Top Ten Movies Set in New Jersey

Each of these films highlight characteristics and settings distinctive to New Jersey, whether they are adventures brought on by suburban boredom, the state’s proximity to New York City, highway and turnpike road trips, or simply a day spent at the mall. 

These movies were selected and ranked in order by my personal preference, so feel free to make your own suggestions and point out notable omissions in the comments.

1. 12 and Holding

 This little known and award-winning IFC film follows a group of adolescents as they wreak havoc in the suburbs of New Jersey. The drama quickly unfolds after a gang of bullies burns down a tree house, killing a boy in the fire, and leaving his less popular twin brother on a mission for revenge. Starring an extremely talented group of children, 12 and Holding explores complex issues like childhood obesity, a preteen girl’s sexual fantasies about a 30-something man (Jeremy Renner), gun violence, and the inefficacy of juvenile detention centers. Shot in Paramus and Haledon, 12 and Holding is an overlooked but poignant film about the darker side of Jersey’s cul-de-sacs and wooded backyards.

2. Garden State

 Perhaps the most famous Jersey film (the title certainly helps), Garden State takes place in director Zach Braff’s hometown of South Orange. The indie cult classic follows Braff’s character Andrew Largeman as he returns home for the first time since he was 16 for his mother’s funeral. The gravediggers turn out to be his old friends, and he ends up going on adventures with them and a new love interest (Natalie Portman) to various places like mansion house parties and a vast quarry in Newark. 

Back in high school, my friends and I happened to see silver trailers lining the street in Morris Plains near Fairchild’s Market, and the neighborhood kids told us Natalie Portman was filming a movie. We watched them film the scene where they are riding a motorcycle and wait for a group of children holding hands to cross the street. An acquaintance of mine was an extra riding a bike. It was filmed at the intersection of Delmar Ave and Ridgewood Road, and that scene is on the DVD front cover. The production assistants told us the movie was going to be called Large’s Arc.

3. The Station Agent

The Station Agent follows loner Fin McBride (Peter Dinklage) as he goes from working at a model train shop in Hoboken to living at an abandoned train station in Newfoundland, where he slowly begins to socialize with the eccentric local neighbors. The film was shot on a limited budget in various locations throughout New Jersey, including Dover, Hoboken, Lake Hopatcong, and Rockaway. The 2003 movie first put Mendham native and Delbarton graduate Peter Dinklage on the cinematic map, and he is now an Emmy-award winning actor for his work in HBO’s Game of Thrones.

4. Being John Malkovitch

Filled with memorable actors like John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Charlie Sheen and John Malkovitch, this cerebral film follows the mundane lives of office employees until they discover a secret portal that allows them to temporarily see into John Malkovitch’s mind. Once the characters live vicariously through Malkovitch, they are suddenly ejected onto the side of the Jersey Turnpike. Maybe the turnpike’s shoulder represents a literal dumpster for escapists, or perhaps it’s just the most absurd place writer Charlie Kaufman (also known for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) could imagine.

5. A Beautiful Mind

Based on the life of John Nash and starring Russell Crowe, A Beautiful Mind follows the mathematical genius to Princeton University. He goes from student to professor and is eventually asked to assist the government with code breaking, until he starts to have paranoid delusions that indicate he is developing schizophrenia. The movie was filmed on location in various towns throughout New York and New Jersey, including Newark, East Orange, Belleville, Jersey City, Bayonne, and on campus at Princeton and Farleigh Dickinson Universities.

6. From the View Askewniverse: Dogma, Chasing Amy, Clerks, Mallrats

I am going to cheat a little here and actually make this top ten list into top thirteen. It’s impossible not to include all of the keystone movies in the View Askewniverse, but doing so would also unfairly skew the list and leave off many important films. Writer and director Kevin Smith loves to set his ironic comedies in Monmouth County (with crucial cameos by Jay and Silent Bob), and always includes Jersey mainstays like giant malls, highways, and kitschy fast food joints. 

7. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle

Stoners Harold and Kumar embark on a completely ridiculous road trip throughout New Jersey in search of White Castle’s signature sliders. Those who have gotten lost on our state’s endless jug handles and confusing exits identify with the tireless duo as they make notable pit stops like a party at Princeton University. Kal Penn, who plays Kumar, is a Montclair native who also appeared on the medical drama House for multiple seasons (which is set at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital).

8. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

While this movie essentially takes place during one crazy night in Manhattan, most of the main characters are visiting via bridge-and-tunnels and pivotal scenes take place at Penn Station and the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Commuting Jerseyans know these locations like the back of their hands, and it's one of the more realistic movie presentations of young visitors going out in NYC. All scenes are shot on-location rather than from fake Seinfeld-esque sets in Los Angeles. Main character Nick (Michael Cera) lives in the nearby suburbs of New Jersey, and ends up falling for private school girl Norah (Kat Dennings).  

9. Annie

The 1982 film adaption of the famous Broadway musical and comic strip follows a red-haired orphan from the streets of New York City to a grand mansion during the Great Depression. The beautiful Wilson Hall (formerly known as Shadow Lawn) at Monmouth University was the set for Warbucks’ multi-million dollar estate, and the climactic railway drawbridge scene was filmed on an abandoned bridge on the Passaic River in Newark.

10. The Wedding Singer

Before Adam Sandler went downhill he starred in Wedding Singer alongside Drew Barrymore in 1998. The two meet and fall in love while they are both engaged – Barrymore’s pending marriage would give her the unfortunate name Julia Gulia – and eventually realize they are meant for one another and live happily ever after. Set in Ridgefield, the romantic comedy was actually filmed on sets around Los Angeles.

Location sources: International Movie Database