While there have been a few movies filmed in Buffalo, the city itself seems overlooked in storytelling. Compared to major cities like New York or Los Angeles, Buffalo isn’t the setting of many films or television shows, or so it seems.
It should therefore come as a surprise to learn that because of Buffalo's rich and diverse history, there is a considerable number of films, songs, and other forms of entertainment that have paid reverence to this storied city.
Below are seven instances of popular media in which Buffalo is the key setting:
“Away from Home,” and “Can’t Have Everything,” Drake
The songs are essentially bonus entries on this list, as they aren’t centered around Buffalo, but the city is mentioned in both songs. In “Can’t Have Everything,” Drake writes, “used to think vacation meant Niagara Falls/Swear to God, shout to Buffalo, never duckin' low.” In “Away from Home,” he raps, “I was on a Greyhound way before the jet/At the Walden Galleria tryna make the money stretch.”
These shout-outs shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that Drake is a Canadian artist. The mentions are a reminder that, especially when it comes to shopping trips, Western New York can be a popular destination for Canadians. Love him or hate him, these Buffalo references only make sense.
“The Office”
In NBC’s “The Office” episodes “Niagara” part one and two, following the plot-line of two main characters, Jim and Pam, having their highly anticipated wedding in Niagara Falls getting away from their home-life in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Soon after the release of the two-part episode special, Niagara Falls became a buzzing vacation spot as they filmed on Maid of the Mist where Jim and Pam officially got married. The Sportsmen's Lodge and the Red Coach Inn, which the show had filmed several scenes in, became big hotel spots for vacationers to lodge in.
“Bruce Almighty” (Shadyac, 2003)
Perhaps the most well-known work on this list, the film features Canadian actor Jim Carrey as a news reporter in Buffalo. This comedy film centers around a reporter, Bruce, who is temporarily granted God-given powers, and works for WKBW-TV, a real Buffalo station.
While the film was mainly shot in Los Angeles, some establishing shots were filmed in Buffalo, and like “The Full Monty,” there are references to Buffalo throughout. The film opens at a Polish bakery, a later scene features a “Mark Twain” festival, and in one of the best scenes, Bruce delivers a disastrous news piece from a Niagara Falls Maid of the Mist boat.
The film was hardly created in Queen City, yet Jim Carrey made his love for Buffalo clear in an interview. He said that a trip to Buffalo used to be his “vacation every year” and mentioned the Sabres, local theme park Fantasy Island, and made a reference to the late, local broadcaster Irv Weinstein.
“Shuffle Off to Buffalo”
In the musical film “42nd Street,” this song is performed by characters on a “train.” Married couples and chorus girls gleefully sing about traveling “to Niagara on a sleeper” train where they’ll “shuffle off to Buffalo.”
In the 19th century, several famous individuals, such as Theodosia Burr, then U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr’s daughter, traveled to Niagara Falls for honeymoon vacations, and others decided to follow suit.
The song serves as an acknowledgment of Buffalo’s longstanding history as a vacation destination and by the early 1900s, the American side of Niagara Falls was viewed as the “honeymoon capital of the world.”
“Buffalo ’66” (Gallo, 1998)
This independent film and black comedy follows a recently released convict who kidnaps a local girl, while the title references the year 1966, when the protagonist’s life and the Bills’ losing streak began. “Buffalo ‘66” takes place and was filmed in the titular city and was directed, written, and stars Buffalo native Vincent Gallo alongside Christina Ricci.
This film likely isn’t for everyone; the protagonist is violent, self-pitying, and bigoted, and the cinematography is somewhat experimental. As noted by one Spectrum review of the film, “Buffalo ’66” doesn’t depict Buffalo very positively, except perhaps in one appreciative end statement about the city during the end credits.
Within the trend of independent films of the 90s, this film effectively utilizes Buffalo’s setting to create a gritty, realistic film; films like these are now being imitated by the A24 craze.
“Stone Butch Blues” by Leslie Feinberg
Within the genre of queer literature, “Stone Butch Blues” is highly regarded and featured on multiple lists of must-read LGBTQ fiction. The novel is semi-autobiographical and follows a “butch” woman, named Jess, who comes of age in Buffalo, NY in the 1960s. While it is an important part of queer history, this novel is also considered a “heavy read,” due to the endless violence and oppression that the protagonist faces.
A recent project by a local historian traces the queer history of Buffalo, and in particular, the locations referenced by Feinberg in “Stone Butch Blues.” While queer culture is often discussed in cities like New York or San Francisco, there is less acknowledgement of queer history in smaller cities like Buffalo.
This novel combines nods to familiar places and cuisine, like Chippewa Street and Loganberry, with invaluable knowledge about 20th century queer experiences.
“The Full Monty” musical
“The Full Monty” is both a cult-classic comedy film and stage musical following a group of men unemployed due to a steel industry collapse. Desperate for money, the group decides to become exotic dancers as the Chippendales, with the promise that their routine will include full nudity, also known as “the full monty.”
In the year 2000, the hit British film was adapted into a Tony-nominated Broadway musical. The musical takes the same plot and characters and transfers the setting from Sheffield to Buffalo; a logical choice given that both cities have a history as a former steel-producing site.
While the musical is most known for its Manhattan production, the show is rife with homage to the city of Buffalo throughout the story: Niagara Falls and the Buffalo Bills, multiple main characters with long, Polish last names, a reference to the large Polish population in Buffalo.
In the past, the show has been staged in Buffalo by theaters like Shea’s. Productions of the show still occur worldwide, and videos of these and the original Broadway production can be found on sites like YouTube and the Internet Archive.
The arts desk can be reached at arts@ubspectrum.com
