27. Nebraska - Children of the Corn

Corn is most definitely a defining feature of Nebraska, a state so flat that you could easily roll a bowling ball from one end to the other, as long as said ball had a few STS boosters attached to it. It's not a large stretch of the imagination that Nebraska's flatness and corniness was one day going to rise up and bite us in the butt, and so it has.

Honorable Mentions: Boys Don't Cry, Election

28. Nevada - Ocean's Eleven

It's a movie rule that any film set in Vegas must contain, at one point, a quick montage of bright lights, slot machines, the "Welcome to Vegas" sign, people laughing and dining at $7.95 all-you-can-eat shrimp buffet bars, and Wayne Newton. They don't always go for the newly broke man crying in the gutter and the prostitutes propositioning 10-year-old boys on the street corner, but I just assume they ran out of time during the montage. Anyway, Ocean's 11 is a kind of two-hour montage to the best and (definitely) brightest that town has to offer.

Honorable Mentions: Casino, Godfather Part II

29. New Hampshire - What About Bob?

I always like how New Hampshire and Vermont look like two cute little puzzle pieces, snapping perfectly together. But I digress! What About Bob? showcases this glorious "live free or die on a sailboat" state as a great vacation destination. I recommend the nighttime hikes through the woods with a bomb-toting maniac.

Honorable Mentions: The Hotel New Hampshire, Live Free or Die

30. New Jersey - Clerks

What we've always liked about Clerks is that, for all its crudity and lack of polish, it felt more "real" than most films. New Jersey might be called the "Garden State", but "Concrete Jungle" might be more apt, considering what we've seen of it. Clerks gives us hockey, people burning out their lungs, and funeral riots. That's just a few of the 37 reasons we picked this film.

Honorable Mention: Garden State, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle

31. New Mexico - Truth or Consequences, N.M.

I'll be honest -- I'm only choosing this movie because it has the name of the state in the title, plus Kyle will kneecap me if I skip over a movie with Jack Bauer in it. I think they should just get married and get it done with.

Honorable Mentions: Employee of the Month, The Tao of Steve

32. New York - Ghostbusters

Like L.A., the number of movies featuring NYC are just staggering. For some reason, a bulk of them revolve around the destruction of the city, even post 9/11. It wasn't a hard choice for me, however: Ghostbusters has always seemed like a love letter to the Big Apple, giving us that distinct New Yorker attitude, the blue collar workers with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths, and deceased corpses driving cabs. Plus, "No one steps on a church in my town!"

Honorable Mentions: Die Hard 3, When Harry Met Sally, Cloverfield, The Muppets Take Manhattan

33. North Carolina - Cape Fear

All I know is that if you're being pursued by a rapist/killer, taking your family to a vacation spot with the name "Fear" in it only plays into the maniac's hand. But I guess there are always daredevils out there who seek a cheap thrill, and the chance to meet Robert DeNiro only sweetens the deal.

Honorable Mention: Bull Durham

34. North Dakota - Leprechaun

Without Fargo as a usable movie for ND (see Minnesota), I felt pretty stuck, as probably do most of the inhabitants of this frigid plains state. Happily, a grinning malevolent leprechaun came to my aid along with Jennifer Aniston pre-Friends, and the resulting tourism dip for the state resulted in Bob's Apricot Shack going out of business.

Honorable Mentions: Jesus Camp, Ulee's Gold

35. Ohio - Major League

Ohio kept me guessing for a while, something I didn't expect for so large of a state. Once "Major League" popped into my noggin, I slapped myself silly and went on with my life. How could I not include the film that deliberately tried to tank the Cleveland franchise with a nearly blind Charlie Sheen and Wesley Snipes? Wild Thing, I think I love you, but I want to know for sure!

Honorable Mentions: The Faculty, Lolita (Kubrick)

36. Oklahoma - Oklahoma!

There's a bright, golden haze on the meadow
There's a bright, golden haze on the meadow
The corn is as high as an elephant's eye
And it looks like it's climbing clear up to the sky

Oh, what a beautiful Mornin'
Oh, what a beautiful day
I've got a beautiful feelin'
Everything's goin' my way.

Honorable Mention: Near Dark

37. Oregon - The Goonies

Let's clear this up first: Goonies 'r good enough for me. And as a respresentative of the state, county and city of Oregon, they do just a fine job giving us a rollicking adventure through the Pacific Northwest. I just want to know why any pirate would sail all the way up there to park their ship and not spend the gold!

Honorable Mentions: Kindergarten Cop, Stand By Me

38. Pennsylvania - Rocky

Rocky helped to put this coal mining, Amish harboring state on the movie map with a gripping tale of a guy too stubborn to realise that a concrete staircase does not care if you conquer it or not. Happily, he translated those skills into boxing, where stair climbing too often comes into play, and Rocky's pluck gave the city of Philly something to cheer for. You know, that and the cradle of America's liberty.

Honorable Mentions: Witness, Unbreakable, 1776

39. Rhode Island - Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story

Love it or hate it, Family Guy has done of Rhode Island what Godzilla did for Tokyo: destroyed it, but in a loving, referential way. Their first movie outing has all of the Rhode flavor you could ask for, and besides, none of the other RI films I found were any good anyway. The state's about as big as my backyard, people!

Honorable Mentions: Me, Myself and Irene, Outside Providence

40. South Carolina - The Patriot

We celebrate South Carolina back in the day, you know, when they were all patriots, nobody owned slaves, and Mel Gibson went around impaling people on the Stars and Stripes. Today, people living in "The S.C." try to carry on this tradition by forming roving bands of well-armed patriots who sweep the towns looking for Tories.

Honorable Mentions: The Great Santini, Lords of Discipline

41. South Dakota - Dances With Wolves

This might be cheating a bit, seeing as how Dances With Wolves takes place in an area that would later on become South Dakota, but I'm okay with cheating and so should you be. Give me a home where the buffalo roam, and where Kevin Costner does the Hustle with local wildlife any day of the week!

Honorable Mentions: North by Northwest

42. Tennessee - The Firm

When you think of the Mob, Memphis TN doesn't really come to mind, unless you're thinking of a Country Western mob that's more interested in getting you to join their line dance than extort funds. Tom Cruise happily corrects that misconception, and spends the bulk of this film on the run from the Quaker Oats guy and various lethal accountants.

Honorable Mentions: Evil Dead 1 and 2

43. Texas - Varsity Blues

Texas is football, and football is Texas, and I'm pretty sure I'm not invited. If cruising around in a pickup truck and sporting a belt buckle bigger than your spleen tells you "class", then Varsity Blues is just loaded with class. Years from now, when Texas is but a desert island nation, schoolchildren will be taught about this great empire at the hands of Mr. Jon Voight.

Honorable Mentions: Dazed and Confused, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Alamo

44. Utah - SLC Punk

Being a punk is hard enough -- the cost of hair dye and gel alone will bankrupt you -- but to do so in one of America's most conservative towns is to set yourself up for the challenge of a lifetime. Random thought: I wonder if the Mormons actually tried tasting the lake water before planting down their homes, or if they realized their boo-boo a few years after the temple was built?

Honorable Mentions: Broken Arrow, Orgazmo, Pirates of the Great Salt Lake

45. Vermont - Dead Poets Society

In college, we ALL wanted to be a member of the Dead Poets Society. I still have a book of poetry around here somewhere with all the signatures of our dorm's chapter. But, like the ending of the movie, this 'twern't to be. Enjoy Vermont while you can, for she is a harsh mistress of literature.

Honorable Mention: Super Troopers

46. Virginia - Remember the Titans

While Virginia's role in colonizing the New World is important, I'm not a huge fan of any of those movies. For all its schmaltzy factor and football-as-metaphor message, I really enjoyed how it examined the long-standing racial tensions of a state centered around such issues.

Honorable Mentions: The New World, Donnie Darko, Pocahontas

47. Washington - Without a Paddle

While it's not as recognized as these other Washington state films, I feel like Without a Paddle does an excellent job touring us around this extremely green land on a hunt for one of the states biggest legends: D.B. Cooper. It's like Deliverance, just with more bear attacks and squirrel bacon.

Honorable Mentions: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Sleepless in Seattle, Say Anything

48. West Virginia - October Sky

Unlike other states on this list, there was really only one choice for this state, and to Lissa's glee, we're going to gladly give it up for October Sky. In the narrow boundary between coal mining and rocket science, there's a peaceful glen where we can all join hands and sing in harmony.

49. Wisconsin - The Great Outdoors

To get help on this one, I called up Sue, long-time resident of Wisconsin. "Hey Sue," I said, "I'm writing an article on movies set in different states. What Wisconsin flicks are there?" "Erm," she said. "Uh. Hm. Guh." In the end, she made up an excuse about a rampaging hair dryer and dropped the phone, leaving me to hear her sobbing in the corner for having failed this simple question. So Sue? The Great Outdoors. There you go.

Honorable Mentions: American Movie, Dawn of the Dead (2004)

50. Wyoming - Unforgiven

In the Wild, Wild West, the crispy collection of wrinkles known as Clint Eastwood made his last stand as a cowboy with a dirty past. It's Big Sky Country here, and only manly men so tough, so rugged, so full of vim and vigor could tame this landcape and make way for a Home Depot.

Honorable Mentions: Brokeback Mountain, Red Rock West

Bonus! Washington D.C. - Mr. Smith Goes To Washington

I couldn't end this article without mentioning the 51st state (no, not Canada or that Super Wal-Mart down the street), and Jimmy Stewart's excellent role of a naive Senator who finds that the nation's capital is selling out to the highest bidder, and yet still has the hope and desire for the highest ideals that this country was founded on. Fight the good fight, Jimmy!