Tag: lake movies

Lake Movies You Must See

Posted on Staff

Article co-written by LakeHomes.com intern Sarah Wright

Ah, remember when times were simpler? Sometimes we all wish life were a little bit more like the movies.

Step into the silver screen this summer with these lake-centric blockbuster movie hits and their real-life filming locations.

Dirty Dancing (1987)

Starring: Jennifer Gray and Patrick Swayze

On Location: Mountain Lake, VA, and Lake Lure, NC

In the summer of 1963, Baby (Jennifer Gray) and her family arrive at Kellerman’s resort for what is sure to be an uneventful vacation. But when she meets Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), the resort’s smooth-talking dance instructor, her summer takes an unexpected turn.

dirty dancing movie poster, lake movie filmed in NC and VA

From ill-fated dance lessons with Johnny to forbidden love, Baby transitions from an awkward and clumsy girl to a confident and graceful lady.

With Jennifer Gray’s empowering performance, audiences watch as Baby finds herself in the summer of ‘63 and learns that “nobody puts Baby in the corner.”

Our first lake of the silver screen, North Carolina’s Lake Lure, played host to several scenes in this ’80s classic, including the famous final dance scene and all shots of the resort’s staff cabins.

Each year, the lake hosts a  Dirty Dancing Festival to raise awareness and support for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the Chamber of Hickory Nut Gorge. The event includes a screening of the movie, a lake lift competition, and the “Kellerman’s Resort” talent show.

Mountain Lake in Virginia was also featured in the film, with it’s Mountain Lake Lodge serving as the fictitious Kellerman’s Resort. The venue is still open today and regularly hosts Dirty Dancing-themed weekends, complete with dance lessons and a movie-inspired scavenger hunt.

However, one thing visitors won’t experience at the lodge is the lake, which has since dried up.

Lake Effects (2012)

Starring: Scottie Thompson, Jane Seymour, and Madeline Zima

On Location: Smith Mountain Lake, VA

Lake Effects movie poster, filmed on movie lake Smith Mountain Lake, VA

After moving to Los Angeles in pursuit of her dream to become a big-time attorney, Sara vowed never to return to her home on Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia.

But following the death of her father, she is left with no choice but to go home and settle his estate.

Through her emotional journey and reconnection with her sister (Madeline Zima) and their mother Vivian (Jane Seymour), Sara is reminded of the love her family has for her, and that there’s really no place like home.

With idyllic scenes of Smith Mountain Lake throughout the movie, this Hallmark original will have you dreaming of days along the water’s edge.

Other flicks also filmed on this movie lake include What About Bob and Medic Zero.

Nell (1994)

Starring: Jodie Foster, Liam Neeson, and Natasha Richardson

On Location: Fontana Lake, North Carolina

When her mother dies, Nell (Jodie Foster) is left to raise herself, alone in an isolated cabin on Fontana Lake. Years later, Dr. Jerome Lovell (Liam Neeson) discovers Nell hiding in the rafters of her secret home.

Nell Movie Poster, filmed on movie lake Fontana Lake, C=Nc

He quickly discovers Nell communicates using a language known only to her and has never experienced life outside the North Carolina mountains.

Through this captivating story, Dr. Lovell and psychologist Dr. Paula Olsen (Natasha Richardson)  take Nell on a whirlwind journey from an isolated feral child, to a woman of the modern world.

The movie was filmed on location at the real Fontana Lake, located on the southern border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.

Here park visitors can enjoy hiking trails with amazing views of mountains, rivers, and waterfalls.

A Month By the Lake (1995)

Starring: Vanessa Redgrave, Edward Fox, and Uma Thurman

On Location: Lake Como, Lombardia, Italy

Her family vacation spot for 16 years, Lake Como has been the site of countless happy memories for Miss Bentley (Vanessa Redgrave), that is until her father dies.

When she returns to Lake Como to mourn and heal, it seems to Miss Bentley that the only people who speak her language are beautiful Miss Beaumont (Uma Thurman) — a recent finishing school dropout who is only there to have some fun — and handsome bachelor Major Wilshaw (Edward Fox).

A complicated love triangle soon forms between the three, crafting a clever romantic comedy best enjoyed by the lakeside.

Filmed across the pond on the real-life Lake Como, “A Month by the Lake” joins “Casino Royale,” “Ocean’s Twelve,” and “Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones” as movies made on this popular movie lake.

Grab the popping corn and snuggle in to enjoy scenes from these great movie lakes!

Top Five Movies Set on the Lake

Posted on Staff

On the lookout for some fitting lake movies to Netflix and chill with this summer?

Look no further! We’ve pulled together some fun summer flicks that will get you in the mood to spend some time on the lake, wherever you are.

What About Bob (1991)

When psychiatrist Dr. Leo Marvin (Dreyfuss) meets Bob Wiley, a good-natured, socially oblivious and anxiety-prone patient (Murray), he gets more than he bargained for. After their first therapy session, Dr. Marvin goes on vacation with his family on Lake Winnipesaukee. Things take a left turn when Wiley appears, having been unable to cope on his own. Despite Marvin’s protests, Bob’s friendly, innocent nature wins the hearts of his family and neighbors.

Marvin’s attempts to drive Bob away backfire time and again. Each time, Bob faithfully interprets them as a “radical new therapy.” At one point, Marvin goes so far as to actually strap Bob to the mast of his sailboat before going out on the lake, knowing that Bob is terrified of the water. Naturally, this cures Bob of his phobia. Before they pull back into dock, he is triumphantly shouting, “I’m sailing!”

What About Bob was set on Lake Winnipesaukee. By the time filming took place for the movie, set in the summertime, the leaves on Winnipesaukee were already changing color.

As a result, filmmakers actually shot the movie at Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia. The institution where Marvin tries to have Bob committed is the Elks National Home for Retirees in nearby Bedford, Virginia.

The Lake House (2006)

  • Starring: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Christopher Plummer
  • Set in: Madison, Wisconsin
  • Filmed in: Maple Lake Forest Preserve, Chicago, IL

The most obvious resident on any list of lake movies, The Lake House was unfortunately panned by critics. The story revolves around a doctor (Bullock) who exchanges love letters with the previous tenant (Reeves) at her Wisconsin lake house in an unusual way. We won’t spoil the storyline. Let’s just say that depending on how you look at it, the letters travel either much faster, or much slower, than the US Postal Service.

The lake house in the movie was set in Wisconsin, but filmed on Maple Lake, in the Maple Lake Forest Preserve in the southwest suburbs of Chicago.

Filmmakers built the lake house entirely for the movie set. After filming, they removed the structure and put a simple fishing dock in its place.

On Golden Pond (1981)

  • Starring: Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda
  • Set in: Golden Pond (fictional), New England
  • Filmed in: Squam Lake, New Hampshire; Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire

Lake movies often only star young people. Not so for this adaptation of the Ernest Thompson play! On Golden Pond stars a retired couple, Ethel and Norman Thayer, played by Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda. Ethel and Norman spend each summer at their cottage on the fictional Golden Pond in northern New England. When their daughter, played by Henry Fonda’s real-life daughter Jane Fonda, visits, she asks if her son Billy can stay with them while she goes on vacation. They resent each other at first, but Norman and Billy grow close over the summer through their love of fishing.

Filmmakers leased the lake house used in On Golden Pond from a New York physician, on the shores of Squam Lake in New Hampshire. They modified the house for the shoot, adding an entire second story and balcony.

The waters of Squam Lake are shallow, but extremely cold, even for summer filming. The actors had to wear wetsuits under their clothing for many of the shots, including the famous scene in which they crash their fishing boat on the rocks. Hepburn, 74 at the time, performed all her own stunts, including a dive into the lake’s frigid water.

Lake Winnipesaukee also served as the location for some additional shots.

Meatballs  (1979)

  • Starring: Bill Murray, Harvey Atkin, Kate Lynch, Chris Makepeace
  • Set in: Unspecified
  • Filmed in: Camp White Pine (and nearby locations) in Haliburton, Ontario

Meatballs is one of the quintessential summer camp and lake movies. Murray stars as the head of a new group of counselors-in-training at Camp North Star, a cut-rate summer camp. The comedy follows the counselors’ practical jokes, romances, and misadventures over the summer. The movie culminates with their annual Olympiad competition with the rival Camp Mohawk.

Meatballs was followed by several sequels, but only one of them, Meatballs III: Summer Job, has any connection with the cast of the original film.

The movie was filmed at Camp White Pine in Haliburton, Ontario. Surprisingly, the camp stayed in operation during filming. This resulted in many of the actual campers and counselors serving as extras in the film.

Big Fish (2003)

  • Starring: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange
  • Set in: Various locations across the United States
  • Filmed in: Various locations in Alabama (Wetumpka, Montgomery, and Jackson Lake)

While not properly set on a lake, Big Fish is a movie all about water. The film follows the life, adventures and many tall tales of Edward Bloom. Actors Ewan McGregor, in flashbacks, and Albert Finney, in the present day, play Bloom.

The film starts with Bloom telling the story of the day his son was born, when he caught a monstrous catfish by using his wedding ring as bait. Bloom recounts his life story in a series of fantastic tales, starting with his childhood in Ashton, Alabama. He encounters a witch as a young boy and is shown his death. He discovers the hidden town of Spectre, befriends a misunderstood giant, works at a circus, serves in the Korean War, and becomes a traveling salesman all before marrying the love of his life, Sandra.

Fun fact: You can still visit the fictional town of Spectre, located on the privately-owned Jackson Lake Island near Millbrook, Alabama. The houses and buildings from the movie set are still standing, and visitors have to pay just a $3 admission fee. Campsites are available, and the fishing is supposedly fantastic. Just like the residents in Big Fish, you won’t ever want to leave…

Already seen all of these movies? Check out our article, “Lake Movies You Must See” for more flicks to add to your must-watch list.

4 Famous Movie Lakes and Their Actual Location

Posted on Staff

When it comes to lakes in movies, most people automatically think of the horror genre.

That may be somewhat justified as there seems to be so many scary films that take place on the water, but there are also plenty of other movie lakes involving comedies, dramas, and romance.

That said, let’s start the list off with the most obvious (as related to LakeHomes.com) movie of them all:

The Lake House (2006)

the lake house from the lake house movie sandra bullock

This 2006 romance starred Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, but the real star of the movie was the lake home. The home was built specifically for the movie on Maple Lake, IL, just outside of Chicago.

It was actually constructed on the shoreline, then the ground underneath it was dug out allowing the lake to flood beneath the house for it’s over the water aesthetic.

Maple Lake is actually a forest preserve, and as such there are no homes on its shorelines. Because of this, after the filming of the movie had wrapped, the house was destroyed and the area cleaned up so that no trace of the structure remained.

Friday the 13th (1980)

friday the 13th original lake house movie 1980
Photo courtesy of Brett McBean.

The original horror movie, and one of the very first slasher flicks, was released in 1980 and takes place on the fictional Crystal Lake.

The lake scenes took place on Sand Pond, the lake retreat for the real-life Boy Scout Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco in New Jersey.

The camp is still in operation, and Sand Pond is still enjoyed by campers each summer!

What About Bob (1991)

What about bob lake house 1991

This 1991 comedy stars Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss in what is supposed to be a relaxing vacation getaway to Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.

While Lake Winnipesaukee is an actual lake in New Hampshire, the movie was actually filmed on Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia.

This was because the film was set during the summer months, but when filming began the leaves in New Hampshire had already begun to turn to their fall colors.

Grownups (2010)

Grownups 2010 movie lake house
Photo courtesy of Good Morning Gloucester.

This 2010 buddy comedy starred basically the entire cast of Saturday Night Live from the early 90’s, headed up by Adam Sandler.

In it, a group of friends reunite in their hometown and rent out a lake cottage for the week.

Filming for this comedy took place on Chebacco Lake, a 209-acre reservoir that is considered a “Great Pond,” meaning that it is owned by the state of Massachusetts but is open to the public for recreational use.

While the movie was universally panned, I’m sure the cast didn’t mind spending a summer on this gorgeous New England lake!

For more Hollywood lakes, check out our second article, “Top 5 Movies Set on the Lake.”

Or are you dreaming of creating memories in your own lake home? Check out some properties here!