L.A. Story is a 1991 movie directed by Mick Jackson and written by Steve Martin. Set in Los Angeles, California, it tells the story of an L.A. weatherman (Harris K. Telemacher, played by Martin) who falls in and out of love with the aid of a talking freeway traffic sign which arguably speaks for the city itself. Definitely a bit fantastical but also a loving satire of L.A. culture by someone who knows it well. Some of the best lines/scenes:

• Harris Telemacher's one-note job as the "wacky" weatherman ("Today, it's sunny! Tomorrow, it's--sunny! Next day, it's sunny!")
• Harris' self-reflection: "I was deeply unhappy, but I didn't know it, because I was so happy all the time."
• Sarah Jessica Parker portrays Martin's wannabe-spokesmodel girlfriend, a bouncy big-haired gumchewing lovable ditz who spells her name SanDeE* ("Big S, small a, small n, big D, small e, Big E ... and a star") and takes Martin for a "cleansing high colonic" on their first date.
• A mini-ballet of suburb-dwellers waltzing out of a row of homes to pick up their morning papers.
• Martin's madcap "shortcuts" through alleys and sidestreets to avoid traffic.
• The expected jokes about California cuisine and "double decaf lattes with skim milk and a shot of cinnamon"
• Martin getting into his car, driving twenty feet, and getting out to go to his neighbor's house.
• Orderly robberies at the ATM: "Hi. My name is Bob. I'll be your robber today."
• Lovemaking dialogue between Harris & SanDeE*. He: "Your..your breasts feel weird. / She: "Oh, that's 'cause they're real."

Overall, the rare kind of movie that--if you like it the first time--you can watch it over and over again.

The movie bears some resemblance to William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and occasionally references Hamlet. Other cast members include Victoria Tennant , Richard E. Grant, Marilu Henner, Woody Harrelson and Kevin Pollak. John Lithgow was originally in the film, but almost all of his performance was removed during editing. Only one scene with Lithgow remains - he is the man Harris sees talking to the freeway sign near the beginning of the film.

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