Here’s my second entry of movies filmed in Pittsburgh that I mostly haven’t seen. My tastes may not be yours, though, so feel free to try these through your favorite streaming or rental source.
Going Home
Robert Mitchum, Brenda Vaccaro, Jan-Michael Vincent (1971)
(Rated PG) Moody Jan-Michael Vincent visits his father (an equally moody Robert Mitchum) in a West Virginia jail and discovers he’s out on parole. Before hitchhiking home to Wildwood, NJ, Vincent travels around Pittsburgh. We see shots of steel mills, bridges, trains, and one scene in the Allegheny County Courthouse. Then the action moves to New Jersey with more brooding, violent outbursts, a rape scene, and no resolution between father and son. I watched this so you don’t have to.
All the Right Moves
Tom Cruise, Lea Thompson, Craig T. Nelson (1983)
(Rated R) Tom Cruise wants to escape his small Western PA steel town and go to college on a football scholarship. Filmed mostly in Johnstown and a bit in Pittsburgh. Richard Corliss of Time called it a "naive little movie (that) hopes to prove itself the ’Flashdance’ of football.”
She’s Out of My League
Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve (2010)
(Rated R) Romantic comedy premise: an ordinary-looking guy meets a gorgeous woman and to his surprise, she’s actually interested in him. His friends and family can’t believe it, and neither can he. The trailer features a beautiful shot of the Point, and scenes from a hockey game. The movie was nominated for the Teen Choice comedy award, but didn’t win. I don’t know if either part of that last sentence speaks well of it, or not.
Love & Other Drugs
Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway (2010)
(Rated R) If you enjoy romances, this one would probably work for you. Gyllenhaal plays a pharmaceutical rep working for Pfizer in 1990s Pittsburgh, selling Viagra and enthusiastically seducing lots of women. Hathaway plays a young woman who, we gradually discover, is living with Parkinson’s. They fall in love and the movie switches from romantic comedy to serious docudrama. Andrew O’Hehir of Salon said “it honestly shouldn’t work at all, yet somehow on the strength of good humor and sex appeal ends up being one of the most enjoyable mainstream films of the season.”
I Am Number Four
Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron (2011)
(Rated PG-13) Aliens and their Guardians are hiding on Earth from intergalactic bounty hunters. (I can’t read that sentence without cracking up, but …) They can only be killed in numerical order, and Number Four is next on the list. Apparently, he inhabits the body of a human high-school boy and a cute human girl really likes him. Locations include Murrysville, Vandergrift, Beaver Falls, and McKeesport. The trailer was enough for me, but if you like your romances with lots of special effects, go for it.
On the Inside
Nick Stahl, Dash Mihok, Olivia Wilde (2011)
(Rated R) From the trailer, it looks like a young man guilty of murder, sent to a psychiatric institution for the criminally insane, is allowed to meet one-on-one with a female prisoner. If you buy that – no, I just can’t. Anyway, as you’d expect, things get out of hand and lots of violence ensues.
One for the Money
Katherine Heigl, Jason O’Mara, Daniel Sunjata (2011)
(Rated PG-13) It’s too bad Katherine Heigl left “Grey’s Anatomy” to pursue a career in movies; this was a box-office flop, and a planned sequel was scrapped. Heigl plays a newly-divorced woman who lives with her parents. She gets a job at her cousin’s bail-bond business, and for her first assignment, she tracks a local cop gone bad who (of course) she dated in high school. Goofy humor and gunplay.
The Lifeguard
Kristen Bell, Mamie Gummer, Martin Starr (2013)
(Rated R) Kristen Bell plays a reporter for the Associated Press who quits her New York job and returns to her parents’ home to reassess her life. She gets a job as a lifeguard and becomes involved with a troubled teenage boy. I always enjoy Kristen Bell, and Amy Madigan plays her mom, so this could be promising.
6 Souls
Julianne Moore, Jonathan Rhys Meyers (2013)
(Rated R) A forensic psychiatrist discovers that her patient’s multiple personalities are murder victims. It’s always interesting to watch actors portray disturbed characters, but the preview convinced me to skip this one. If you want a scary movie for Halloween, though, check this out.
The Last Witch Hunter
Vin Diesel, Rose Leslie, Elijah Wood (2015)
(Rated PG-13) The plot comes from Dungeons and Dragons games, so I’m at a loss to introduce it. Pittsburgh stands in for New York, but one fashion show scene was filmed in the Carnegie Museum. Other scenes were apparently filmed in Siberia. This could be another Halloween movie choice.
Acrimony
Taraji P. Henson, Lyriq Bent, Crystle Stewart, directed by Tyler Perry (2018)
(Rated R) The trailer features misty shots of Pittsburgh bridges, Taraji P. Henson smoldering with anger in a therapy session, scenes of her betrayal by a handsome man, and her revenge, all set to a suspenseful drip of water. Put on the popcorn, I’m ready!
Reviewed by Jan Hardy, Library Specialist
Feature image of Tom Cruise from "All the Right Moves" (1983)