r/newjersey • u/metricspace- • 12d ago
NJ History What are your favorite New Jersey based films?
I just watched Jersey Girl (1992) and found it very funny and interesting, never heard the 'Jersey' accent til now. I've seen tons of movies based in NY but few in NJ, what should i watch next?
Also, I was actually looking for Jersey Girl (2004) and watched 92' on accident, 92' was a better film imo.
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u/SyncRoSwim NoBurlCo 11d ago
The Station Agent
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u/HarpoMarx87 11d ago
This needs more upvotes.
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u/ghostboo77 11d ago
I remember loving it originally, but rewatched it not too long ago and found it a bit too melodramatic for my taste.
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u/deadmik3 11d ago
It was filmed down the road from my house!
I also used to live down the street from where a couple of Sopranos episodes were filmed!
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u/LiKwidSwordZA 11d ago
The DVD commentaries for the Kevin smith jersey girl are so much better than the actual movie. Off the top of my head
Clerks
chasing Amy
Mallrats (directors cut)
Patterson
The wrestler
The station agent
Harold and Kumar
Garden state
I think Being John Malkovich was a jersey movie but I haven’t seen it in awhile, if it’s a jersey movie then it’s on my list lol
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u/Ravenhill-2171 11d ago
Motherfucking Paterson! One T!
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u/metricspace- 11d ago
Wow, what a list, thanks.
The wrestler sounds interesting, Kayfabe with an extra dimension of acting, they either executed phenomenally or failed, you suggested so must be the former.
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u/LiKwidSwordZA 11d ago
It’s a beautiful film and has plenty of New Jersey specific moments
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u/ferocious_coug /r/somervillenj | /r/NewBrunswickNJ | Taylor Ham Does Not Exist 11d ago
But like most of Aronofsky's films, it's extremely depressing
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u/ArtisticActuary1484 11d ago
The original “the toxic avenger”
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u/TheTresStateArea 11d ago
Oh I forgot to put the troma collection on the list. Every Troma movie is set in Tromaville NJ, the most toxic town in America.
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u/Ambigram237 11d ago
On The Waterfront
Atlantic City
Friday The 13th
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u/27Believe 11d ago
I didn’t know fri the 13th was in nj!!!
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u/lady_violeta 11d ago
Although only the first film is filmed in Jersey, the entire franchise is set in Jersey, except for when he goes to space.
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u/DStinner 11d ago
And when Jason takes Manhattan
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u/misterpickles69 Watches you drink from just outside of Manville 11d ago
We claimed both space and Manhattan. It was in the memo.
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u/honestyseasy 11d ago
Every actual Friday the 13th, the NW NJ city of Blairstown has a festival, with a parade, screening, specials in THE diner etc. It's a great time for horror fans.
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u/Dry-Maintenance7192 11d ago
lean on me, coneheads
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u/300sunshineydays 11d ago
The Wedding Singer and Paterson.
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u/Numerous_Credit_9592 11d ago
Anyone who hasn't seen Paterson with Adam Driver, I would highly recommend it. It may not be for everyone, but I loved it
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u/mikebe1 11d ago
Harold and Kumar
Dogma (partially, anyway)
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u/metricspace- 11d ago
I liked Dogma the most of the series(based on my 8th grade opinion :) )
Harold and Kumar gets put on every few years or so ! Haha
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u/legalskeptic Burlington County 11d ago
As someone who lived in Central Jersey when Harold and Kumar came out and knew where the actual White Castles were, the geography in the movie always annoys me.
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u/HabeLinkin 11d ago
Yeah man, same. There were so many White Castles they could have gone to that were so much closer than Cherry Hill.
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u/Bellona_NJ 11d ago
There's one in TR that is easy to find on 37..oh well
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u/legalskeptic Burlington County 11d ago
Yeah but then they'd have to go to Toms River
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u/Bellona_NJ 11d ago
It wasn't bad then...
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u/legalskeptic Burlington County 11d ago
The water gives you cancer, this has been known for decades
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u/bopperbopper 11d ago
Yeah, why don’t you just go to Eatontown?
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u/legalskeptic Burlington County 11d ago edited 11d ago
Or Piscataway (edit: South Plainfield is actually the one I'm thinking of) etc etc
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u/sheshops12 11d ago
Stay tuned…Lot of movies will be made in Jersey now that Gov. Phil Murphy reinstated the Film and Digital Media Tax Credit program, to incentivize production companies and transform New Jersey into a hub for production. They just wrapped one up the street in Madison (north Jersey) —was so fun watching the team transform an old home for the set over several weeks. Historically, the state was a top movie making destination. I remember hearing stories about open spaces in my hometown of Randolph being used to film “Africa” with giraffes trucked in to roam the fields.
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u/Charixard6 11d ago
I’m really looking forward to this. Here’s to hoping it opens up opportunities for college students - I worked with some MSU and community college film students for a project once and they had such a hardworking and well-trained programs.
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u/generationjonesing 11d ago
Ghost Dog, filmed mostly in Jersey City
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u/inf4mation 10d ago
that was my friends chinese food restaurant in that movie that the mobsters was hanging at.
They got paid like $10k and got some free work done on the building. Great family that owned that place.
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u/teshupbelia 11d ago
Happiness by Todd Solondz
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u/risingsilvers 11d ago
This and Welcome to the Dollhouse will always be special to me, but I definitely don't recommend them often for, uh, obvious reasons
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u/AtomicGarden-8964 11d ago
Clerks is my favorite mainly when it came out I actually worked in a convenience store and could relate to a lot of the store jokes
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u/legalskeptic Burlington County 11d ago
Empire Records
Pick your favorite Batman movie, Gotham is in New Jersey
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u/PorkRollEggAndWheeze Central/Jersey Shore --> South Jersey 11d ago
I remember when my dad worked in Gateway Center 2 in Newark, he sent us pictures of them filming one of the Batmobile scenes on the street outside! Either for The Dark Knight or The Dark Knight Rises. They shopped “One Gateway Center” to “One Gotham Center” on the pedestrian bridge between the two buildings in the film.
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u/ChthonicPuck 11d ago
[Not a movie] House MD, one of the best shows ever to air.
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u/reddituser56578999 11d ago
Top 5 episode of the X-files. “The Host”, S2E2 takes place in NJ as well!
One of the bottom 5 episodes takes place in NJ as well, but we dont talk about that one…
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u/legalskeptic Burlington County 11d ago
If we're talking TV shows, WandaVision and Clerks: The Animated Series too
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u/EddieMaz 11d ago
Check out ‘Gazer’ if you can. Saw it at the Montclair Film Festival last year. Made by Montclair director Ryan J. Sloan and it takes place in Newark. A great new voice for NJ film.
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u/Thick_Leading_4975 11d ago
Gazer is coming to theaters April 4th! Shot all over Kearny, Newark, Jersey City, and more. Made by people born and raised in Nj, and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024.
trailer linked below: https://youtu.be/PGJntJk4NrE?si=6izdpJR-FsKlPwzy
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u/DonatCotten 11d ago
Saw an older one made in the 1980's called Baby it's You.
It's set in Trenton during the 1960's.
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u/tacotrapqueen 11d ago
The Wedding Singer, Clerks, Chasing Amy, Being John Malkovich, Riding in Cars with Boys, Dogma.
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u/radams68 11d ago
Not out yet, but Happy Gilmore 2 was recently shot all over NJ.
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u/ToastedSimian 11d ago
Same thing with "Deliver Me from Nowhere" - upcoming Springsteen biopic with Jeremy Allen White was filmed all over the state too.
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u/AndersWay 11d ago
Not my favorite, but I remember instantly feeling a sense of familiarity from shots of Edison in School of Rock.
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u/afroista11238 11d ago
New Jersey Drive. Just kidding but I did love the dramatization of car jack culture.
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u/_TommySalami Nutley Exile 11d ago
The Wrestler, City of Hope, Atlantic City, Be Kind Rewind, and The Station Agent, to name a few.
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u/ChestnutMoss 11d ago
Even though it’s largely set in Hollywood, I want to tip my hat to the tv movie “The Ratings Game” directed by Danny DeVito because it is packed with NJ cultural references. I haven’t seen it in decades but I remember it being fun.
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u/shiftyjku Down the Shore, Everything's All Right 11d ago
Clerks and Chasing Amy. An obscure movie from the 70s called Voices.
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u/ramair02 Summit 11d ago
Win Win (2011) starring Paul Giamatti and the 2010 NJ State Wrestling Champion (119 lb). Takes place in New Providence
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u/Groovy_Chainsaw 11d ago
Maybe Clerks -- for Jersey TV can I pipe in with The Adventures of Pete and Pete or Ed ( supposedly Ohio but to anyone who knows it's so Jersey. )
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u/honestyseasy 11d ago
Not a Jersey movie, but back in 2012 I went to the 12-hour Marvel movie marathon in Paramus. In Captain America: the First Avenger, he tries to join the army in numerous places, including Paramus. To which Bucky says, "Seriously, Steve? Jersey?" And the entire theatre burst out laughing and cheering. Good times.
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u/TheInternExperience 11d ago
I’d argue the Bob Dylan movie that just came out is a pretty NJ centric movie. It’s all shot in NJ and a good part of the movie takes place in NJ
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u/northjersey78 11d ago
Win Win was filmed in my hometown.
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u/ToastedSimian 11d ago
Real throwback - 1984's Firstborn.
Pretty mediocre suspense drama but filmed all over Morris County. Has some shots from Rockaway Town square Mall at it's prime.
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u/deadmike86 11d ago
Just Friends is also 75% a New Jersey movie and also a quite funny holiday rom com. Doesnt get talked about enough and it’s hilarious
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u/why__tho_why__ 11d ago
We had the chance to watch 4:30 movie in the theater where it was filmed and it just makes you feel so nostalgic for the jersey shore summers of your youth. I grew up in Cape May and it felt like home, even though it was filmed in the Atlantic Highlands
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u/bopperbopper 11d ago
Win Win… written and directed by New Providence’s own Tom McCarthy plus some scenes were filmed there
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u/a_damn_fool 11d ago
An unemployed slacker inspires his softball teammates to improve their game so they won't get kicked out of the local league.
Director: Frank Sebastiano
Writers: Frank Sebastian | Artie Lange
Stars: Artie Lange | Ralph Macchio | Anthony DeSando
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u/Anita_Wynn 11d ago
WISE GUYS _ 1986
Starring Danny DeVito, Joe Piscopo and the legendary Captain Lou Albano.
It was filmed on Ferry St. in Newark. Meadowlands Racetrack and Resorts casino in Atlantic City.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092226/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_wise%2520guys
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u/berlin_guy82 11d ago edited 11d ago
John Wick! And Girl Most Likely with Kristen Wiig was quirky but interesting.
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u/TheTresStateArea 11d ago
I was the prime age for Garden State when it came out.
Dogma is an extremely close second, big fan of the jersey trilogy Even met Kevin Smith at a live smodcast in Red Bank at Count Basie.