This file was generated 2002-06-09 04:23 GMT. This movie's information hasn't changed since 2002-01-14.
Do you believe in magic? After watching L.A. Story, it's easy to see that magic can indeed happen in movies. This movie takes on a benignly surreal tone from the very beginning, and reinforces it for the first seven minutes. Everything from vanity to acceptable insanity is handled with a light touch. Some of the more over-the-top humor is smartly tucked away in the background, but it does nothing to spoil the mood.
Steve Martin worked on the script for several years before the movie began production, and his performance is one of great comfort. Every second of the movie, Martin gives a solid performance of material near and dear to his heart. He plays Harris K. Telemacher as the straight man to many of the jokes, which makes the few places where his characteristic zaniness comes out more surprising. His character gets criticized at one point for being too much of a clown, but at least he's the only character trying to be funny instead of being funny naturally.
Although there is a lot of text in the menus of the DVD, I was disappointed at some inaccuracies, including the misspelling of Sarah Jessica Parker's name. I also consider it bizarre that one of the main menu items is "Cast and Crew" but the only crew is the director. The trailer has glimpses of several scenes that didn't make the final cut of the movie. These and other deleted scenes are also mentioned in the production notes, but they're not included. I've managed to find two of the hidden menu items so far, but I'd hardly consider it enough to bill on the cover. Subtitles are only present in Spanish, and not having English subtitles is one of my pet peeves.
See the IMDB information on L.A. Story's DVD.