Steve Martin plays a wacky TV weatherman, who develops a close friendship with an electronic freeway sign in the sleeper hit comedy L.A. Story. I found the critically acclaimed film to lack hilarity, but it does get marks for inventiveness. Martin is enjoyable in most anything he's in, even if the material is not-so-great. L.A. Story is one such example of an actor rising above said material. Most of the over-the-top silliness misses the mark, and Marilu Henner has little more to do than play the cliche...of snobbish socialite. The true love of the Martin character's life - played by Victoria Tennant - is so bland vanilla I would have much rather seen him end up with his free-spirited squeeze toy (Sarah Jessica Parker), though any such relationship would be doomed to fail. At least there would be some excitement.

With that said, I did enjoy the basic hook: Martin's interaction with the fun-loving freeway sign. The sign is just a series of bulbs lit to form questions, comments, and riddles, but there is a quirkiness to it that shows more character than any other supporting player in the film, save for Parker. Director Mick Jackson manages to make the most of this bizarre relationship, but he works from a script that lacks too many interesting additional characters to be a great film. Also, the happy ending feels tacked-on and abrupt, and if you're of my opinion, lacks the happiness part so desperately needed. Sure, things work out. It's a comedy. But at the end of the day, Martin's victory doesn't seem worth winning.