MovieChat Forums > Duane Hopwood (2005) Discussion > How to get NJ wrong 101

How to get NJ wrong 101

posted 16 years ago by bpressey
14 replies | jump to latest

First off, let me say I liked the movie quite a bit. Ms. Garofalo looked great and acted, well, not over the top, as is usually the norm. Very real and heartfelt. And D. Schwimmer finally shed's his "I'll always be known as Ross" acting style to pull this one off. Hey, and who expects to see Dick Cavett in a movie?

That being said, I gotta put this out there, if only for my fellow "Garbage State" residents.

When Duane is pulled over by his "cousin", the State Trooper, he's clearly traveling at maybe 30 mph on a 2 lane road. But when the judge is reading him the riot act he says that "you were doing 84 on the Parkway." The Parkway is a limited access highway, 4 or 6 lanes in the area, so that was just ridiculous. The car the Trooper exited, who was sporting something so completely NOT an official uniform, from the color scheme to the decals, was either a Ventnor or A.C. patrol vehicle. The tags that start with "MG", which stands for Municipal Gov't. are the tip-off, as well as the striping on the side of the ride. Not even close.

When the annoying DJ is doing his riff he mentions "The Jersey Shoreline"....twice. Huh!?! I've lived here all my life and can say with absolute certainty that NO ONE has ever used that phrase. The nickname for the coastal area, from Sandy Hook on down to Cape May, is "The Jersey Shore".

Other than these nitpicks the movie got the flavor of living at the beach pretty dead-on. Guess they couldn't find a town in Canada that was close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades. No offense to those north of the border, eh?

[–] gceez44 16 years ago

It was in independent movie, made by a writer/director who has lived, not just in New Jersey, but in and around the very towns the film was shot in all his life. The State cops uniform may not have been perfect, but it was damn close, and the police car? The same. As to where Duane was stopped - did you ever hear of an exit road? If you are flagged by an officer on the GSP as you approach an exit road, and you then exit, he will follow you off the exit and stop you. The writer /director also has a number of relatives who are cops. The speeding an officer discusses always takes place well back of where the individual is stopped.

Next time, enjoy the film, instead of putting your nit-picking hat on. And if you're going to nit pick? Get it right.

[–] gceez44 16 years ago

[–] bpressey 16 years ago

Oh, and "The Jersey Shoreline"? You've got to be kidding me. You're saying it would be impossible for a DJ to use the words, "The Jersey Shoreline"? Do you live in New Jersey, or, actually on the Jersey shoreline? The writer/director has, off and on since 1960. Please.

I worked on the film and know a bit about this stuff...

I'm glad you worked on the film, so I guess you know more than I do about the area where I've lived for the last 35 years. Nobody, but NOBODY, ever refers to the beach area as the Jersey Shoreline. If you must know I am in Toms River, about 4 miles from Seaside Heights, so I think I know what I'm talking about. Ask any Benny from NY where he's going on a Friday night in the summer and he'll simply say "the Shaw".

Not trying to get into anything witcha, as I stated I liked the movie quite a bit, and they really got the flavor of living at the shore in the off-season right. It's just that when a movie takes place where you've spent the better part of your existence the little things tend to jump out at you.

Perfect example of that was in "Cop Land". The scene that takes place on the GWB, where Michaeal Rapaport is involved in the shooting, he's supposed to be heading to NJ on the lower level, but if you've ever been across it he's clearly starting on the Jersey side. Not to mention the length of time that he's driving in the scene would leave you to believe that the walled, semi-tunneled approach was about a mile long, when in actuality your at that spot for about 6 to 10 seconds.

Dramatic license, I guess.

[–] gceez44 16 years ago

two things: tom's river is about 50 minutes north of where the film is shot. I live where it was shot. the road where the car was stopped is about 2 minutes from a gsp exit. the cops uniform is right. and, you can't say a dj would "never" use the words the jersey shoreline. "some benny from ny" has nothing to do with what that dj says in that movie. it's not even dramatic license - it's just common sense - of course it could happen. I think your nit picking hat is too small - it's squeezing your head.

[–] bpressey 16 years ago

tom's river is about 50 minutes north of where the film is shot.

I'm well aware of where I live in relation to the AC area. I was only responding to your accusation that I must be clueless about what I was talking about. BTW, I spent summers in Margate as a kid when I lived in Philthydelphia, and am regularly down there, so it's not like my town is on the other side of the universe, dude. And I ask you, have you ever heard the term "Jersey Shoreline" used by anyone in reference to where you live? Seriously. And I'm not talking about when pointing at the map, or in any other geographical sense, just casual conversation.

As stated I've already given you the GSP thing, but I'm still not believing the uniform at all. I may be mistaken, and the light might have thrown it off, but was the trooper's shirt brown? In which case that wouldn't be right as the official uniforms are blue shirts. I dunno, you were supposedly there for the filming, so you'd know better than I. But I see by it's omission that maybe you agree that the car was all wrong, so we can at least agree on that.

Glad to see you know what a Benny is. Do you know how it originated?

And I will be shopping for a new nit-picking hat this weekend. Must have outgrown mine. There's plenty more where that came from. They are a must-wear when watching tv shows such as "Psych" and "Monk".

[–] gceez44 16 years ago

wrong dog breath. the shirt was blue, the uniform correct. and you don't seem to get the point: you can't say "a dj would NEVER refer to the area as 'the jersey shoreline.'" that's just stupid. it's like saying someone would NEVER refer to "d.c." as "the district of columbia" cause you ALWAYS hear it referred to as "d.c." doesn't mean it COULDN'T happen. I just hate titles like "how to get new jersey dead wrong 101," when I know more about it than you. next time try some thing a little gentler, and maybe you won't set yourself up to get hammered, maybe something like "is this right?" or "maybe I'm wrong but..." you know? don't set yourself up as an authority and take shots unless you REALLY know what you're talking about. and you don't.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] gceez44 15 years ago

My family lives in Longport and Margate and has been coming there since the 20's.

To say that a DJ would NEVER utter the words "the Jersey Shoreline?" - I mean, don't you have anything better to do? THAT'S your criticism?

And do you even know what "shoobie" means?

No? I figured. It refers to early summer visitors in the 30's who would bring their possessions and supplies down for the day from Philly in a shoebox. Hence, "shoobie."

Get a *beep* job man...

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] bpressey 16 years ago

Next time, enjoy the film,

Umm, I thought I stated that I did.

instead of putting your nit-picking hat on.

It's my favorite hat, and I'll wear it when I want to, thank you very much.

I'll give you the uniform, maybe, but the car was way off. Horizontal thin stripes are not even close to the 2 wide slanted bands that the State Troopers use. As I stated, the "MG" tags are the tip-off.

And I might buy your theory about him being pulled over after having left the GSP, if there was an indication that he was ever on the highway. Looks to me that the whole movie took place locally, so I never jumped to the conclusion that he was so many miles out of the way when he was stopped. The road where he was pulled over was nowhere near the Parkway, that much was obvious (to anybody who's lived in the area for any length of time).

[–] Gutch220 15 years ago

I've never heard "Jersey Shoreline" before but it's pointless to argue about little things like that in movies. 'Now if you were watching the movie "Philadelphia" and Tom Hanks caught a cab near Times Square then you'd have a little continuity problem. Or if you were watching "Braveheart" and all the guys took a bus to the battle.

[–] txhurletbsx 13 years ago

Bennys go home

its the jersy shore.

[–] jdavisii 10 years ago

Shoreline? Really who cares how about the fact that he is riding his bike on oc boardwalk with snow on the ground like its 3 blocks away