10 Most Bizarre DVD Easter Eggs
7. L.A Story
There has never really been a downturn in Steve Martin's career. There are disposable films that he clearly did for the sheer fun of hanging around Goldie Hawn or a pay check, but his personal work has remained stunningly original, fresh and funny in every medium he's attempted.
He's also unabashedly romantic, adapting two classic works of literature. His first effort, Roxanne, was a modern retelling of Cyrano De Bergerac. L.A Story just updated A Midsummer Night's Dream with a sentient signpost as Puck.
The jokes may seen dated now, but Mick Jackson's film and Martin's satiric observations about Nineties L.A culture were at the height of pop jokes. It was just before the Rodney King riots, when L.A violence could be independent of racial factors.
As such, Martin's jokes about "open season on the L.A freeway" and the absurdities of the wealthy might not strike the same chord they did in 1991. What makes the jokes not come off as cynical is Martin's earnest love for the bizarre metropolis, which permeates through every page of dialogue.
The DVD was an early release, and it's hilariously inept at hiding Easter Eggs. Rather than be substantive, pressing left or right on most menu screens will access short clips of extended interviews with the director and star.
Amazing, considering the DVD is somehow devoid of the infamous deleted scene, featuring John Lithgow as angelic talent agent Harry Zel. It's the perfect example of how NOT to hide features on a menu.