The “You, Me and Dupree” House – Revisited

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Today’s location is one that I have actually already once blogged about – way back in April of 2008 – but because it was a fairly short write-up and because I somehow missed one very pertinent detail when reporting on the place, I decided that it was most-definitely worthy of a re-post.  The location?  The adorable Craftsman-style bungalow where newlyweds Carl (Matt Dillon) and Molly (Kate Hudson) lived in the 2006 romantic comedy You, Me and Dupree.  Fellow stalker Mike, from MovieShotsLA, took me by the property and pointed out the detail that I had inadvertently missed while the two of us were out doing some stalking in the West Adams district a couple of weeks ago and, let me tell you, I just about fell over from shock.  I could hardly believe my eyes when he pointed it out!  What is this detail, you ask?

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As you can see in the screen captures pictured above, in You, Me and Dupree Carl and Molly’s residence appears to be two stories tall.

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In reality, though, and as you can see above, the home, which was built in 1923, is a ONE-story dwelling!  How I missed that fact the first time around is absolutely beyond me, especially being that I usually consider myself to be quite an observant little stalker.  I must have been in the midst of a severe blonde moment when I originally stalked the property!  I am not sure if a fake second level was built on top of the bungalow during the filming or if one was digitally added during post-production, but, either way, I was absolutely gobsmacked (LOVE that word!) when Mike pointed out the discrepancy!

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According to Zillow, in real life the 1,726-square-foot house boasts 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, but Property Shark tracks the place at 4 bedrooms and 3 baths, so someone seems to have gotten their wires crossed with the measurements at some point.

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Being that Carl and Molly’s living room was dominated by a set of stairs that led up to the home’s fake second level, the real life interior of the property was, obviously, not used in the filming.  The inside of their house was, in actuality, just a set that was built on a soundstage at Universal Studios Hollywood.  According to fave website Hooked on Houses, of the set, directors Joe and Anthony Russo said in the movie’s DVD commentary, “We tried to make Carl and Molly’s world sort of warm and accessible and you’ll see that in the choice of their house.  It’s an older home, modest in scale, and the neighborhood feels like it’s been there awhile.”

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Also according to Hooked on Houses, the scene pictured above, in which Carl watches Dupree (Owen Wilson) play baseball with some neighborhood kids, was actually filmed from inside of the real life home, because the directors wanted to “capture the look you can only get through old glass.”  It has been said that “God is in the details” and it is the little details like this that I absolutely LOVE hearing about.

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According to IMDB’s You, Me and Dupree trivia page, the set used for the interior of Molly and Carl’s house was the same one used for the residence of Hope (Mel Harris) and Michael Steadman (Ken Olin) on the 1980s television series thirtysomething. But, as you can see above, while slightly similar, the two are most definitely not one in the same.

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for pointing out the discrepancy in the number of stories of the You, Me and Dupree house.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: The You, Me and Dupree house is located at 2406 Gramercy Park in the West Adams District of Los Angeles.

Franklin Library from “Beautiful Girls”

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The final Beautiful Girls filming location that I stalked while visiting Minnesota this past May was the library where Tommy “Birdman” Rowland (aka Matt Dillon) met up with his married girlfriend Darian Smalls (aka Lauren Holly) and her daughter, Kristen (aka Sarah Katz), towards the end of the flick.  I found this location, once again, thanks to fellow stalker Owen and his Beautiful Girls master locations list.  And even though it was only featured in a very brief scene in the movie, for whatever reason, I was absolutely DYING to stalk the place.  Unfortunately though, we ended up stalking it during our last day in the North Star State and it happened to be POURING rain at the time, which is why I look like such a dork in the above photograph.

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The Franklin Library first opened almost a century ago thanks to a gift from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.  In 1912, the Scottish-American businessman decided to donate $125,000 to the Minneapolis Public Library in order to build four new area branches.  The Franklin Community Library, which was designed by New York architect Edward L. Tilton, was the first of those branches to be constructed.  The land on which the library now stands was donated to the city by Minneapolis real estate tycoon Sumner T. McKnight.  The Renaissance Revival-style building, which cost $41,000 to construct, first opened in August of 1914 and had its formal dedication ceremony on January 29, 1915.  It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 and, while it underwent an extensive renovation in 2005, I am very happy to report that it still looks almost the same today as it did when it first opened.

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And the staff there literally could NOT have been nicer – once they got over their initial confusion of why I was stalking the place, at least.  Like the cashier working the front register at the Marine General Store in Marine on Saint Croix,  which I had stalked just a few days beforehand, when I first asked about the filming of Beautiful Girls, the librarians on duty mistakenly thought that I wanted to rent the flick, not take pictures of where it had been filmed.  😉  Once they understood my purpose for being there, though, they were highly amused and one of them offered to take me and my parents on a mini-tour of the premises and then photocopied a bunch of historic information about the library for me to take home.  Yay! 

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In Beautiful Girls, Tommy and Darian meet up, and then subsequently break up, while sitting in front of one of the library’s massively-large fireplaces.  Because the library has no less than four similarly-looking fireplaces, though, pinpointing the exact one where filming took place proved to be a bit of a challenge.  But after taking photographs of each of them and comparing those photographs to screen captures from the movie, I can say with 99.9% certainty that the east fireplace is the one which appeared in the movie.

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As you can see in the above photographs, though, the fireplace and its surrounding area look a bit different today than they did back in 1996 when Beautiful Girls was filmed.  According to the librarian that I spoke with, both the east fireplace and the one located directly across from it were restored back to their original 1914 state during the library’s 2005 renovation. 

The super-cute student film Butterflies was also shot on location at the Franklin Library.

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Big THANK YOU to Owen for finding this location!  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: Franklin Library from Beautiful Girls is located at 1314 East Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  The scene between Birdman and Darian was filmed in front of the library’s east fireplace, which is adjacent to the American Indian book collection.  You can visit the library’s official website here.

The Johnson Inn Restaurant from “Beautiful Girls”

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The other Beautiful Girls location that I was most excited about stalking (second only to the main houses used in the movie, of course), while in Minnesota two weeks ago, was the Johnson Inn – the local “Knight’s Ridge, Massachusetts” watering hole where Willie Conway (aka Timothy Hutton), Tommy “Birdman” Rowland (aka Matt Dillon), Paul Kirkwood (aka Michael Rapaport) and the rest of the gang hung out in the flick.  Interestingly enough, two locations actually stood in for the Johnson Inn in Beautiful Girls – one location was used for the interior scenes, while a second one was used for the exteriors.  Fellow stalker Owen tracked down both locales for me thanks to his Beautiful Girls master locations list, but, sadly, while the exterior location is still alive and well, the interior – a Minneapolis-area restaurant named Winfield Potters – closed its doors over a decade ago.  🙁  But because the locations were the site of one of my very favorite scenes from the movie, I just had to stalk both of them.

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The above-mentioned favorite scene – and believe me, I know that over the past week I’ve described numerous Beautiful Girls scenes as my “favorite” 🙂 – involves professional piano player Willie Conway leading his buddies in a sing-a-long of the classic Neil Diamond song “Sweet Caroline”.  And even though my dad has been a lifelong fan of the singer, before watching Beautiful Girls for the first time back in 1996, I don’t think I had ever heard any Neil Diamond songs in their entirety.  But once I saw the Beautiful Girls “Sweet Caroline” scene, that was it for me – I suddenly, and unexpectedly, became a total ND junkie!  Even now, fourteen years later, I am still a HUGE fan and my iPod is stocked with pretty much every song the guy ever recorded.  All thanks to one very brief scene from a movie that premiered almost one and a half decades ago.  

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Because the “Sweet Caroline” scene had such a huge impact on me, I was absolutely DYING to stalk the spot where Willie C. and Company had so memorably belted out that “good times never seemed so good”.  So, you can imagine my heartbreak when Owen emailed me to let me know that Winfield Potters restaurant, which did indeed used to have a piano in the bar area for patrons to play, was no longer.  UGH!  Such an incredible bummer!  But I still just had to stalk the restaurant’s former location, which has since been turned into an office building for a company called Clientek.  

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According to a super nice and very informative waiter at a nearby restaurant my parents and I had dined at earlier that day, the Winfield Potters patio used to be quite the popular spot for Minnesota diners during the warm summer months.  So, amazingly enough, once Clientek took over the space, they opted to keep the patio intact in order to host barbeques and events for their employees during temperate weather.  

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While there, I was absolutely FLOORED to discover a plaque honoring the former Winfield Potters location on the wall outside of the patio area.  So darn cool!  Of course, I think there should also be a notation on the plaque which touts the restaurant’s cinematic history, as well, but I digress.

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I, of course, also peeked inside the Clientek offices to see if I could spot any small piece of the restaurant which still remained, but, sadly, there wasn’t anything.  I can’t tell you how heartbreaking this particular stalk was for me, as I had so badly wanted to see Willie C.’s piano.  Sigh.

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I am happy to report, though, that the Marine General Store, the small grocery store which was used for the exterior shots of the Johnson Inn, looks very much the same today as it did when Beautiful Girls was filmed back in 1996.  There are some differences, of course, but for the most part, the location is very recognizable from the movie. 

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And, even though no filming actually took place there, I just had to stalk the interior of the General Store, as well.  While doing so, I asked the girl at the front counter if the movie Beautiful Girls had been filmed on the premises, to which she said, “I don’t know.  Let me check.”  She then proceeded to pull up a list of about one hundred movies on her computer screen.  Well, let me tell you, I took one look at that list and just about passed out from excitement and said, “WOW!  How many movies have been filmed here?”  The girl looked at me utterly flabbergasted and explained, “This is the list of movies we have for rent.  I thought you were inquiring about a movie rental.”  LOL  As I mentioned in a previous post, I am rapidly discovering that most people in this world have never even heard of Beautiful Girls, including, apparently, people who work at locations where filming of the movie actually took place!   

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Anyway, the girl at the counter, who was very nice, directed me to the manager of the store, who, amazingly enough, had actually heard of Beautiful Girls and even knew about its filming.  She told me that the big fight scene between Tommy “Birdman” Rowland and Steve Rossmore (aka Sam Robards) at the end of the film took place in the General Store’s back parking lot.

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Unfortunately, though, there was a van parked in front of the stairway that Tommy walks down in the scene, so I couldn’t get a perfect shot of it. 

You can watch the Beautiful Girls “Sweet Caroline” scene by clicking above.

Big THANK YOU to Owen for finding these locations for me!  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The exterior of the Johnson Inn Restaurant from Beautiful Girls is the Marine General Store, which is located at 101 Judd Street in Marine on Saint Croix, about twelve miles north of Stillwater.  The interior of the Johnson Inn was the former Winfield Potters restaurant, which used to be located at 212 2nd Street SE in Minneapolis.

The River Oasis Cafe from “Beautiful Girls”

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Another Stillwater, Minnesota location that my family and I stalked last week was the River Oasis Cafe from fave movie Beautiful Girls.  And I’m really hoping that my fellow stalkers are not yet sick of reading about Beautiful Girls locations, ‘cause there are still quite a few of them that I’ve yet to blog about.  😉  Anyway, I found out about this locale thanks to the master locations list that fellow stalker Owen purveyed for me before I left on my trip to the North Star State.  Thank you, Owen!  And even though the River Oasis Cafe only appeared in one fairly brief scene in the movie, I just had to stalk the place.  Especially since my mom was absolutely starving upon our arrival in Stillwater and mentioned that she wanted to dine at a “local greasy spoon”, to which I said, “I know just the place!”  🙂

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The River Oasis Cafe appeared in the very beginning of Beautiful Girls, in one of the opening scenes in which Tommy “Birdman” Rowland (aka Matt Dillon), Paul Kirkwood (aka Michael Rapaport), and Kev (aka Max Perlich) are shown eating an early morning breakfast after finishing that day’s snow plow rounds.  And I am very happy to report that the restaurant looks much the same in person as it did onscreen in the movie!

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Except for the large billboard which stands in the cafe’s front parking lot, though, which was covered over during the filming to read “Welcome to Knight’s Ridge”, the fictional town where Beautiful Girls was set.

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Because a wide shot of the interior of the River Oasis Cafe was never shown in the movie, I wasn’t exactly sure of where Paul, Tommy, and Kev sat during the scene, but thankfully our SUPER nice waitress was able to point me in the right direction.  🙂

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And while some people were already occupying the Beautiful Girls’ booth when we first arrived at the restaurant, as soon as they left I immediately ran over and snagged it so that I could snap a pic in the exact spot where Matt Dillon and Max Perlich sat during the filming.  🙂

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Ironically enough, while we were dining my dad randomly took a photograph of the above-pictured sign which hangs near the River Oasis Cafe’s front door.  So, imagine my surprise when I re-watched Beautiful Girls upon returning home from Minnesota and saw that very same sign hanging in pretty much the very same spot near the restaurant’s front door in the scene in which Paul is shown making a phone call to his former girlfriend Jan (aka Martha Plimpton).  Nice work, dad!!!  🙂

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While we were stalking the Cafe, my parents and I had the pleasure of meeting Craig Beemer – the restaurant’s owner/dishwasher, as he likes to call himself  🙂 – who truly could NOT have been nicer.  Not only did he agree to pose for a photograph with me for my blog, but he also snapped a pic of me sitting in the Beautiful Girls’ booth to put on the River Oasis Cafe’s “Faces of Oasis” Facebook page.  🙂  He even seemed amenable to my suggestion of putting a plaque on the Beautiful Girls’ booth so that diners would be aware of the movie magic that took place in that spot just over fourteen years ago!  So, Craig, if you’re reading this, I fully expect to see that plaque in place the next time I’m in Stillwater!  🙂  I honestly cannot recommend stalking the River Oasis Cafe enough – it’s a fabulous restaurant, which serves up some excellent food, and the staff truly could not be nicer!  Love it!  Love it!  Love it!

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On a side note – The owner of Willie’s house from Beautiful Girls, which I blogged about on Wednesday, mentioned that his neighbors always joke about creating a tour of all of the movie’s locations in the Stillwater area.  I told him what a FABULOUS idea I thought that was, but I don’t think he took me seriously.  But, let me tell you, even though I’ve already visited pretty much every spot which appeared in the movie, I would SO sign up for that tour.

Big THANK YOU to Owen for finding this location for me!  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The River Oasis Cafe from Beautiful Girls is located at 806 Main Street South in Stillwater, Minnesota.  You can visit the River Oasis Cafe’s Facebook page here.

The Drug Store and Beauty Salon from “Beautiful Girls”

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Another Stillwater location that I was incredibly excited about stalking was the drugstore where Gina Barrisano (aka Rosie O’Donnell) spewed a very choicely-worded rant at Willie Conway (aka Timothy Hutton) and Tommy “Birdman” Rowland (aka Matt Dillon) over their superficial treatment of women in fave movie Beautiful Girls.  Fellow stalker Owen had actually managed to track down this locale – and Willie and Marty’s houses, come to think of it – long before getting his hands on the flick’s master location list, which I talked about yesterday.  Sadly, though, the Beautiful Girls drugstore, which was named St. Croix Rexall Drugs, closed in 2008 and the space which once housed it has since been completely remodeled and turned into a Dairy Queen.  When Owen first told me the sad news, I was reminded of the scene in You’ve Got Mail, during which Kathleen Kelly (aka Meg Ryan) talks about the closing of her children’s bookstore and says, “People are always telling you that change is a good thing, but all they’re really saying is that something you didn’t want to happen at all has happened.  My store is closing this week.  I own a store – did I ever tell you that?  It’s a lovely store and in a week it will be something really depressing, like a Baby Gap.”  Sigh.  Couldn’t have said it better myself, Meg!  I mean can you think of anything more depressing than a Dairy Queen?  Ugh, I so hate change!  I can’t even begin to describe how depressed I was over learning that the drugstore was no longer, but because it was the site of one of my all-time favorite movie scenes, I just had to stalk the location where it once stood.

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Only the interior of St. Croix Rexall Drugs was used in Beautiful Girls.

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And it, of course, looks completely different now than it did then.  When locations change, I often stalk them anyway in the hopes that there will be something recognizable – some small remnant of the movie magic which once took place there – which still remains at the site, but, as you can see, that, sadly, was not the case with the Beautiful Girls drugstore. 

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The exterior of the Dairy Queen is pictured above, but, sadly, it, too, was completed re-vamped after St. Croix Rexall Drugs closed.  You can see some exterior and interior photographs of what the building used to look like on this Flikr page.

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At the time of filming, the salon where Gina worked – and where she actually began her rant – was a place called Smitty’s Barber Shop and it was located right around the corner from St. Croix Rexall Drugs. 

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Sadly though, that, too, has since been closed and is now a tattoo parlor named Tatts by Zapp.  Such a bummer!

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The interior of Smitty’s was also used for a brief scene between Rosie O’Donnell, Mira Sorvino, and Anne Bobby in Beautiful Girls, but the tattoo parlor was closed when we showed up to stalk the place, so I wasn’t able to peek inside to see if it looked at all the same as it did in the movie.

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As bummed as I was to discover that both the drugstore and the salon had long since closed down, I still had an absolute blast in Stillwater.  The city is BY FAR one of the most adorable places I have ever visited in my life!  I loved, loved, loved it!  So did my parents, who, as I mentioned in a previous post, are seriously considering spending a few months there after my mom retires next year, which I think is so incredibly cool!  Especially since we never would have even known about the place had it not been for Beautiful Girls.  Fellow stalker Owen and I were just discussing how visiting off-the-beaten-path areas one might otherwise never have known about is one of our very favorite things about stalking.  When my best friend Robin came to visit me from Switzerland last year, he asked how it was that I knew about so many fabulous, not-in-a-guidebook-type spots in Los Angeles and New York.  DUH – because they were all in a movie or TV show, of course!  🙂  Anyway, if you ever have the chance to visit Stillwater, I HIGHLY recommend doing do.  Not only is the architecture unique, quaint, and beautiful . . .

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. . . but there are amazing views of the St. Croix River from pretty much everywhere you look!  It is a truly gorgeous city!

You can watch the not AT ALL suitable for work – unless your speakers are turned off or you have headphones on – drug store scene from Beautiful Girls by clicking above.

Big THANK YOU to Owen for finding this location!  🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  🙂

Stalk It: The former St. Croix Rexall Drug Store, now Dairy Queen, from Beautiful Girls is located at 132 Main Street South in Stillwater, Minnesota.  Gina’s Salon, the former Smitty’s Barber Shop, is now the Tatts by Zapp tattoo parlor, which is located at 235 East Chestnut Street, just around the corner from the Dairy Queen.  To learn more about Stillwater, you can visit the city’s official website here.