L.A. Story

Synopsis: Harris K Telemacher is a 'wacky weekend weatherman' for a local Los Angeles television station who is searching for meaning in his otherwise cliche ridden Los Angeles life. With the help of an insightful and talkative Freeway sign, Harris embarks on a journey through Los Angeles in pursuit of Sarah, an English reporter who has been sent to the City of Angels to research an article for the London Times.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Director(s): Mick Jackson
Production: Live Home Video
  1 nomination.
 
IMDB:
6.7
Metacritic:
66
Rotten Tomatoes:
94%
PG-13
Year:
1991
95 min
766 Views


My name is Harris K. Telemacher.

I live in L.A. And I've

had seven heart attacks, all imagined.

I was deeply unhappy

but I didn't know it,

cause I was happy all the time.

I have a favorite quote about L.A.

By Shakespeare:

"This other Eden...

demi-paradise...

this precious stone...

set in the silver sea of this earth,

this ground... this Los Angeles.

Anyway, this is what happened to me,

and I swear, it's all true.

"Watch out L.A., it's major gridlock

out there this morning..."

No, no, no...

It's the perfect situation! - I can't

be in a parade. I'm in the news.

You won't see Dan Rather in a parade.

- 15 seconds to air.

What is good about waving at people?

- It's gonna make you beloved.

Waving is not what I do best. It

looks fake. - That's a great wave!

Look! I have to maintain my dignity.

People have to believe what I say.

This is news! This is truth!

...Telemacher with his report.

Hey, it's time for the

wac-wac-Wacky Weekend Weather!

Let's look at our weather map.

There's a low

coming in over Pasedna...

that's Pasadena, here,

no, there...

There were clouds here but the Council

decided against it, so there's no rain

in Beverly Hills.

We'll just have some sun, and snow,

and 72 and snow is what we'll have.

And now the car phone report.

Sunspot activity is at a minimum,

so there will be little interference.

So make that big important call.

You probably won't be disconnected.

And that's my report.

Gail and Bob.

Harris, somebody told me

you have a PhD. In Arts and

Humanities. - I do.

Did you a lotta good.

Harris, what's wacky?

What's wacky?

What's wacky about your last forecast?

- To me it was wacky.

No, not wacky.

- Not wacky?

That's we bought with you. You do

intellectual stuff. - Intellectual?

Maybe intellectual for you.

Because of your education.

This is an intellectual free zone!

- More wacky...

More wacky, let me make a note of

that. What was your name again?

We're late, aren't we?

- It's only one.

That's when we should be there.

I figure if I get here at 12:40,

we'll get there in plenty of time.

But I don't count on

the 20 minutes of "busyness"

that goes on after I get here.

I'm doing 30 minute lips.

Besides, they can wait.

You look so ready that I get ready

and I get up and stand by the door,

and I stand there for 10 minutes

until I realize you aren't ready.

So, I sit back down.

Then, I think you're ready again.

But I realize you just gave off

an illusion of being ready that I

interpreted as not being an illusion.

I'll be in the car.

Sitting there at that moment,

I thought of Shakespeare again.

He said, "Hey, life is pretty stupid.

Lots of hubbub to keep you busy

but really not ammounting to much."

Of course I'm paraphrasing.

"Life is a tale told by an idiot,

full of

sound and fury, signifying nothing."

You look nice.

Like this one better? I could change.

- No, that's all right.

Who are we having lunch with?

Friends and friends of friends.

And some of my gift service clients.

Frank will be there.

- I just saw Frank.

He wanted me to be in a parade.

If it weren't impossible for me

to fire people, I'd get somebody else.

20 minutes past one...

Hey, if you sense something

in the air, it's not the smog!

It's the first day of spring!

What did he say?

The first day of spring.

Sh*t!

Open season on the L.A. Freeway.

Look in the glove compartment!

Is it loaded? - It only has

two bullets. - Then load it!

Get over!

- Do bullets go bad?

No, no, it's not like milk! Hurry!

Don't point it at me!

- Sorry.

You son of a b*tch!

Don't ruin our brunch!

Keep low!

- Ok!

You little cocker!

My hair!

Do you have my blue pants?

- I took them to the cleaners.

I'm not kissing anyone hello!

Just shake hands. - Are you

kidding? I just washed my hands!

Cowles, party of ten.

Yes, you're the first ones to arrive.

This way, please.

Hello!

- Hello! - How you doing?

I hurt my back playing tennis.

We saw them together.

- So, I see this film,

and I'm gonna give it an 8.

As I'm leaving the parking lot,

I realize the producer

got this great space by the entrance,

and they put me far away in back.

So I gave it a three.

Good for you.

Sheila is studying

the art of conversation.

You're taking a course

in conversation? - Yes.

I teach my clients the point system.

You should never have more than

7 points. Earrings are 2 points.

Those daisies are 3.

Before you go out,

look in the mirror. The first thing

that catches your eye has to go.

I had this thing in my hair before.

And I pulled it right out.

Marilyn Monroe did that.

- Don't get dumped

in L.A. In New York

you can meet someone on the street.

Here you have to hit someone in your

car. Some girls speed to meet cops.

We met on a hit in West Hollywood.

Loud talkers in restaurants.

I despise them and I want them to die.

Sara's here.

Shoot them like dogs.

I thought you were lost!

Let me sit you down.

This is Sara McDowel.

Harris, Trudy. - Frank Swan.

- Shawn. - How do you do?

...Cynthia.

Sara was just in London.

You must be exhausted.

It's nothing that some sleep and

a good f*** wouldn't cure,

as my sister used to say.

You have to forgive Sara.

- I'm sorry, it was a

figure of speech.

I've been on a plane for 12 hours.

What do you give the flight?

- What? - On a scale of 1 to 10.

An eight.

What would you like to eat?

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Steve Martin

Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, playwright, author, and musician. Martin came to public notice in the 1960s as a writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and later as a frequent guest on The Tonight Show. In the 1970s, Martin performed his offbeat, absurdist comedy routines before packed houses on national tours. Since the 1980s, having branched away from comedy, Martin has become a successful actor, as well as an author, playwright, pianist, and banjo player, eventually earning him an Emmy, Grammy, and American Comedy awards, among other honors. In 2004, Comedy Central ranked Martin at sixth place in a list of the 100 greatest stand-up comics. He was awarded an Honorary Academy Award at the Academy's 5th Annual Governors Awards in 2013.While he has played banjo since an early age, and included music in his comedy routines from the beginning of his professional career, he has increasingly dedicated his career to music since the 2000s, acting less and spending much of his professional life playing banjo, recording, and touring with various bluegrass acts, including Earl Scruggs, with whom he won a Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance in 2002. He released his first solo music album, The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo, in 2009, for which he won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. more…

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