''The Personals'' is a 1982 romantic comedy written and directed by

Peter Markle Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

. It was shot in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. The film was picked up for distribution by

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 197 ...

Production

Writer/director Peter Markle's first feature film, it was made with a

SAG SAG, SAg, or sag may refer to: Land formations * Sag (geology), or ''trough'', a depressed, persistent, low area * Sag pond, a body of water collected in the lowest parts of a depression People * Ivan Sag (1949–2013), American linguist ...

cast recruited from the

Guthrie Theater The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions between Sir Tyrone Gut ...

and a nonunion crew. Principal photography was May–September 1980, with additional takes and pickups through December and continuing into August 1981. It was shot on 16 mm, and blown up to 35 mm for theater screenings. It was filmed in and around Minneapolis, including such landmarks as the

Lake of the Isles Lake of the Isles ( Dakota: ''Wíta Tópa'', "Four Islands") is a lake in Minneapolis, Minnesota, connected to Cedar Lake and Bde Maka Ska. The lake is part of the city's Chain of Lakes and has an area of , of shoreline with a little under thre ...

Bde Maka Ska Bde Maka Ska (, previously named Lake Calhoun, its former official designation) is the largest lake in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, and part of the city's Chain of Lakes. Surrounded by city park land and circled by bike and walking tra ...

, and the

Minneapolis Institute of Art The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...

. As a low budget, independent film, the homes of director Markle, writer Wells, and actor Schoppert were used as filming locations as well.

Plot

A man whose wife has left him starts dating again by placing ads in

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

personal columns. He gets some letters and he dates around the Minnesota area.

Cast

Reception

The film won the Best First Feature Award at the

Houston International Film Festival The WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, founded in 1968, is an annual film festival held annually in April in Houston, Texas. Notable festival alumni include John Lee Hancock, who wrote and directed the Oscar-winning film '' The Blind ...

. New World Pictures distributed the film nationally, and it ran for twelve weeks at St. Louis Park's Cooper Theater. It also received generally positive reviews: ''The Washington Post'' called it a "minor but admirably polished and attractive low-budget gem," and ''Variety'' said that the "story really isn't all the profound, but it's told with sincerity and humor, full of likeable, decent people dealing with familiar problems with wigging out." ''Variety'' also commended the cast "making their feature film debut ... so natural it could embarrass some Hollywood acting schools." Multiple reviewers appreciated Minneapolis as a fresh setting for filmmaking. Its rental tally was $2 million (equivalent to $ million in ).

References

External links