Vote: The Most Washington Movie Ever Tournament, Part 3

1. Movie: D.C. Cab

Year: 1983

Stars: Adam Baldwin, Mr. T

Plot: Rival cab companies duel for dominance of DC’s livery industry.

What’s Washington About It: What’s not Washington about it? It was shot throughout the city. It doesn’t focus on the federal sphere, not even when a cabbie played by Bill Maher goes on a primordial Real Time rant in front of the White House. There’s the classic food-fight scene filmed at the World-Famous Florida Avenue Grill. The cabbies spend most of their time griping about low fares and external competition. Characters pick up service-economy passengers in Southeast for low-wage gigs on Embassy Row. Joel Schumacher didn’t bother to dress up U Street and Eckington from their early-1980s decay. Sure, the city looks much different today, but 31 years after this movie’s release, the taxis haven’t really gotten much better. Readers: If D.C. Cab doesn’t make it to the final four at least, you’ll have failed this magazine, but, more importantly, you’ll have failed your city.

16. Movie: State of Play

Year: 2009

Stars: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams

Plot: Old-media reporter Russell Crowe and blogger Rachel McAdams uncover a plot between Congressman Affleck and a military contractor.

What’s Washington About It: Crowe lives in Adams Morgan, eats at Ben’s Chili Bowl, and gets to work by first walking to the Rosslyn Metro station. That’s an unusual commute.

8. Movie: Damn Yankees

Year: 1958

Stars: Tab Hunter, Gwen Verdon

Plot: Washington Senators fan sells his soul to the devil to give the team a shot at beating the New York Yankees for the American League pennant.

What’s Washington About It: After 24 years without a major championship, there are probably some present-day sports fans here who would be willing to spend an eternity in Hell for a shot at a World Series or Super Bowl win.

9. Movie: Protocol

Year: 1984

Stars: Goldie Hawn, Chris Sarandon

Plot: Ditzy waitress stumbles into Middle East intrigue and winds up a national hero.

What’s Washington About It: It’s basically proto-Dave, another triumph for the supposed small town that surrounds the White House gates.

5. Movie: No Way Out

Year: 1987

Stars: Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman

Plot: A young Navy officer chases a KGB mole across town, including the fabled Georgetown Metro station.

What’s Washington About It: The “Georgetown Metro station” was actually in Baltimore, a fact frequently cited today by Council member Jack Evans in his repeatedly futile attempts to rebuild DC’s film incentive program.

12. Movie: The Walker

Year: 2007

Stars: Woody Harrelson, Kristin Scott Thomas

Plot: Middle-aged gay man works as a social escort for the wives of high-ranking male politicos.

What’s Washington About It: The story was criticized as a bit outdated, but no less a figure than Nancy Reagan was squired around DC and New York by Jerry Zipkin, easily the most famous “walker.”

4. Movie: Strangers on a Train

Year: 1951

Stars: Farley Granger, Ruth Roman

Plot: Two passengers on a train between Union Station and Penn Station concoct the perfect, untraceable crime: killing the other person’s nemesis.

What’s Washington About It: You never know who you’ll meet on the Northeast Corridor.

13. Movie: The Good Shepherd

Year: 2006

Stars: Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro

Plot: Upwardly mobile (and anti-Communist) soldiers and intellectuals found the CIA with the help of mob boss Joe Pesci.

What’s Washington About It: As always, the Yalies have too much power.

6. Movie: Seven Days in May

Year: 1964

Stars: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas

Plot: Military cabal plots the overthrow of a peacenik president.

What’s Washington About It: If the president seeks to avoid war, someone in this town is going to have wet dreams about a military junta. Good thing we have a president who’s never ordered an airstrike or sent “military advisers” back into Iraq.

11. Movie: Enemy of the State

Year: 1998

Stars: Will Smith, Gene Hackman

Plot: Rogue NSA agents ruin Will Smith’s life to avoid exposure of a warrantless digital surveillance system.

What’s Washington About It: This movie came out 15 years before Edward Snowden’s leaks. What’s not Washington about it? In the movie, the NSA calls off the surveillance to avoid a riot against the agency. In real life, we’ve had a few strongly worded editorials and some fairly toothless legislative reforms.

3. Movie: A Few Good Men

Year: 1992

Stars: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson

Plot: Colonel Jack Nicholson orders the code red; JAG officer Tom Cruise can’t handle the truth.

What’s Washington About It: Of all the political material Aaron Sorkin’s written over the years, this is really the only thing that holds up.

14. Movie: The Distinguished Gentleman

Year: 1992

Stars: Eddie Murphy, Lane Smith

Plot: A Florida con man wins a Congressional seat for the sole purpose of soaking lobbyists.

What’s Washington About It: Florida is still the cause of—and solution to—most of federal Washington’s problems.

7. Movie: The Man With One Red Shoe

Year: 1985

Stars: Tom Hanks, Dabney Coleman

Plot: A ladder-climbing CIA official ensnares a clueless concert violinist into his scheme to take over the agency.

What’s Washington About It: Much like DC’s street grid, this one’s better in the original French. Go rent the 1972 Yves Robert film Le Grand Blond Avec Une Chaussure Noire instead.

10. Movie: Shattered Glass

Year: 2003

Stars: Hayden Christensen, Peter Sarsgaard, Chloë Sevigny

Plot: An ambitious New Republic reporter files stories that turn out to be complete fabrications.

What’s Washington About It: It’s the original New Republic hot take. N.B.: JuktMicronics.com is available for $2,295.

2. Movie: Minority Report

Year: 2002

Stars: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell

Plot: In 2050, the Metropolitan Police Department is the pilot agency for a psychic technology that can predict future murders.

What’s Washington About It: Current DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier’s love of cutting-edge surveillance technology is well documented. Maybe Future Crime will be here sooner than Steven Spielberg predicted.

15. Movie: Arlington Road

Year: 1999

Stars: Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins

Plot: George Washington University professor Jeff Bridges thinks his new neighbors are domestic terrorists intent on blowing up FBI headquarters. Turns out he’s right.

What’s Washington About It: Nobody would miss the J. Edgar Hoover Building.