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Dogtown (film)
Encyclopedia
Dogtown is a 1997 drama film by George Hickenlooper about life in the small Missouri town of Cuba, Missouri
starring Mary Stuart Masterson
, Jon Favreau
, Rory Cochrane
, Harold Russell
, and Natasha Gregson Wagner
. The film is 93-minute long and was shot entirely in Torrance, California
. None of the southern California mountains are visible in the film, making the fictional Cuba visually like flat, Midwest terrain.
plays Phillip's mom. Natasha Gregson Wagner
plays Phillip's special needs sister, Sarah Ruth. The film opens as two locals with highway vests marked "Animal Control" pick up a dog carcass on the main road. Phillip arrives in the back of a taxi. The town's theater has been boarded up for ten years. The Foster's Freeze is still open for business. Everyone including a local police officer seems to remember Phillip.
Dorothy (Mary Stuart Masterson
) was a high school cheerleader and the object of Phillip's romantic desire. She engaged in a suicide gesture at one point before the film's script begins. As the film starts, Dorothy is in an on-and-off romance with Curtis Lasky, (Rory Cochrane
). Lasky, and another former high school bully, run a tow car service and fantasize about opening an appliance dealership
. Dorothy and two other high school friends operate a hair salon
. Blessed William (Harold Russell
) runs a cigar store in the town of Cuba.
Everybody in this small town knows about everyone else's personal life. Small town stereotypes are propagated: there is incest, people recite scripture from memory, have drawls, chew tobacco
, brawl
often, and are alcoholic.
and Molly Ringwald
(Hickenlooper worked with Bridges on the 1992 documentary Picture This! and with Ringwald in the 1993 short Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade
).
Cuba, Missouri
Cuba is a city in Crawford County, Missouri, United States, and it is known as "Route 66 Mural City,"in recognition of Viva Cuba's . The population was 3,230 at the 2000 census.Cuba was once visited by Harry Truman during a tour of U.S. Route 66...
starring Mary Stuart Masterson
Mary Stuart Masterson
Mary Stuart Masterson is an American film, stage and television actress and director.-Early life:Masterson was born in New York City to writer/director Peter Masterson and actress Carlin Glynn. She has two siblings: Peter Masterson Jr., and Alexandra Masterson, who are both involved in the...
, Jon Favreau
Jon Favreau
Jonathan Kolia "Jon" Favreau is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and comedian. As an actor, he is best known for his roles in Rudy, Swingers , Very Bad Things, and The Break-Up. His notable directorial efforts include Elf, Iron Man and its sequel, and Cowboys & Aliens...
, Rory Cochrane
Rory Cochrane
Rory Cochrane is an American actor. He is known for playing Ron Slater in Dazed and Confused, Lucas in Empire Records, and Tim Speedle in CSI: Miami.-Early life:...
, Harold Russell
Harold Russell
Harold John Russell was a Canadian-American World War II veteran who became one of only two non-professional actors to win an Academy Award for acting...
, and Natasha Gregson Wagner
Natasha Gregson Wagner
Natasha Gregson Wagner is an American actress.Gregson Wagner was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Richard Gregson, a film producer, and the late actress Natalie Wood...
. The film is 93-minute long and was shot entirely in Torrance, California
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
. None of the southern California mountains are visible in the film, making the fictional Cuba visually like flat, Midwest terrain.
Plot
Phillip (Trevor Saint John), left after high school to make his fortune. He returns to his Midwest hometown of Cuba. He has a reputation of having "made it" in the southern California movie industry. Karen BlackKaren Black
Karen Black is an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She is noted for appearing in such films as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Great Gatsby, Rhinoceros, The Day of the Locust, Nashville, Airport 1975, and Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot...
plays Phillip's mom. Natasha Gregson Wagner
Natasha Gregson Wagner
Natasha Gregson Wagner is an American actress.Gregson Wagner was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Richard Gregson, a film producer, and the late actress Natalie Wood...
plays Phillip's special needs sister, Sarah Ruth. The film opens as two locals with highway vests marked "Animal Control" pick up a dog carcass on the main road. Phillip arrives in the back of a taxi. The town's theater has been boarded up for ten years. The Foster's Freeze is still open for business. Everyone including a local police officer seems to remember Phillip.
Dorothy (Mary Stuart Masterson
Mary Stuart Masterson
Mary Stuart Masterson is an American film, stage and television actress and director.-Early life:Masterson was born in New York City to writer/director Peter Masterson and actress Carlin Glynn. She has two siblings: Peter Masterson Jr., and Alexandra Masterson, who are both involved in the...
) was a high school cheerleader and the object of Phillip's romantic desire. She engaged in a suicide gesture at one point before the film's script begins. As the film starts, Dorothy is in an on-and-off romance with Curtis Lasky, (Rory Cochrane
Rory Cochrane
Rory Cochrane is an American actor. He is known for playing Ron Slater in Dazed and Confused, Lucas in Empire Records, and Tim Speedle in CSI: Miami.-Early life:...
). Lasky, and another former high school bully, run a tow car service and fantasize about opening an appliance dealership
Dealership
A dealership is an authorized seller and may refer to:*Car dealership*Franchised dealership...
. Dorothy and two other high school friends operate a hair salon
Beauty salon
A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment dealing with cosmetic treatments for men and women...
. Blessed William (Harold Russell
Harold Russell
Harold John Russell was a Canadian-American World War II veteran who became one of only two non-professional actors to win an Academy Award for acting...
) runs a cigar store in the town of Cuba.
Everybody in this small town knows about everyone else's personal life. Small town stereotypes are propagated: there is incest, people recite scripture from memory, have drawls, chew tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
, brawl
BRAWL
Brawl is a real-time card game designed by James Ernest and released in 1999 by Cheapass Games.-Gameplay:Like Spit or Icehouse, players in Brawl do not take turns, instead either making a move or staying inactive as best suits their strategy at that moment...
often, and are alcoholic.
Characters
The film's main character, Phillip, may have been inspired partly on George Hickenlooper himself. Both are from Missouri, left for Hollywood, established themselves in the film industry and have worked with Jeff BridgesJeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
and Molly Ringwald
Molly Ringwald
Molly Kathleen Ringwald is an American actress, singer and dancer. Having appeared in the John Hughes movies Sixteen Candles , The Breakfast Club , and Pretty in Pink , Ringwald has been frequently named the greatest teen star of all time...
(Hickenlooper worked with Bridges on the 1992 documentary Picture This! and with Ringwald in the 1993 short Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade
Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade
"Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade" is a short film directed by George Hickenlooper and starring Billy Bob Thornton, Molly Ringwald, and J. T. Walsh...
).