YMMV / Grand Canyon

• Award Snub: When the Oscar nominations were announced, however, the film received only one nomination: Best Original Screenplay. It also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture.
• Harsher in Hindsight: Grand Canyon was filmed during the spring and summer of 1991, and was released at the very end of the year. The Rodney King beating occurred only 8 days before the start of filming, and the 1992 Los Angeles riots in the wake of the Rodney King verdict occurred less than 4 months after the film's release. Some commentaries about the movie have argued that, in retrospect, the Los Angeles of 1991 was a city on the verge of a major societal and cultural upheaval, and that the tensions leading up to this upheaval can be seen in movies of the time. With regards to Grand Canyon specifically:
  • Otis having the police draw their guns on him while running, followed by his furious reaction when he gets home, helps demonstrate the serious tensions between the LAPD and the city's black population.
  • Just like people who have seen and discussed the movie, different characters in the movie have different opinions over exactly how much danger Mack was really in from the gang. On the one hand, Simon thinks that the gang probably would have robbed him, but would not have actually killed him. On the other hand, Mack and his family think he was lucky to get out alive, particularly after the gang leader showed Mack the pistol he was carrying in his waistband. In the wake of the '92 riots, some viewers have wondered whether Mack was facing a fate similar to Reginald Denny's.
  • The Lakers game in the opening sequence is a snapshot of the end of an era in the NBA.
    • In the opening sequence, we see a Lakers game in which the Lakers, led by Magic Johnson, easily defeat the Orlando Magic. This game occurred late in the 1990-91 NBA season, in which the Lakers would advance to the NBA finals and ultimately lose to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. This loss marks the end of the 1980s Lakers dynasty and the start of the 1990s Bulls dynasty.
    • After the film finished shooting, but before it was released, Magic Johnson tested positive for HIV, went public about it, and officially retired from the NBA.
• He Really Can Act: Steve Martin put his acting chops on display in one. Granted he does provide most of the comic relief of film but still it showed that he can play a straight character.
• Narm: Claire's speech about miracles in everyday life might have gone down a lot better if she hadn't been saddled with the line "I'll tell you why I reject your headache."
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • Jeremy Sisto's first movie credit, as Mack and Claire's teenage son Roberto. Grand Canyon was four years before his role as Elton in Clueless, and ten years before his breakout role as Billy Chenowith in Six Feet Under. He has since starred as Det. Cyrus Lupo in the later seasons of Law & Order, and as main character George Altman in Suburgatory.
  • Marley Shelton's first movie credit, as Roberto's new girlfriend Amanda. Shelton would later turn up as Wendy Peffercorn in 1993's The Sandlot and as Margaret Henderson in 1998's Pleasantville. In the 2000's, she would play Dr. Dakota Block in the Quentin Tarantino Grindhouse flicks Planet Terror and Death Proof. She would also land starring roles in the TV series Eleventh Hour and The Lottery.
  • Mary-Louise Parker in an early role as Mack's secretary Dee. Grand Canyon was released about the same time as the film Fried Green Tomatoes, which featured her in a larger role and went on to become a larger box office success. In the 2000's, Parker would go on to play Amy Gardner in The West Wing and to land the lead role of Nancy Botwin in Weeds.
  • Mary McDonnell was still fairly new to viewers when Grand Canyon was released. The average moviegoer would have recognized her as Stands With A Fist from Dances with Wolves the previous year, but not for much else.
• Unintentional Period Piece: It's not hard to tell the movie was filmed in the early 1990s, but a few things stand out:
  • The Lakers game at the beginning features Magic Johnson, who retired from the NBA after testing positive for HIV following the 1990-91 season.
  • Mack doesn't have a cell phone, but he does have a car phone in his Lexus LS 400. One of the gang members who approaches him says, "This is a nice car, mister! This one of them new Jap cars?" Lexus was introduced in the United States in 1989, and had been available for purchase for less than 2 years when the movie was filmed, so it would indeed be "one of them new Jap cars" at the time.——