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Miracle Mile

 Miracle Mile
type
TVTItem
 Miracle Mile
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Miracle Mile
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Miracle Mile is a 1988 apocalyptic thriller film written and directed by Steve De Jarnatt (Cherry 2000). The title refers to the film's setting, the Miracle Mile district of Los Angeles.The film starts out as a romantic comedy, with Harry (Anthony Edwards), a jazz musician, and Julie (Mare Winningham), a coffee shop waitress, meeting and falling in love one afternoon. The two make plans for a date later that evening after Julie finishes work, but Harry's alarm clock fails to ring due to a power failure and he oversleeps. Waking up in the middle of the night, he races to the coffee shop, only to find that Julie has already left, so he leaves her an apologetic message on a pay phone. After he hangs up, the phone rings and Harry answers it, hoping it's Julie; instead, a panicked voice tells him that missile strikes have been ordered, and all-out nuclear war will begin within the hour.The call turns out to be a wrong number, the caller is interrupted by someone else who tells Harry it was a joke and to forget everything he's heard, and Harry is left wondering whether the news is legitimate. The remainder of the film is spent more or less in Real Time as Harry looks for Julie, tries to confirm the news, and wonders what to do next.MAJOR SPOILERS follow. As the film depends heavily on twists and reveals for its impact, spoilers are unavoidable. If you want to keep your surprise, watch the film first, then come back here. And don't click any of the icons on the top of the page. You Have Been Warned.
 Miracle Mile
fetched
2023-10-21T18:46:13Z
 Miracle Mile
parsed
2023-10-21T18:46:13Z
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DBTropes
 Miracle Mile / int_177a6464
type
Genre Shift
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Genre Shift: The film dramatically shifts from a Romantic Comedy to an apocalyptic thriller. It even manages to mislead the audience, as the first scenes are shown as if it's happening in the future, with Harry having lost Julie.
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 Miracle Mile / int_1865f13a
type
Apocalypse Anarchy
 Miracle Mile / int_1865f13a
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Apocalypse Anarchy: Since Chip's message keeps on spreading without any confirmation from anyone over the course of the film, by the third act, it hits the point where an entire city reaches a state of panic and utter chaos emerges.
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 Miracle Mile / int_1b65dfad
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The Cameo
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The Cameo: Author, actor, and former career criminal Edward Bunker plays the gas station attendant.
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 Miracle Mile / int_1c77ec26
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The Voice
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The Voice: Chip, and whoever picked the phone after shooting him.
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 Miracle Mile / int_272abb98
type
Shoot the Shaggy Dog
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Shoot the Shaggy Dog: Harry and Julie spend most of the movie trying to get to safety. They don't make it; their helicopter getting affected by an EMP and crashing in the La Brea Tar Pits. Cue a white flash indicating that they've suffered a direct hit, then roll credits.
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 Miracle Mile / int_281de59f
type
Extremely Short Timespan
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Extremely Short Timespan: The whole movie takes place over the course of a day. After Harry receives the phone call, it runs in Real Time.
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 Miracle Mile / int_28f852ea
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Wholesome Crossdresser
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comment
Wholesome Crossdresser: Roger, the transvestite at the diner, is a pretty early example who displays no Camp Gay stereotypical features. Instead, she spends most of her dialogue simply trying to give an old man directions across town. When the diner patrons start panicking over Harry's story, she's the only one who stays behind, calmly disregarding the the story as a Prank Call.
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 Miracle Mile / int_396e1c2a
type
Face Death with Dignity
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comment
Face Death with Dignity: Harry and Julie take comfort in dying in the La Brea Tar Pits and joining the past extinct animals. According to the director, they will indeed become diamonds in the future.
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 Miracle Mile / int_3ec7c277
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Every Car Is a Pinto
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Every Car Is a Pinto: In the third act, when everything is going to hell, one car attempts to ram through traffic and explodes on impact. It's also the scene depicted on the film's poster, providing the mushroom cloud.
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 Miracle Mile / int_43c77dd9
type
Hellish Copter
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Hellish Copter: Played with. The pilot does return for Julie and Harry, though he is badly wounded. They manage to take off, but three missiles hit the city and detonate, the EMP blast knocking out the helicopter's engine and causing it to splash down in the La Brea Tar Pits, where it starts sinking and filling with tar. All Harry can do is comfort Julie in their final moments.
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 Miracle Mile / int_4852f325
type
I Just Want to Be Normal
 Miracle Mile / int_4852f325
comment
If his alarm clock had rung, Harry would have been out with Julie and wouldn't have gotten the phone call. Harry realizes this in the third act, and wonders why he couldn't just have found out like everybody else.
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 Miracle Mile / int_4e3d253b
type
Downer Ending
 Miracle Mile / int_4e3d253b
comment
Downer Ending: Chip's call was real. Nuclear war commences, and Harry and Julie fail to escape Los Angeles in time, taking a direct hit from a missle after sinking in the La Brea Pits.
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 Miracle Mile / int_4e7f703c
type
Wham Shot
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comment
Wham Shot: The moment when Gearstead points to the horizon, where we see a missile streaking across the sky, confirming once and for all that Chip's call was real.
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 Miracle Mile / int_50b05d30
type
Disproportionate Retribution
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Disproportionate Retribution: The redneck who tries to follow Harry and shoot him for jumping on top of his car.
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 Miracle Mile / int_5313c266
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Bookends
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Book Ends: The film begins and ends at La Brea Tar Pits.
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 Miracle Mile / int_581f6468
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Hero of Another Story
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Hero of Another Story: Since the film is loaded with dozens of characters, but focuses on Harry's adventures exclusively, it's a given. There are the diner patrons, Wilson the stereo thief and his sister, the yuppies at the skyscraper's roof, the pilot between his flights, Julie's parents...
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 Miracle Mile / int_5b8c285b
type
The Conspiracy
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The Conspiracy: For whatever reason, the military deliberately wants to keep the public uninformed about the upcoming end of the world, killing their own launch technicians in the process.
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 Miracle Mile / int_5d86966a
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Man on Fire
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comment
Man on Fire: The police officers who accidentally light themselves on fire at the gas station.
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 Miracle Mile / int_5f3bb274
type
Late-Arrival Spoiler
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comment
Late-Arrival Spoiler: The home video cover pretty much gives away that the call is real. The Bluray cover simply has a flaming palm tree.
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 Miracle Mile / int_62907b90
type
Bottle Episode
 Miracle Mile / int_62907b90
comment
Bottle Episode: The bulk of the movie — from Harry's arrival at the restaurant to the end frame — takes place almost entirely within a half-mile radius of Los Angeles' Miracle Mile district. If he didn't get in Fred's van, Harry could have easily walked from the restaurant to Julie's apartment and then from the apartment to the helipad during the movie's run time.
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 Miracle Mile / int_65e25170
type
Gym Bunny
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comment
Gym Bunny: The helicopter pilot Harry finds is a weightlifter whom he recruits straight out of the gym. He turns out to be Manly Gay.
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 Miracle Mile / int_6b05b601
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Jerkass Has a Point
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comment
Jerkass Has a Point: Fred, the diner's owner and cook, firmly refuses to do anything but drive straight to the airport with as much supplies as he can carry. At this point, wasting even a few seconds on just about anything can be lethal. Case in point, he doesn't slow down much when Harry jumps out of the truck. He also doesn't let Harry go back for Julie because he knows that anyone else would immediately ask to pick up their loved ones as well, sending them all into a Fetch Quest and losing valuable time.
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 Miracle Mile / int_79a60aec
type
For Want of a Nail
 Miracle Mile / int_79a60aec
comment
For Want Of A Nail: If his alarm clock had rung, Harry would have been out with Julie and wouldn't have gotten the phone call. Harry realizes this in the third act, and wonders why he couldn't just have found out like everybody else. If Julie had just waited for Harry at the heliport, they would've made it to the airport with time to spare. Even earlier, Harry could've simply waited for Julie's parents to take them to the airport. The streets don't get packed until the last 15 minutes.
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 Miracle Mile / int_7e02bded
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Fetch Quest
 Miracle Mile / int_7e02bded
comment
Fetch Quest: A seemingly never-ending string of them happens to Harry. It eventually gets him and Julie killed, since he wasted almost the entirety of the very little time they had without progressing even a step toward their own safety.
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 Miracle Mile / int_805deb6e
type
Small Role, Big Impact
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comment
Small Role, Big Impact: Chip the silo technician, for calling Harry on a wrong number and giving the warning, and Landa, who appears for less than ten minutes, for confirming it by calling local politicians she knows and finding out they've all left town for the Southern Hemisphere, which convinces most of the others at the diner.
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 Miracle Mile / int_839be725
type
Lady in a Power Suit
 Miracle Mile / int_839be725
comment
Lady in a Power Suit: Landa the political aide goes dining at 3:00am in a sky blue power suit.
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 Miracle Mile / int_855154d5
type
Prank Call
 Miracle Mile / int_855154d5
comment
Prank Call: Discussed. The diner patrons insist, based on Harry's lack of evidence, that Chip is just a prank caller before Landa starts corraborating parts of his story. Even Harry himself starts doubting the authenticity of the call in the third act.
 Miracle Mile / int_855154d5
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 Miracle Mile / int_863fa679
type
What Happened to the Mouse?
 Miracle Mile / int_863fa679
comment
What Happened to the Mouse?: The film is told entirely from Harry's perspective, so we never find out what happened to the other diner patrons or staff. When Wilson reappears near the end, he's clearly had an adventure just as crazy as Harry's, but he dies before he can explain what happened to him.
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 Miracle Mile / int_89fbbbdf
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Cold War
 Miracle Mile / int_89fbbbdf
comment
Cold War: It's apparently gone nuclear without any warning.
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 Miracle Mile / int_8a295a46
type
Cool Car
 Miracle Mile / int_8a295a46
comment
Cool Car: Harry starts out the film owning a very nice 1960 Buick Electra 225 sedan. Unfortunately, it's stolen soon after he tells the people in the diner about the phone call. An old flame of Julie's elderly roommate is shown driving a well-maintained 1950 Pontiac Streamliner Station Wagon. When he first runs into Harry, Wilson is shown driving an iconic Chevrolet Chevy II "Nova" convertible.
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 Miracle Mile / int_8ad43dc9
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Ragtag Bunch of Misfits
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comment
Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Justified. The diner patrons are a bunch of random strangers who all happend to be in the place early in the morning, including the staff, a bussinesswoman, a pair of streetsweepers, a transvestite, a dim-witted stewardess, and a homeless hobo. From what we see, they create a suprisingly effective team.
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 Miracle Mile / int_91e894b4
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Apocalypse How
 Miracle Mile / int_91e894b4
comment
Apocalypse How: Nuclear war has apparently already begun. All that's left to do is wait for the missiles to land.
 Miracle Mile / int_91e894b4
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 Miracle Mile / int_96709930
type
Posthumous Narration
 Miracle Mile / int_96709930
comment
Posthumous Narration: Harry narrates the opening scene of the film about him falling in love with Julie, but they both die in the end.
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 Miracle Mile / int_99ddfcec
type
Unwitting Instigator of Doom
 Miracle Mile / int_99ddfcec
comment
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Harry drops a lit cigarette without putting it out. As a result, a bird picks it up, accidentally causing a fire that knocks out the power in his apartment. As a result, he's late in picking Julie up, and arrives at the diner just in time to pick up Chip's phone call.
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 Miracle Mile / int_9d12bbc1
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Foreshadowing
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comment
Foreshadowing: Harry jokes with some schoolkids about what their skulls would look like if they're found in the tar pits in 10,000 years. In the end, he and Julie are both submerged in the tar pits, and Harry notes that they might be found inside one day.
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 Miracle Mile / int_a1b141f4
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My God, What Have I Done?
 Miracle Mile / int_a1b141f4
comment
My God, What Have I Done?: Harry, after Julie tells him all of this could just be a cruel prank, since they should be dead already. And even after she is proven wrong and sees that missiles really are closing in, Harry is still in shock due to the widespread carnage he caused.
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 Miracle Mile / int_a2b38d3b
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Eye Scream
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comment
Eye Scream: Once the missiles strike and detonate, Gearstead covers his face to avoid the blinding light. He wasn't quick enough, as his eyes proceed to melt through his fingers.
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 Miracle Mile / int_a3eea2ea
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Cop Killer
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comment
Cop Killer: Wilson accidentally kills two police officers, spraying them with gasoline to escape arrest. On reflex, one of the officers fires their gun, lighting themselves on fire. The fire spreads to their fellow officer and the gas station pumps, causing the station to explode. When Harry re-encounters Wilson, the police are hot on his tail, explicitly calling him a cop killer on their bullhorn.
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 Miracle Mile / int_a5adbbe7
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Unreliable Expositor
 Miracle Mile / int_a5adbbe7
comment
Unreliable Expositor: Chip, the anonymous caller. The entire suspense of the film is build around the inability to check if his call was real. The ending reveals that, unfortunately, it was.
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 Miracle Mile / int_a82ff02f
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Meet Cute
 Miracle Mile / int_a82ff02f
comment
Meet Cute: Harry and Julie meet at the La Brea Tar Pits, where Harry amuses her with various jokes, but the moment he tries to make his move, an old couple gets between them and she walks away. Just as he's lamenting his bad fortune, she finds him, and they go on a date.
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 Miracle Mile / int_a8593e70
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Real Time
 Miracle Mile / int_a8593e70
comment
Real Time: After the opening scene, the movie is told exclusively in real time.
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 Miracle Mile / int_ace24b2c
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Halfway Plot Switch
 Miracle Mile / int_ace24b2c
comment
Halfway Plot Switch: The first 15 minutes, until the inciting incident, is a romance between two quirky young adults. When Harry gets the phone call, the genre promptly shifts. HARD.
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 Miracle Mile / int_b58b4e3c
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Too Dumb to Live
 Miracle Mile / int_b58b4e3c
comment
Too Dumb to Live: The two cops who Wilson sprays with gasoline. Both cops know what they got sprayed with, yet one of them instinctively fires off her gun, which ignites the gas and sets her ablaze. Once she's on the ground burning, her partner runs over and tries to instruct her to get away from the pumps. However, due to being covered in gas as well, he catches on fire, falls on top of his partner, and the fire only gets stronger, burning both officers alive and causing the gas station to explode.
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 Miracle Mile / int_bda474d2
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Last Note Nightmare
 Miracle Mile / int_bda474d2
comment
Last Note Nightmare: After the credits end, an air raid siren is heard blaring at deafening volumes.
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 Miracle Mile / int_c3c18143
type
Hope Spot
 Miracle Mile / int_c3c18143
comment
Hope Spot: At one point, it seems that Chip had been lying, as the nukes fail to appear at the time he said they would. It's played straight when, only a few minutes later, a missile flies by overhead, confirming Chip was telling the truth after all. The helicopter pilot appears at the helipad, although wounded, and tries to fly Harry and Julie out of Los Angeles. Nukes are then detonated over the city, causing an EMP that makes the helicopter crash.
 Miracle Mile / int_c3c18143
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 Miracle Mile / int_c9aea8c8
type
Armies Are Evil
 Miracle Mile / int_c9aea8c8
comment
Armies Are Evil: The US Government starts World War III, without any prior indications of any ongoing conflicts or tense international situation. They also want to keep it secret from their own civilian population.
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Miracle Mile / int_c9aea8c8
 Miracle Mile / int_ca87e3ec
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No Name Given
 Miracle Mile / int_ca87e3ec
comment
No Name Given: Brian Thompson's pilot character is never named. He's called "powerlifter" in the credits.
 Miracle Mile / int_ca87e3ec
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1.0
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Miracle Mile / int_ca87e3ec
 Miracle Mile / int_cdfe12c3
type
Nothing Is Scarier
 Miracle Mile / int_cdfe12c3
comment
Nothing Is Scarier: It's never revealed why exactly nuclear war is commencing, since it's stated that there aren't any international conflicts (that the characters know of) going on. We particularly don't know who the USA is going to war with, why they feel the need to make the first strike, and why they deliberately want to keep everyone in the dark about it, essentially condemning the world's populace to certain death.
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 Miracle Mile / int_d1e7f24a
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Big "SHUT UP!"
 Miracle Mile / int_d1e7f24a
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Big "SHUT UP!": Harry screams at the diner patrons to shut up when they ignore his talk about Chip's warning.
 Miracle Mile / int_d1e7f24a
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1.0
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Miracle Mile / int_d1e7f24a
 Miracle Mile / int_d7abaf48
type
One Crazy Night
 Miracle Mile / int_d7abaf48
comment
One Crazy Night: Harry driving to the eponymous L.A. neighborhood for a date with his girlfriend leads to him getting a call with a warning about a nuclear attack and racing around town trying to find a way to make it to a helipad with his girlfriend and escape the blast range while being bogged down by cops, rioters, and other quirky individuals trying to get out of town.
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Miracle Mile / int_d7abaf48
 Miracle Mile / int_dc579c91
type
Contrived Coincidence
 Miracle Mile / int_dc579c91
comment
Contrived Coincidence: The main plot kicks off when Harry gets a wrong-number phone call from a phone booth right after he uses it to call Julie. Landa, the political aide who once dated a RAND researcher and is an expert on nuclear war procedures, is a regular late-night patron at Johnie's restaurant. When Harry and Julie arrive at the office helipad and learn the pilot hasn't arrived yet, out of the sheer desperation Harry decides to wander the neighborhood (at 4:00 AM, no less!) to see if he can find a passing stranger who can fly a helicopter. He succeeds.
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The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You
 Miracle Mile / int_e0c470a1
comment
The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: An air raid siren sound after the credits end, serving one last helping of fear to the already paranoid audience.
 Miracle Mile / int_e0c470a1
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1.0
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Creepy Gas-Station Attendant
 Miracle Mile / int_e256a235
comment
Creepy Gas-Station Attendant: An urban version appears when Harry and Wilson stop at a service station to call Julie on the payphone. The gun-totting nightwatchman pointedly calls Wilson "Boy" and makes the customers pump their own gas. When the police show up to arrest Harry and Wilson, the attendant forms an Enemy Mine situation with the latter due to fear of being arrested and sentenced to 5 years in prison if and when the police realize that he doesn't have a permit for his shotgun.
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Miracle Mile / int_e256a235
 Miracle Mile / int_e399c1dd
type
Manly Gay
 Miracle Mile / int_e399c1dd
comment
Manly Gay: The "powerlifter" helicopter pilot (played by the rugged Brian Thompson) is quite macho. When his loved one Leslie turns out to be a man, it's treated as a surprise. He defiantly asks Harry if he's going to have a problem with it before they get down to business.
 Miracle Mile / int_e399c1dd
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Miracle Mile / int_e399c1dd
 Miracle Mile / int_e8dcd1c0
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Four Lines, All Waiting
 Miracle Mile / int_e8dcd1c0
comment
Four Lines, All Waiting: For a story told in Real Time, the film is crowded to the brim with characters, each of them playing their own part with their own story going on.
 Miracle Mile / int_e8dcd1c0
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1.0
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Miracle Mile / int_e8dcd1c0
 Miracle Mile / int_e9f517e1
type
Artistic License – Geography
 Miracle Mile / int_e9f517e1
comment
Artistic License – Geography: Harry and Wilson are confronted by an angry attendant when they try to fill up Wilson's car at a taxi-only gas station. Unfortunately, no such stations exist,note especially on Los Angeles' Pico Boulevard in the '80s as it's more convenient for taxi drivers to refuel at public stations using a company line of credit.
 Miracle Mile / int_e9f517e1
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Miracle Mile / int_e9f517e1
 Miracle Mile / int_eb81c601
type
Big Damn Heroes
 Miracle Mile / int_eb81c601
comment
Big Damn Heroes: Attempted by the helicopter pilot at the end, when he keeps his promise to return for Harry and Julie, even while grievously injured. His heroism is negated when the EMP of one of the warheads knocks the helicopter out of the sky, presumably killing him on impact. Still, he gets points for trying.
 Miracle Mile / int_eb81c601
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Miracle Mile / int_eb81c601
 Miracle Mile / int_f4d00fb0
type
Deadline News
 Miracle Mile / int_f4d00fb0
comment
Deadline News: The hectic, unprepared newscast about "reports of panic caused by unconfirmed nuclear attack" that is broadcasted near the end of the film cuts to a reporter on the streets, reporting how Los Angeles has descended into complete anarchy. He's shot in the chest by a random gunman 10 seconds into his report, his cameraman being shot right after.
 Miracle Mile / int_f4d00fb0
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Miracle Mile / int_f4d00fb0
 Miracle Mile / int_ffad4e9f
type
Shown Their Work
 Miracle Mile / int_ffad4e9f
comment
Shown Their Work: A minor example, but Chip admits that he accidentally dialed a 213 area code (Los Angeles) when he was trying to contact someone in the Orange County area code of 714.
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Miracle Mile

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Miracle Mile
hasFeature
Bottle Episode / int_ad0c306c
 Miracle Mile
hasFeature
Creepy Gas-Station Attendant / int_ad0c306c
 Miracle Mile
hasFeature
Delusion Conclusion / int_ad0c306c
 Miracle Mile
hasFeature
Extremely Short Timespan / int_ad0c306c
 Miracle Mile
hasFeature
Go Mad from the Apocalypse / int_ad0c306c
 Miracle Mile
hasFeature
Gym Bunny / int_ad0c306c
 Miracle Mile
hasFeature
One Crazy Night / int_ad0c306c
 Miracle Mile
hasFeature
Real Time / int_ad0c306c
 Miracle Mile
hasFeature
Unreliable Expositor / int_ad0c306c
 Miracle Mile
hasFeature
Wholesome Crossdresser / int_ad0c306c
 Miracle Mile
hasFeature
You Are Worth Hell / int_ad0c306c