Aahana Swrup
‘Mr. Deeds,’ the 2002 comedy film starring Adam Sandler and Winona Ryder, charts the outlandish tale of its titular character, a salt-of-the-earth guy who turns into a billionaire overnight. Longfellow Deeds, a simple man who owns a pizzeria in a small town with dreams of making it as a greetings card writer, inherits his estranged uncle Preston Blake’s sizeable wealth after his unfortunate death. As a result, Chuck Cedar, an opportunist businessman from Blake’s media company, brings the young man to New York in an attempt to swipe the company shares from under him.
Meanwhile, Deeds remains oblivious to the plots unfolding around him and instead falls in love with a young school nurse, Pam Dawson—who is actually Babe Bennett, an undercover reporter! Much of the film seems to bank on the innate difference between the vulturish New Yorkians and the lone small-town guy with small-town sensibilities. However, does Deeds’ hometown have a basis in reality?
New Milford, Connecticut: The Town Behind Mandrake Falls
Steven Brill’s ‘Mr. Deeds’ is actually a remake of the 1936 film ‘Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,’ which follows a very similar storyline to its modern adaptation. Therefore, the concept of Mandrake Falls, Longfellow Deeds’ native small town, originates in the Frank Capra film. In its 2002 cinematic reiteration, the town undergoes a slight change under Brill’s direction, which moves Mandrake Falls from its original geographical positioning in Vermont to New Hampshire. Other than that, the town depicted in the film remains faintly reminiscent of its original version from the 1936 film. However, outside of these two cinematic appearances, Mandrake Falls has no basis in actual real life and remains a fictitious town.
Even so, one can trace the visual portrayal of Mandrake Falls in ‘Mr. Deeds’ to the actual small town of New Milford in Connecticut, where some of the film’s shooting took place. During filming, New Milford became the backdrop that was translated into Deeds’ hometown on the screen. As such, much of the Mandrake Falls’ physicality remains a near-identical copy of the real-life Connecticut town. According to reports, the filming crew installed some significant changes to the make-up of the town to turn it into the ideal version of the happy-go-lucky locality fans see on screen.
New Milford’s Bank Street, in particular, saw somewhat of a makeover as the filming crew renamed pre-existing stores into fictional businesses for the camera. For instance, the local bistro turned into Deeds’ Pizza, while the pharmacy became a feed-and-grain store. Likewise, a few other additions were added to enhance the town’s aesthetic, such as tree planters and a Civil War memorial monument. Thus, the real small town of New Milford turned into the perfect backdrop for the fictional Mandrake Falls.
Consequently, the town featured in ‘Mr. Deeds’ mines from a real-life town to ensure a level of authenticity despite its fictional genesis. Still, as a result of genre conventions, the actual portrayal of the town’s community remains steeped in humorously exaggerated stereotypes, such as the town’s perpetual propensity to positivity. Ultimately, Mandrake Falls sports a realistic visual appearance but remains tied to its fictitious roots.
Read More: Best Movies Like Mr. Deeds You Must See
