OT: Boston Accents in movies

[LSCII]

Was looking to see if anyone posted this. Didn't have to go far.

They should have cut Kevin Bacon's character out of the movie entirely. That's how nail scratchingly fake and awful that accent was.

Yep. And I was really excited to see that movie since I loved the book. Boy was I wrong...

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Yep. And I was really excited to see that movie since I loved the book. Boy was I wrong...

Accents be damned, I loved the movie.

 

[LSCII]

Accents be damned, I loved the movie.

That's good you enjoyed it. The disparity of attempted accents made it unwatchable to me. The book was tremendous though and if you liked the movie and haven't read it yet, I would highly recommend it.

 

[Fenway]

Yep. Just terrible. The irony about Mystic River is that the person who did the best with the accent was Laurence Fishburn.

Somehow I can't see state troopers hanging out at the Can Tab

https://youtu.be/lOvMBEtCCag?t=937

 

[BNHL]

Somehow I can't see state troopers hanging out at the Can Tab

https://youtu.be/lOvMBEtCCag?t=937

I loved the Cantab,Little Joe Cook and the Thrillers. Truly the first place that me and my boys went where blacks and whites were intermingling. It was like a different world.

 

[ashnathan]

Amy Adams?

Her IMDB page says she was born in Italy (military dad)...grew up Mormon in Colorado...

Not a terrible job with the accent, IMO.


http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0010736/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Yeah thats her. Ill probably get bashed for this but does anyone find similarities between the strong New York accent and the Boston?

 

[Kate08]

Yeah thats her. Ill probably get bashed for this but does anyone find similarities between the strong New York accent and the Boston?

No. And not even because Bostkn vs New York and blah blah blah. They are very different.

But to an Australian, I guess I can see the connection.

 

[jgatie]

Yeah thats her. Ill probably get bashed for this but does anyone find similarities between the strong New York accent and the Boston?

About as alike as Australian and New Zealand.

 

[ashnathan]

About as alike as Australian and New Zealand.

I challenge you to a duel! haha I'll die before I let that nonsense stand

 

[hoss75]

Yeah thats her. Ill probably get bashed for this but does anyone find similarities between the strong New York accent and the Boston?

They are. If you can master one you can do the other.

 

[SPV]

Mystic River and Costner in Thirteen Days are the two that stand out the most to me as terrible. I watched Mystic River with my wife, so I endured through it; but still have never finished Thirteen Days because I find it so annoying.

 

[jgatie]

I challenge you to a duel! haha I'll die before I let that nonsense stand

Actually, it all depends on which "accent" (or affectation) you are talking about. New York has about 7 (Brooklyn, Queens, Lower East Side, Long Island, Jersey, Upper East Side/"Mid-Atlantic Elite", etc.).

Concentrating on the "Mid-Atlantic Elite" affectation, it most definitely has origins in the Boston Brahmin accent. Basically, the "dropping 'r' accent (non-rhotic) was an affectation learned in the speech courses of elite of New England preparatory schools. It was purposefully taught to students to make them sound erudite and superior. Think the clenched jawed snootiness of Franklin Roosevelt (educated at Groton) or the parody of the accent by Jim Backus doing Thurston Howell III. This is also how the Kennedys went from sons of a bootlegger to sounding like a poor imitation of an old money, descended from the Mayflower/Arbella WASP from Beacon Hill. So while the descendent accents are very different (and influenced by many different other factors) the original affectation was the same (sort of like a British accent is the base for Australian/New Zealand ).

 

[Ratty]

Worst Boston accent I heard in a movie was Jeff Bridges in "Blown Away" (1994). Filmed in the North End and other Boston neighborhoods, the phony accent from Bridges was too much of a distraction. Maybe the film appealed to non Bostonians.

I liked "Good Will Hunting" with Matt Damon. But do did many others that it scored so high in the Oscars.

As for the "Meffa" vs "Medfid" phenomena, I find Bostonians of Italian descent use the former term, whereas Irish Bostonians use the latter.

Also, it seems that native Bostonians who migrated to the South Shore kept the accent, whereas those who moved North didn't.

 

[jgatie]

Also, it seems that native Bostonians who migrated to the South Shore kept the accent, whereas those who moved North didn't.

I find this too. Though others disagree (someone said the South Shore is more RI than Boston), in my experience the South Shore is much more akin to the accents of Dorchester and Southie than Revere north is to the rest of Boston. My dad was raised in Roxbury, and though my accent is not what it was due to living all over the East coast, my speech is still much more influenced by him than anything coming from Rhode Island (or even my CT born mom). OMMV.

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

It's not a movie, but Julianne Moore in 30 Rock is the GOAT when it comes to bad Boston accents

this right here. It totally ruined her for me as an actress. She sounds almost deaf on that show.

 

[BNHL]

Worst Boston accent I heard in a movie was Jeff Bridges in "Blown Away" (1994). Filmed in the North End and other Boston neighborhoods, the phony accent from Bridges was too much of a distraction. Maybe the film appealed to non Bostonians.

I liked "Good Will Hunting" with Matt Damon. But do did many others that it scored so high in the Oscars.

As for the "Meffa" vs "Medfid" phenomena, I find Bostonians of Italian descent use the former term, whereas Irish Bostonians use the latter.

Also, it seems that native Bostonians who migrated to the South Shore kept the accent, whereas those who moved North didn't.

Don't know if that's true are not. I think the accent may soften once you move out of a Boston neighborhood no matter where you go. My neighborhood in Pembroke has several people from Southie, Dorchester,Hyde Park,JP etc and the accents don't seem as severe as when I go back to JP to one of the bars and hear my pals talk.

 

[Fenway]

Worst Boston accent I heard in a movie was Jeff Bridges in "Blown Away" (1994). Filmed in the North End and other Boston neighborhoods, the phony accent from Bridges was too much of a distraction. Maybe the film appealed to non Bostonians.

I liked "Good Will Hunting" with Matt Damon. But do did many others that it scored so high in the Oscars.

As for the "Meffa" vs "Medfid" phenomena, I find Bostonians of Italian descent use the former term, whereas Irish Bostonians use the latter.

Also, it seems that native Bostonians who migrated to the South Shore kept the accent, whereas those who moved North didn't.

The South Shore is influenced by by the Southie, Dorchester, Quincy accent which many consider the real Boston accent. Charlestown, Medford, Malden and Revere have their own distinct version.

What is universal is Bostonians tend to talk faster than others.

 

[Bmf316nhl]

South Shore sounds closer to RI than Boston accent-wise. And RI accents are the worst. It's like they took the bad parts of a Boston accent and smashed it together with the bad parts of a NY accent. Just insufferable.

I think you're confusing the South Shore with the South Coast. I'm from the South Shore, but moved to RI, and I sound nothing like these people. However, I have noticed people from the South Coast (Fall River, Somerset, Swansea area) do have a heavy RI-Like accent.

 

[LSCII]

I think you're confusing the South Shore with the South Coast. I'm from the South Shore, but moved to RI, and I sound nothing like these people. However, I have noticed people from the South Coast (Fall River, Somerset, Swansea area) do have a heavy RI-Like accent.

That is correct. I crossed those locations up when I was posting it originally. The Swansea accent is what I was talking about being similar to RI.