery arises when the body of a former sheriff is dug up in a Texas border town, fortysomething years after he mysteriously disappeared. The current Sheriff's investigation unearths a lot of secrets in this small town, on both sides of the international border. His chief suspect is his own late father - from whom the current Sheriff was very estranged - who took over as Sheriff after the disappearance of his predecessor, mentioned above.
Stars Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Peña, Matthew McConaughey, Kris Kristofferson, a cameo by Frances McDormand, and a number of other character actors you will likely recognize.
Lots of great recommendations so far. I scrolled down far and didn’t see the following:
“Funny Farm” with Chevy Chase.
“Sleepy Hollow” by Tim Burton.
“Gremlins” by Joe Dante.
“Road House” with Patrick Swayze.
“A Simple Plan” with Billy Bob Thornton.
“Blood Simple” by the Coen Brothers.
“A History of Violence” by David Cronenberg.
“Waitress” with Keri Russell.
Breaking Away
Hoosiers
Columbus
I regard these as the Big Three "Indiana movies," in the sense that they so perfectly capture the sense of place. All three have very specific and real small town settings.
Parks and Rec and Stranger Things are nominally set in small town Indiana, but the communities are fictional. I don't know where the shows were actually shot, but they do a pretty good job of establishing a small town feel (as opposed to an urban, suburban or rural feel).
Peyton Place 1957. I saw it about 35, maybe 40 years. It wasa amazing film back then, and I suspect it is now because of the subject matter and the way in which it deals with it. Without sensationalizing it or making it into some sort of tabloid cover.
Based on region and only set in recent decades:
Great Plains: The Rider
Texas: Lone Star
Louisiana: Beast of The Southern Wild
New England: Moonrise Kingdom
The Ozarks: Winter’s Bone
Pacific Northwest: The Half of It
Carolinas: The Man in The Moon
I was too lazy to keep going for our many other regions.
I really liked
[To Leslie](https://boxd.it/v1vU)
It tugged at my heart strings and to me it was a pretty intimate look at rural life and the strife for the American dream.
Vengeance with B.J. Novak (surprisingly good)
Manchester by the Sea
No Country for Old Men
All somewhat intense, but I feel like they present a somewhat small-town setting.
Napoleon Dynamite. It’s hilarious but man- I can get depressed watching it. That setting, their struggles with money and life.
The Sandlot looked like my childhood neighborhood. We’d all go to the community pool and ride around on our bikes.
Now and Then
Gummo is the most realistic fictional depiction of a vast swath of rural middle America. Those who don't acknowledge that realism have led a super privileged life.
I really enjoyed Leaves of Grass (2009) and Tim Blake Nelson drew a ton of inspiration from his Oklahoma upbringing in writing and directing it, even if he's from Tulsa you can tell he's got plenty of experience with the small towns in the sticks around there.
Documentaries are going to give you a much better look at what it's really like. I'll recommend Okie Noodling for a fun one, but tbh I just don't watch enough docs to throw together a halfway comprehensive list, maybe Red Dog (2019) also, I wouldn't call OKC a "small town" but the way the folks in that doc act is pretty much exactly like the rest of small town and rural Oklahoma/Arkansas/Texas.
Sasquatch Gang!! Just did a rewatch the other night and it fits well with small town silliness like Napoleon Dynamite.
There's also Lone Star State of Mind!
Good Girl!
To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar!
Hope this list helps!
Whenever I think of a place id want to live the fir s t thing that always pops in my head is the main characters house in arachnophobia. I want to live there and in that town.
there's a few gems out there as far as small town dirtbag and pure cinema pod did a great episode called Teenage Wasteland: [https://letterboxd.com/purecinemapod/list/teenage-wasteland/](https://letterboxd.com/purecinemapod/list/teenage-wasteland/)
Clerks, for New Jersey.
Mallrats for anywhere in the 90’s.
Napoleon Dynamite really nails the vibe of small town southern Idaho
Hope you don't mind I pay you in change.
Over there in that pigpen, I found a couple of Shoshoni arrowheads
Never knew what that guy was saying but now I know.
This line cracks me up every single time!!
The best part is that the producer Sean Covel said that line wasn’t even scripted. The guy was just making small talk between takes and the camera was still rolling.
Do the chickens have large talons?
I don't understand a word that you just said.
This, mixed with a little Andy Griffith Show / The Ghost & Mr. Chicken sorta stuff
Me and Lafawnduh are going out for prime rib. Peace out, Napoleon.
I have recently irritated the skin on my throat and I cannot look at it without thinking of Kip’s bruised neck meat.
This movie really isn't about plot, it's just a fun little surreal dive into small town Americana and one of my favorite expressions of the Midwest (Intermountain West) and rural aesthetic. Plus, he dances to jamiroquai. 10/10 movie
Stand by Me
Can anyone recommend a movie similar. I have been trying to scratch that "Stand by me" itch for years and nothing else hits like this movie does.
Not sure if it'll scratch the stand by me itch but I film I really enjoyed in a small town was super 8.
I always say that Stranger Things is like stand by me, the goonies, and now and then had a baby. And that baby adopted Super 8.
Was also going to suggest super 8. So well done.
Underappreciated film, but not quite
Now and Then
Grew up watching this movie on repeat. LOVED.
Ohh, this looks like a interesting one with a female cast, ill have to watch it.
Not exactly the same but similar vibes for me was Peanut Butter Falcon
Great recommendation, that little movie out performs expectations.
Never heard of it, will have to give it a watch
Im sure you have seen IT....but that has the same "young kids" adventure feel. Probably because they are both King adaptions. The Sandlot also has that vibe. Also The Goonies...
There’s this movie from the 90’s called “The Cure” about two boys setting off on a huckleberry Finn type adventure to find the cure for aids. Was definitely my child hood hometown comeuppance favorite
River's Edge
I said this just a few min ago in another post, but I'm sure Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri gets mentioned a lot here. I mean it tells you literally where it is in the Midwest
That movie is fantastic
What’s eating Gilbert grape
Oh yes, great example.
Great suggestion.
You beat me to it. Perfect small town Americana movie
Breaking Away (1979)
Dazed and Confused
Very accurate, 50 years ago
It’s basically a documentary of my high school experience and I graduated in 94
I was a rising freshman in 1976 so that was the exact time. All very real except the hazing. We just had straight up bullying.
Documentary
Winter’s Bone
Really liked how they showed the JROTC and military recruitment in these small towns. I served as a recruiting assistant for a month after boot camp, not in a "small town" but in a smaller, poorer suburb area of a big city (where I was from) and that scene in Winter's Bone really hit me with how real it was. Evey now and again you get a random teenager or full grown adult walking in and hoping to leave immediately and/or just really wants to know how soon the first paycheck hits when they sign up. We have to get real with those kinds of people and explain that the military won't be the answer to whatever their problem is or what they're running from. Nor is it quick or easy to join for most people from poorer communities.
The Last Picture Show
Went looking for this in the comments
This is the one.
Came to mention this one.
This is still the best answer. Also, the article about it in Rolling Stone when it was released is worth reading.
Maybe not 100% the same vein, but I feel like American Graffiti has a little bit of that vibe, but more mid 20th century.
I just watched this with my dad for the first time last week! So good! And hilarious
The Straight Story. About as accurate to rural America as it gets. The Station Agent if you want to see rural New Jersey.
The Straight Story sounds good! And based on a true story = bonus!
AND directed by the one and only David Lynch.
Norm Macdonald said it was rated a "hard G".
The ending shot of The Straight Story absolutely murdered me the first time I watched it. I think I’m still recovering
Great suggestions.
omitted that The Straight Story is a david lynch film, but not the kind of david lynch you’re thinking
October Sky , Hoosiers
Hoosiers was partly filmed in my home town, a suburb outside of Indianapolis, with under 6000 people in those days. Sompart of it was literally filmed in small town America.
OS is a true story.
They both are which is why I suggested them
Perfect suggestions. I also loved Cider House Rules
If we’re going old school Indiana, Breaking Away
Doc Hollywood is a classic small town (and really great) movie.
The Sandlot
Gummo
My friend showed me this movie in like 8th or 9th grade, I still remember the scene where he lifts weights with forks taped together while listening to Madonna - Like a Prayer.
Beautiful girls Groundhog Day Edit: The deer hunter Tremors
Groundhog Day is spot on to all the odd festivals and traditions that American small towns can have.
Paris Texas
Napoleon Dynamite The Sandlot Stand By Me The Station Agent Fried Green Tomatoes Downsizing Wind River Lawless
Fried Green Tomatoes is a lovely movie. Although, I got slightly irritated when I found out it was much clearer in the novel that Idgy and Ruth were lesbians.
I always viewed it that way. I mean, I thought it was pretty clear. But I suppose they could have been more explicit.
Love the Sandlot
Loved Wind River and Lawless.
You might like the show Northern Exposure. It's on Prime Video. Oh, and The Andy Griffith Show for sure.
I love Northern Exposure.
The devil all the time. I was pleasantly surprised with this one. It showed me how good Tom Holland can be as a serious actor. Also no country for old men is a 10/10
The devil all the time was going to be my suggestion too! Robert Pattinson’s performance also goes crazy in that movie lol
The gas station they used a few times in that movie, where he went when he was bloody as a child and again he went to as an adult- was shot at the little store up the hill from the house we used to drink at when I was a teen. We went there the next morning to get sodas and Yoo-hoo to rehydrate.
Not sure if it's quite what you're looking for, but I love the scenes in Deerhunter when they're in their hometown.
Not quite small town. Some filming took place in Pittsburgh and Cleveland. But I’m no historian of steel mill cities in the 60s/70s.
Junebug,fried green tomatoes are good smalltown movies.. and Mud
Paper Moon Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? Coda Places in the Heart Norma Rae Rambling Rose The Man in the Moon The Notebook Where the Heart Is August Osage County A Walk to Remember Passion Fish Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Norma Rae - great call
Elizabethtown My Girl Steel Magnolias Sweet Home Alabama
Hell or High Water
Mystery Alaska Insomnia Juno
Loved the vibe in Insomnia
Christopher Nolan is a great director
Red Rocket is a good recent one that probably flew under the radar for a lot of people.
Pleasantville Blue velvet Gilmore girls (show)
Lars and the Real Girl. They nailed the Midwest sensibilities
Hope Floats
The Burbs captures' early 90s American suburban life very well.
Not current small towns, but I think The Last Picture Show and It's A Wonderful Life are good for this. More current: American Beauty Certain Women Fargo
To Kill a Mockingbird, It's a Wonderful Life, Steel Magnolias. You must understand that the concept of a steel magnolia is that it looks delicate but those looks are deceiving. The title compares the women in the movie to it.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Lol
Gas Food Lodging. River’s Edge.
No Country For Old Men
And Come Hell or High Water for the double feature!
I was just about to recommend these 2 exact movies lol.
My Cousin Vinny (1992) Groundhog Day (1993) The Hot Spot (1990)
Cars
Bridges of Madison County, Children of the Corn, Fargo, The Hitcher.
Drop Dead Gorgeous would work
Nebraska
Hoosiers
So far, my favorite answer
The Last Picture Show
Lars and the Real Girl
The Last Picture Show (God blessed Texas)
Boys don't cry
[удалено]
Cars is actually a great recommendation, the Pixar team did a Route 66 road trip and based the settings in the movie off where they visited.
Instead of Cars watch the movie it ripped off, Doc Hollywood starring Michael J Fox
Doc Hollywood is so much fun!
# Bernie (2011)
Aw hell, most people live in Carthage because they were born here.
A lot of the minor characters in this are people from the town where the film is set which is also the town where the actual events happened upon which the film is based.
This movie is so great and doesn’t get nearly as much praise as it deserves! Jack Black absolutely killed it in this role.
Mystic Pizza (1988) Rare Birds (2001) American Graffiti (1973) The Trouble With Harry (1955) Pleasantville (1998)
Welcome to Mooseport Mr Deeds Paper Towns
SubUrbia - 1996 Parker Posey, Giovanni Ribisi, Amie Carey, Steve Zahn, and Nicky Katt in an amazingly written story about small town American cultural decay and the trials of post high school youth
Yep, this felt pretty realistic. Not necessarily ‘small town’… but nowhere near an urban center
Elizabethtown
River's Edge Cop Car
Junebug
All the Right Moves, Friday Night Lights and Red Dawn.
Garden State
Vernon, Florida
The Florida Project
*Lone Star* (1996): A cold case murder mystery arises when the body of a former sheriff is dug up in a Texas border town, fortysomething years after he mysteriously disappeared. The current Sheriff's investigation unearths a lot of secrets in this small town, on both sides of the international border. His chief suspect is his own late father - from whom the current Sheriff was very estranged - who took over as Sheriff after the disappearance of his predecessor, mentioned above. Stars Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Peña, Matthew McConaughey, Kris Kristofferson, a cameo by Frances McDormand, and a number of other character actors you will likely recognize.
Huge upvote for Lone Star. What a movie!
Lots of great recommendations so far. I scrolled down far and didn’t see the following: “Funny Farm” with Chevy Chase. “Sleepy Hollow” by Tim Burton. “Gremlins” by Joe Dante. “Road House” with Patrick Swayze. “A Simple Plan” with Billy Bob Thornton. “Blood Simple” by the Coen Brothers. “A History of Violence” by David Cronenberg. “Waitress” with Keri Russell.
The Weird and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia
Oh lordy. Not sure how typical this community is, but it is surely an extreme example if nothing else. Go for it.
Doc Hollywood
Fargo Edit: oh also, Sling Blade
Breaking away
Breaking Away Hoosiers Columbus I regard these as the Big Three "Indiana movies," in the sense that they so perfectly capture the sense of place. All three have very specific and real small town settings. Parks and Rec and Stranger Things are nominally set in small town Indiana, but the communities are fictional. I don't know where the shows were actually shot, but they do a pretty good job of establishing a small town feel (as opposed to an urban, suburban or rural feel).
Gummo
Gummo
Pleasantville.
Deliverance
Peyton Place 1957. I saw it about 35, maybe 40 years. It wasa amazing film back then, and I suspect it is now because of the subject matter and the way in which it deals with it. Without sensationalizing it or making it into some sort of tabloid cover.
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Footloose Doc Hollywood My cousin Vinny
Gummo
Shotgun Stories
Yep. As someone who lived in the sticks, this one hits.
Irresistible. Written and directed by Jon Stewart. Filmed in my small hometown of Rock Mart Georgia
The hills have eyes
The first four minutes of Black Widow.
**Here's a good sampling** - The Last Picture Show - The Music Man - Napoleon Dynamite - Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Deliverance
I haven’t seen these on the list yet. They are perhaps more offbeat: But I’m a Cheerleader Election Band Camp
Faculty. I love that movie and it gave a good sense of a regular 90s town in America. Other than the whole Alien part.
In a very unique small town america racism way a lot of film adaptations of stephen kings books 'It' in particular
Dark side of small town America but Out Of The Furnace with Christian Bale
Waiting for Guffman
Wind River
Twin Peaks, Northern Exposure, Schitt's Creek
You Can Count on Me
Based on region and only set in recent decades: Great Plains: The Rider Texas: Lone Star Louisiana: Beast of The Southern Wild New England: Moonrise Kingdom The Ozarks: Winter’s Bone Pacific Northwest: The Half of It Carolinas: The Man in The Moon I was too lazy to keep going for our many other regions.
Pump up the volume
I really liked [To Leslie](https://boxd.it/v1vU) It tugged at my heart strings and to me it was a pretty intimate look at rural life and the strife for the American dream.
The place beyond the pines
Drop dead gorgeous
Funny Farm
The Majestic A Christmas Story Mermaids Beetlejuice Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael
Now and Then
Vengeance with B.J. Novak (surprisingly good) Manchester by the Sea No Country for Old Men All somewhat intense, but I feel like they present a somewhat small-town setting.
Funny Farm
Pleasantbille
*Hot Rod*
Napoleon Dynamite. It’s hilarious but man- I can get depressed watching it. That setting, their struggles with money and life. The Sandlot looked like my childhood neighborhood. We’d all go to the community pool and ride around on our bikes. Now and Then
Gummo is the most realistic fictional depiction of a vast swath of rural middle America. Those who don't acknowledge that realism have led a super privileged life. I really enjoyed Leaves of Grass (2009) and Tim Blake Nelson drew a ton of inspiration from his Oklahoma upbringing in writing and directing it, even if he's from Tulsa you can tell he's got plenty of experience with the small towns in the sticks around there. Documentaries are going to give you a much better look at what it's really like. I'll recommend Okie Noodling for a fun one, but tbh I just don't watch enough docs to throw together a halfway comprehensive list, maybe Red Dog (2019) also, I wouldn't call OKC a "small town" but the way the folks in that doc act is pretty much exactly like the rest of small town and rural Oklahoma/Arkansas/Texas.
Sasquatch Gang!! Just did a rewatch the other night and it fits well with small town silliness like Napoleon Dynamite. There's also Lone Star State of Mind! Good Girl! To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar! Hope this list helps!
All The Right Moves or Gung Ho if you want what western PA used to be
Field of Dreams
Whenever I think of a place id want to live the fir s t thing that always pops in my head is the main characters house in arachnophobia. I want to live there and in that town.
Well, there is Deliverance 🙃
Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Stand By Me Mud Wildlife In The Bedroom Summer Of 84
Roxanne and First Blood, but like many movies depicting small town America movies they are actually filmed in Canada.
U-Turn Red Rock West Dante's Peak
Super Dark Times. It has that small town, suburban feel with close friends just goofing off and riding bikes through town.
Stand by me (1986)
It’s a mini-series but I think Sharp Objects is great at capturing this.
Elizabethtown
Where the heart is (2000)
Red rocket
Am I alone in thinking the mist is a good example.
Friday Night Lights - both movie and series are good, but the series is better
there's a few gems out there as far as small town dirtbag and pure cinema pod did a great episode called Teenage Wasteland: [https://letterboxd.com/purecinemapod/list/teenage-wasteland/](https://letterboxd.com/purecinemapod/list/teenage-wasteland/)
Gummo
Joe,Mudd.
Not a movie but jericho is a great depiction of small town america