Films set in Iowa
by CorleoneWarrior88 | created - 24 Apr 2015 | updated - 26 Apr 2015 | PublicThe ultimate list of films set in Iowa
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1. Field of Dreams (1989)
PG | 107 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.
Director: Phil Alden Robinson | Stars: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, Amy Madigan
Votes: 128,199 | Gross: $64.43M
2. The Straight Story (1999)
G | 112 min | Biography, Drama
An old man makes a long journey by lawnmower to mend his relationship with an ill brother.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Jane Galloway Heitz, Joseph A. Carpenter
Votes: 97,529 | Gross: $6.20M
3. What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
PG-13 | 118 min | Drama
A young man in a small Midwestern town struggles to care for his mentally-disabled younger brother and morbidly obese mother while attempting to pursue his own happiness.
Director: Lasse Hallström | Stars: Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis, Mary Steenburgen
Votes: 254,190 | Gross: $9.17M
4. The Bridges of Madison County (1995)
PG-13 | 135 min | Drama, Romance
Photographer Robert Kincaid wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson for four days in the 1960s.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Annie Corley, Victor Slezak
Votes: 88,964 | Gross: $71.52M
5. Cedar Rapids (2011)
R | 87 min | Comedy
Tim Lippe has no idea what he's in for when he's sent to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to represent his company at an annual insurance convention, where he soon finds himself under the "guidance" of three convention veterans.
Director: Miguel Arteta | Stars: Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr.
Votes: 39,599 | Gross: $6.86M
6. Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)
R | 99 min | Drama, Thriller
A young woman fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her nightmarish marriage, but discovers it is impossible to elude her controlling husband.
Director: Joseph Ruben | Stars: Julia Roberts, Patrick Bergin, Kevin Anderson, Elizabeth Lawrence
Votes: 65,196 | Gross: $101.60M
7. The Crazies (2010)
R | 101 min | Horror
After a strange and insecure plane crash, an unusual toxic virus enters a quaint farming town. A young couple are quarantined, but they fight for survival along with help from a couple of people.
Director: Breck Eisner | Stars: Radha Mitchell, Timothy Olyphant, Danielle Panabaker, Joe Anderson
Votes: 128,987 | Gross: $39.12M
8. The Music Man (1962)
G | 151 min | Comedy, Family, Musical
Traveling con artist Harold Hill targets the naïve residents of a small town in 1910s Iowa by posing as a boys' band leader to raise money before he can skip town.
Director: Morton DaCosta | Stars: Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett, Hermione Gingold
Votes: 19,177 | Gross: $14.95M
9. The Last Supper (1995)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A group of idealistic, but frustrated, liberals succumb to the temptation of murdering rightwing pundits for their political beliefs.
Director: Stacy Title | Stars: Cameron Diaz, Ron Eldard, Annabeth Gish, Ron Perlman
Votes: 15,645 | Gross: $0.44M
10. Haunting Villisca (2006)
Not Rated | 156 min | Drama, Mystery
Professor David Salt's guilty secrets draw him to the fabled Town of Villisca, past and present collide as he is driven to help the trapped spirits, and to seek his own redemption.
Director: James Serpento | Stars: Allison Adams, Natalia Bafia, Patrick Bardwell, Zachariah Barrientos
Votes: 59
11. Whiteboyz (1999)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Drama
In Flip's path towards "keeping it real" by becoming hip-hop star, harsh realities surface to shake up his world.
Director: Marc Levin | Stars: Danny Hoch, Dash Mihok, Mark Webber, Piper Perabo
Votes: 2,045 | Gross: $0.04M
12. The Final Season (2007)
PG | 119 min | Drama, Sport
Kent Stock disrupts his life to become coach of the Norway High School baseball team and try to lead them to victory.
Director: David Mickey Evans | Stars: Sean Astin, Powers Boothe, Rachael Leigh Cook, Jesse Henecke
Votes: 2,784 | Gross: $1.16M
13. IOWA (2005)
Not Rated | 104 min | Crime, Drama
A cautionary tale of love, crime, fantasy and addiction that follows two young Iowan lovers who decide to go into the "batch" business - cooking their own methamphetamine - only to watch it burn a searing hole in their lives.
Director: Matt Farnsworth | Stars: Matt Farnsworth, Diane Foster, John Savage, Rosanna Arquette
Votes: 432
14. Michael (1996)
PG | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Two tabloid reporters checking out a report of the Archangel Michael living with an old woman find that it's true. But that's not the only surprise.
Director: Nora Ephron | Stars: John Travolta, Andie MacDowell, William Hurt, Bob Hoskins
Votes: 45,093 | Gross: $95.32M
15. The Puppet Masters (1994)
R | 109 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
The Earth is invaded by stingray-shaped alien "slugs" that ride on people's backs and control their minds.
Director: Stuart Orme | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Eric Thal, Julie Warner, Keith David
Votes: 9,709 | Gross: $8.64M
16. Touchback (2011)
PG-13 | 118 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
A man looks back 15 years to the injury that ended his career as a promising high-school football player.
Director: Don Handfield | Stars: Brian Presley, Kurt Russell, Melanie Lynskey, Marc Blucas
Votes: 4,468 | Gross: $0.20M
17. The Coverup (2008)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The story centers on around the mysterious death of repeat drunk driving offender Thacker and the discovery of his body in an alley behind the Marshalltown, Iowa, police department after his latest DUI arrest.
Director: Brian Jun | Stars: Gabriel Mann, Eliza Dushku, John Savage, Mark Pellegrino
Votes: 749
18. Cold Turkey (1971)
PG-13 | 99 min | Comedy
Hoping for positive publicity, a tobacco company offers $25 million to any American town that quits smoking for 30 days. Amidst a media frenzy, Eagle Rock, Iowa accepts the challenge while the company's PR man tries to sabotage the effort.
Director: Norman Lear | Stars: Dick Van Dyke, Pippa Scott, Tom Poston, Edward Everett Horton
Votes: 2,436 | Gross: $11.99M
19. Sugar (I) (2008)
R | 114 min | Drama, Sport
Dominican baseball star Miguel "Sugar" Santos is recruited to play in the U.S. minor-leagues.
Directors: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck | Stars: Algenis Perez Soto, Jose Rijo, Walki Cuevas, Santo Silvestre
Votes: 5,153 | Gross: $1.08M
20. A Thousand Acres (1997)
R | 105 min | Drama
A family is torn apart after a father gives his valuable farm land to his daughters.
Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse | Stars: Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jason Robards
Votes: 5,817 | Gross: $7.94M
21. The Fighting Sullivans (1944)
Approved | 112 min | Biography, Drama, History
The lives of a close-knit group of brothers growing up in Iowa during the days of the Great Depression.
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Anne Baxter, Thomas Mitchell, Selena Royle, Edward Ryan
Votes: 2,361
22. Ice Castles (1978)
PG | 108 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
An inexperienced yet naturally gifted ice skater makes a spectacular debut in the skating world before encountering an event that could possibly derail her hopes and dreams.
Director: Donald Wrye | Stars: Lynn-Holly Johnson, Robby Benson, Colleen Dewhurst, Tom Skerritt
Votes: 4,051 | Gross: $20.71M
23. Butter (I) (2011)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama
In Iowa, a girl in foster care discovers her talent for butter carving and finds herself pitted against an ambitious local woman in their town's annual contest.
Director: Jim Field Smith | Stars: Jennifer Garner, Yara Shahidi, Ty Burrell, Olivia Wilde
Votes: 22,470 | Gross: $0.07M
24. Fanboys (2009)
PG-13 | 90 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
Star Wars fanatics take a cross-country trip to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch so their dying friend can see a screening of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) before its release.
Director: Kyle Newman | Stars: Dan Fogler, Jay Baruchel, Kristen Bell, Sam Huntington
Votes: 61,223 | Gross: $0.69M
25. The Trouble with Girls (1969)
G | 97 min | Comedy, History, Musical
Chautauqua manager Walter Hale and his loyal business manager struggle to keep their traveling troupe together in small-town America.
Director: Peter Tewksbury | Stars: Elvis Presley, Marlyn Mason, Nicole Jaffe, Sheree North
Votes: 1,777
26. What's the Matter with Helen? (1971)
R | 101 min | Crime, Horror, Musical
Two middle-aged women move to Hollywood, California after their sons are convicted of a notorious murder and open a dance school for children eager to tap their way to stardom.
Director: Curtis Harrington | Stars: Debbie Reynolds, Shelley Winters, Dennis Weaver, Micheál MacLiammóir
Votes: 2,302
27. Noises Off... (1992)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy
A travelling theater group find so much action going on behind-the-scenes, they almost ruin the performances.
Director: Peter Bogdanovich | Stars: Michael Caine, Carol Burnett, Denholm Elliott, Julie Hagerty
Votes: 12,254 | Gross: $2.28M
28. The Poker House (2008)
R | 93 min | Drama
A dramatization of Lori Petty's teenage years spent in small town Iowa.
Director: Lori Petty | Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Javon Johnson, Sophi Bairley, Bokeem Woodbine
Votes: 5,886
29. State Fair (1945)
Passed | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
Each member of the Frake clan has his/her own reason for attending the annual Iowa State Fair.
Director: Walter Lang | Stars: Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes, Vivian Blaine
Votes: 4,498
30. The Major and the Minor (1942)
Passed | 100 min | Comedy, Romance
A frustrated city girl disguises herself as a youngster in order to get a cheaper train ticket home. But little "Sue Sue" finds herself in a whole heap of grown-up trouble when she hides out in a compartment with a handsome Major.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Rita Johnson, Robert Benchley
Votes: 7,648 | Gross: $6.38M
31. 16 to Life (2009)
Not Rated | 89 min | Comedy, Romance
Romantic comedy. A small town teenager's angst about sexual inexperience drives a comic quest for love and understanding on a birthday to end all birthdays.
Director: Becky Smith | Stars: Hallee Hirsh, Theresa Russell, Shiloh Fernandez, Mandy Musgrave
Votes: 507
32. Miles from Home (1988)
R | 108 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Two brothers who are forced off their farm in the debt stricken mid-west become folk heroes when they begin robbing the banks that have been foreclosing on farmers.
Director: Gary Sinise | Stars: Richard Gere, Penelope Ann Miller, Brian Dennehy, Jason Campbell
Votes: 1,587 | Gross: $0.19M
33. Star Trek (2009)
PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time.
Director: J.J. Abrams | Stars: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Leonard Nimoy
Votes: 620,407 | Gross: $257.73M
Honorable Mention: One scene set in Iowa
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