Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)

If you have never heard of this movie, I urge you to drop everything that you're doing and rent or download it right now. I suggest that you get drunk before the movie starts--a few shots of tequila will do--and then sit back, relax and enjoy one of the most underrated comedies of the 80s.

Earth Girls Are Easy tells the tale of three aliens (Wiploc, Zeebo and Mac) who crash land their spaceship in the San Fernando valley. Thankfully they land in a pool which is owned by Valerie, a typical valley girl. Instead of calling the authorities, she does what any quick thinking girl would do; she takes them to her best friend (a hilarious Julie Brown) and gives them all makeovers. Eh Voila! They all turn out to be hunky alien studs who want to paaaaaaarty!

Of course, the aliens get into lots of trouble and Valerie has a hard time keeping them on the down low. At one point, Zeebo and Wiploc take off in a stolen car and get chased by the police. At the end of the chase, the car becomes airborne and crashes into a donut sign which is (strangely enough) in the shape of a large donut.

Randy's Donuts is an actual donut shop located at 805 West Manchester Boulevard located in Inglewood near the L.A. airport. The huge donut is a well known local landmark and was built in 1953.


You can't miss the big freakin' donut. I'm not sure what the sign is made of but the roof must be sturdy enough to support it.

Weirdly enough, I did have a difficult time finding the shop. My GPS sent me in the wrong direction and I ended up in a very scary neighborhood. I was afraid that I was going to get shot and killed all because I wanted to take pictures of a big ass donut.

Thankfully I had my iphone with me and it told me the correct directions. Phew!

After all that work, I had to buy some donuts. I got a selection of cinnamon buns, jelly filled and old fashioned chocolate. They were most excellent and I devoured three of them on my journey back home.

(While I don't advocate eating and driving, the traffic on the 405 was so slow I could have read the entire Wall Street Journal and still got home safely.)

Earth Girls Are Easy isn't the only movie to feature Randy's Donuts. If you've seen the disaster flick 2012, you might have witnessed the big donut rolling down the freeway.

HOW TO GET THERE:  If you have a Nuvi GPS, I don't recommend using it. At least, don't use mine because it took me to Compton and nearly got me killed. A better idea is to take the 405 and get off at Manchester Boulevard.

WORTH THE TREK?  9/10. The Donut sign is a great landmark and worth seeing. The awesome donuts are a sweet bonus.

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

No blog about movie locations would be complete without a visit to the Griffith Observatory.

On these grounds, James Dean, Nathalie Wood and Sal Mineo were filmed in all their "teenage" angst for the classic tragedy, Rebel Without a Cause. (Mr. Dean wasn't actually a teenager, he was 24 at the time.)

The Observatory plays a central part to the movie. Early on, the high school class takes a field trip there. After the presentation in the planetarium, everyone goes outside for a good old fashioned knife fight. Nobody gets killed until later when Buzz, the leader of the bullies, drives over a cliff.

But that's not it for the Observatory. Jim, Plato (Sal Mineo) and Judy (Nathalie Wood) run back to the park because the bullies are chasing them. Plato falls asleep so Jim and Judy take the opportunity to wander off by themselves. Judy proclaims her love for Jim even though her ex-boyfriend is not even dead by 12 hours. When Plato is woken up by the bullies and finds out that Jim and Judy have deserted him, he goes batshit crazy and runs to the Observatory. Since this is a tragedy it doesn't end well; Plato is gunned down by the police on the front steps.

If none of this makes sense, go see the movie. It is well worth it. Sorry for the spoilers.

The Observatory is a beautiful building, both inside and out. It is high on the list for must-see L.A. attractions for Korean tourists.

Here are the steps where poor Plato was gunned down. It was probably not a good idea to come out waving a gun when the police have you surrounded.

If you remember the film, this is the area where the knife fight occurred. Nothing much has changed since 1955 except for the skyscrapers in the distance.

It doesn't take long to walk around the grounds. They are very well maintained. And there is free parking!!

Every time I see this part of the Observatory, I think of R2D2. Hmmm, I wonder if George Lucas came here and found some inspiration.

Overlooking the Hollywood sign, there is a statue dedicated to James Dean and Rebel Without a Cause. As the plaque points out, there have been many other films made here but Rebel is the most famous.

James Dean didn't even live long enough to see his classic come to the big screen. The film opened on October 27, 1955 almost one month after his fatal car crash.

HOW TO GET THERE: The Griffith Observatory is part of the large Griffith Park located in the northern part of L.A. county. It is easily accessible by the 5 freeway.

WORTH THE TREK? 9/10 for the beautiful grounds and the amazing views. Although I personally find that the planetarium is a good place to fall asleep, it might be entertaining for the kids. And did I mention that there is FREE PARKING??