BALTIMORE

     In the midst of all the bad news from Baltimore, I got to thinking about all the good movies I've seen from that city. So why not an article about them?

     At a little over 600,000 it's only the 18th largest city. But Baltimore is the birthplace of Edgar Allen Poe, the home of the Orioles, the Inner Harbor and the best crab cakes in the whole world. It is also fortunate to be the beloved home of director Barry Levinson, who has turned out several good movies about his town.

     Barry Levinson's quartet of cinematic love letters to his city starts with Diner (1982), a coming-of-age story that is not only a delight, but the launching pad for lots of acting careers. Steve Gutenberg, Daniel Stern, Ellen Barkin, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon and Paul Reiser are part of the then-unknown repertory company. The director's affection for the time and place is evident and contagious.

    Richard Dreyfuss and Danny DeVito literally run into each other on the streets of 1963 Baltimore in Tin Men (1987), a dark comedy about aluminum siding salesmen who might cut a corner or two. A little uneven, and the least successful of the four, it still has moments of humor well worth getting on board for.

     There really isn't a better immigrant film than the wonderful Avalon (1990), the third of Mr. Levinson's cinematic missives to his city.  The immigrants happen to be Jewish, but their story of making it in America applies across the board to all of us immigrants. At 126 minutes, it takes its time on small, interlocked and telling stories.

     The last (so far) Levinson-Baltimore film is Liberty Heights (1999), a story of a Baltimore neighborhood's reaction to the influx of African-Americans into an historically Jewish enclave. Adrien Brody, Joe Mantegna, Bebe Neuwirth and Orlando Jones are part of a fine cast.

     John Waters' hilarious Hairspray (1998) is a distinctly different take on the integration of Balitmore, this time through a teenage dance show. This film became a hugely successful Broadway musical, and then a movie musical in 2007.

     Ann Tyler is perhaps Baltimore's finest author, and two of her novels have become movies. The Accidental Tourist (1988) features William Hurt as a travel writer for business people who want only to avoid problems. His marriage to Kathleen Turner is disintegrating and he is being pursued by the pugnacious Geena Davis. You can find out how this turns out by watching it... Breathing Lessons (1994) is a made-for-TV (but quite good) movie. The book won the Pulitzer Prize. The movie stars James Garner and Joanne Woodward in a story about a woman who discovers her life hasn't quite turned out right. She is afflicted with telling everyone everything and trying to better the lives of strangers. Her husband is long-suffering but loving.
     Finally, I must mention The Wire (2002-2007), which ran for five years and to my mind is the best TV series ever made. 
     All of the movies in this article are available on DVD and for streaming. All are suitable for 12 and up except The Wire, which gets a little rough.