‘Holland’ debuts on Prime Video. What are the best movies set in Michigan?
Get out your popcorn, remote and discerning eyes, Michigan: The Nicole Kidman thriller “Holland” debuts on Prime Video on Thursday, joining a host of movies purportedly set in Michigan.
Like a lot of Michigan-by-way-of-Hollywood flicks, its connection to the Mitten is superficial. While Kidman’s character professes to live in the “best place on Earth,” the movie was filmed in Tennessee. Only a few shots — including Windmill Island Gardens — were captured in the charming city known for its Tulip Time Festival.
No matter. We’ll still claim it as our own (especially if the movie is any good) as we have with other movies that claim Michigan as a muse.
That got us at Bridge Michigan thinking: What are the quintessential Michigan-based movies?
We’re not talking about stuff like “Transformers” that was filmed in the state during its short-lived (but expensive) bid to become Tinseltown of the Midwest. We’re talking about movies that are not only based in Michigan but embody its spirit.
A newsroom chat got the ball rolling. But we need your help. Fill out this form and let us know what we are missing.
We’re starting with some softballs in this list of 10. We’ll follow up soon with our definitive list based on your recommendations.
As the celluloid heroes in La La Land say: Action!
Somewhere in Time
It doesn’t get much more Michigan than Christopher Reeve falling in love with Jane Seymour on Mackinac Island. Add in time travel and period costumes? Ooh lah lah. Big bonus points for being filmed at the Grand Hotel.
Anatomy of a Murder
This legal drama starring the marvelous Jimmy Stewart is as Michigan as Michigan movies can get. Filmed in the Upper Peninsula, written by a Michigan Supreme Court judge (John D. Voelker) and inspired by a murder at the Lumberjack Tavern in Big Bay. Unlike other courtroom dramas, it devotes a ton of time to what lawyers actually spend their time doing (research) and hinges on the novel defense of irresistible impulse, aka, “I know that murder is wrong but I just couldn’t help it.”
Evil Dead
Our list, our rules. While most of the action takes place in Tennessee, all five friends in the doomed cabin are Michigan State University students. They wear MSU sweatshirts, drive an Oldsmobile and, in sequels, protagonist Ash Williams wields a Remington made in Grand Rapids. Directed by the pride of Franklin, Sam Raimi, and starring Birmingham pal Bruce Campbell, “The Evil Dead” is quintessentially Michigan.
Grosse Pointe Blank
The too-cool-for-school 1990s romcom doesn’t make much effort to replicate Detroit’s favorite tony suburbs. Most of it is shot in California and filmmakers don’t even bother with many location shots beyond overheads of Lakeshore Drive. But John Cusak’s “I’m a sad assassin with a heart of gold” schtick does a good job of capturing the angsty ethos of the suburbs.
8 Mile
We’ve reached the Detroit portion of the list. Truthfully, this could be an entire Detroit list. We’re leaving off favorites like “Gridlock’d” “The Crow,” “Action Jackson,” “Barbarian,” “Only Lovers Left Alive” and “Detroit 9000” for brevity, but have to include this Eminem showcase because it oozes Detroit and its burbs, from a trailer park in Warren and the New Center Stamping plant to the amazing Michigan Building parking garage and Penobscot Building downtown.
RoboCop
It’s a man. It’s a cop. It’s a robot. It’s RoboCop! We can see why Detroiters are ambivalent about this movie and long-delayed RoboCop statue: The city is portrayed as crime-ridden and borderline fascist. But what a costume! And the movie has aged well as satire, rather than the orgy of violence it was received as in the 1980s.
Dreamgirls
How can you have a Michigan movie list without Motown? Ahem. Excuse us. Rainbow Records. This musical is a barely concealed retelling of the story of the Supremes and Detroit in the 1960s, down to the Dreamettes’ first single, “Cadillac Car,” the label’s treacherous relocation to Los Angeles and the inevitable descent into drug addiction.
Blue Collar/Mr. Mom
Two very different movies, but fruit of the same late ‘70s, early ‘80s manufacturing tree. Paul Schrader’s debut, “Blue Collar,” is a gritty tale of down-on-their-luck Wayne County auto workers who turn to crime. “Mr. Mom” launched Michael Keaton into stardom as an auto engineer who is laid off and turns to a life of stay-at-home-parenting. One is sad. The other is funny. Both have the same moral: Times were tough for the auto industry!
Out of Sight
Written by the maestro of Michigan, Elmore Leonard, this George Clooney action comedy benefits from being great — and that’s saying something because it also stars Jennifer Lopez. A robber-on-the-run flick, it cackles with energy and features Detroit landmarks including the Renaissance Center (back when the restaurant atop it still revolved) and the Kronk Gym.
Semi-Pro
Once again, our list, our prerogative. Generally considered the weakest of the Will Ferrell sports comedy troika, this tale of the American Basketball Association’s Flint Tropics is heavy on mid-Michigan and good for a couple of laughs. Who are you calling a jive turkey?
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