In her sophomore directorial offering, actress Amy Poehler tackles the complicated lives and relationships of high schoolers. But unlike many teen films, which fall the way of gross-out comedies or highlight mean girl behavior, “Moxie” is a fresh take on the genre. The revelatory dramedy, which hit Netflix on March 3 and quickly rose to the streamer’s number one spot, instead showcases women supporting women.
Based on the 2017 novel of the same name, the film tells the story of eleventh grader Vivian Carter (Hadley Robinson), who becomes disillusioned with the sexism and sexual harassment running rampant in her high school and, rather than keep her head down and turn a blind eye, decides to create an anonymous zine that builds women up. Titled “Moxie,” the zine sets off a revolution of female empowerment amongst her fellow students. Poehler also co-stars in the movie as Vivian’s mom, Lisa, a nurse who focused her younger years on “smashing the patriarchy and burning it all down” and serves as an inspiration for her daughter’s newfound activism.
Poehler describes the film as a “coming of rage story,” telling the “Keepin’ it Arcada” podcast that it’s about “a young woman getting in touch with her own rage.” The premise might sound a bit dark, but the movie is a feel-good story through and through.
Set in the fictional leafy suburb of Rockport, Oregon, “Moxie” was filmed largely in Los Angeles and its environs. Cast and crew traveled from Altadena to Tarzana to Highland Park, as well as to three area high schools including the oft-filmed El Segundo High, to bring the story to life.
Read on for a guide to all of the locations used in the film.
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Image Credit: Netflix The movie opens with a dream sequence as Vivian runs from an unseen assailant through a mossy forest and tries in vain to scream only to realize she has lost her voice. The beautifully haunting bit, one of the few actually lensed in the Pacific Northwest, took place at Milo McIver State Park in Clackamas County, about 25 miles outside of Portland.
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Image Credit: Netflix The one-story ranch house that serves as Vivian and Lisa’s onscreen home can be found at 2241 Santa Rosa Ave. in Altadena. Situated on the famed Christmas Tree Lane, a one-mile stretch of road lined with Deodar cedars that are lit with thousands upon thousands of twinkle lights each holiday season, the three-bedroom, two-bath dwelling features vaulted ceilings, myriad built-ins, multiple fireplaces and a large pool. Don’t go looking to stock up on free books there, though. The mini library stand in the front yard visible in “Moxie” was just a prop brought in for the shoot.
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Image Credit: Netflix The decidedly retro interior of the 1,980-square-foot dwelling was also utilized extensively throughout the film.
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Image Credit: Netflix The segment in which Vivian walks to her first day of eleventh grade is another of the Oregon-shot scenes. The bit was lensed just north of 765 SE 59th Ave. in Hillsboro.
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Image Credit: Netflix Rockport High School (Pirate pride!) is a mash-up of three different Los Angeles-area schools. Most filming took place at the handsome neo-Romanesque El Segundo High, located at 640 Main St. in El Segundo. Designed in 1927 by architects Alfred W. Rea and Charles E. Garstang, the site has long been popular with location managers who have pegged it to appear in everything from “Joan of Arcadia” to “Superbad” to the 2008 “90210” reboot. “Moxie” made use of several areas of the campus, including the front entrance, the hallways, the cafeteria and the central quad.
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Image Credit: Netflix The pool, Mr. Davis’ (Ike Barinholtz) classroom and some additional hallway scenes were lensed at Jordan High, located at 6500 Atlantic Ave. in Long Beach.
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Image Credit: Netflix And the gym, weight room and football field segments were shot at Arcadia High School, located at 180 Campus Dr. in the San Gabriel Valley. As location manager Chris Baugh told the Keepin’ it Arcadia podcast, “It’s a little further than people are used to traveling, but they really wanted a look that we couldn’t find closer into town.” The production team actually scouted 40 to 50 learning institutions searching for a “classic, All-American type of school,” before landing on the three spots, which meshed together, met their needs perfectly.
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Image Credit: Netflix Vivian and Lisa shop – and run into Lisa’s co-worker/romantic interest John (Clark Gregg) – at Fresco Community Market, located at 5914 Monterey Rd. in Montecito Heights. Established in 2011, the upscale grocer features a coffee bar, free Wi-Fi and a staple of organic, gluten-free and other specialty foods. According to The Eastsider, the store is quite popular with commercial location scouts, having appeared in more than a dozen television ads including one for GEICO that ran during the Super Bowl in 2013. The series “Speechless” has also shot on the premises.
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Image Credit: Netflix Vivian’s BFF Claudia (Lauren Tsai) spends her nights volunteering at Rockport’s local VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) center, but filming actually took place at North Hollywood’s Mayflower Club located at 11110 Victory Blvd. Initially founded in 1965 as a social club for British expatriates, per the official website “the predominantly English clientele of the early years has now evolved to include participants from many other cultural backgrounds, and those that simply enjoy good company and ‘things British.’” Membership has lagged in recent years, though, and the Mayflower Club is set to shut its doors in June 2021. The building that currently houses it, which is also where the Moxie girls host a get-together to “celebrate the end of the mediocre white dude’s chokehold on success” and where the movie’s closing dance segment was shot, is set to be sold in April.
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Image Credit: Netflix U Copy It, where, in a very “Jerry Maguire” moment, Vivian ventures out in the rain in the middle of the night to print a “shitload of copies” of her new zine, is really Quick’r Print’r Quickprint Center at 5860 N. Figueroa St. in Highland Park.
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Image Credit: Netflix Vivian and Lisa discuss activism and friendship over a pizza on the patio of Thee Elbow Room at 2418 Honolulu Ave. in Montrose. Opened in 2014 by Cristal Arguelles, the gastropub serves craft beer and craft food and is known for its corned beef, which, between marinating, brining and cooking, takes an incredible 23 days to prepare!
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Image Credit: Netflix When Rockport High student Bradley Chambers’ (Charlie Hall) parents head out of town for a trip to Mongolia, he does what any teen would by hosting a Hawaiian-themed rager at his digs. The massive Hamptons-style manse where the party scenes took place is unique, to say the least. Known as the Charles Street Estate in real life, the gated property sits on a whopping 2.75 acres at 19115 Charles St. in Tarzana. As a past real estate listing details, “No expense was spared in the creation” of the 9,717-square-foot dwelling. Even the fireplaces are noteworthy – they were imported from France and the Isle of Cypress.
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Image Credit: Netflix Vivian and her new friend Lucy (Alycia Pascual-Peña) head to Faye’s Intimate Apparel in Montrose to shop for tank tops to wear to school in rebellion against the Rockport High dress code. Located at 2295 Honolulu Ave., just a block away from Thee Elbow Room, the beloved boutique sells lingerie and sleepwear in real life, but was made to look like a women’s clothing store in “Moxie.” The shop is no stranger to the screen. Alma Reville (Helen Mirren) also perused the racks in the 2012 biopic “Hitchcock” – and Mirren herself even shopped there post-filming! Montrose’s film liaison Steve Pierce told the Los Angeles Times, “She ended up going inside after the shooting was done and spent a lot of money in Faye’s to show her appreciation for being there.”
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Image Credit: Netflix The traditional home where Claudia lives with her “pretty intense” mom, Lui (Eon Song), can be found right around the corner from Lisa and Vivian’s residence at 595 E. Calaveras St. in Altadena. The charming three-bedroom, three-bath property boasts 2,106 square feet and sits on a spacious 0.27-acre corner parcel.
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Image Credit: Netflix Seth (Nico Hiraga) and Vivian’s rather unusual first date, in which the two visit the Rockport Funeral Home after hours and listen to music while laying in a display coffin, took place at Mountain View Cemetery. Located at 2400 Fair Oaks Ave. in Altadena, the site is just a couple of blocks away from both Claudia and Vivan’s houses. It is actually one of Los Angeles’ most oft-shot locales, with an incredible 150 days of filming occurring there each year! Just a few of its most famous cameos include the season eight episode of “Seinfeld” titled “The Foundation,” in which it portrays the final resting place of Susan Ross (Heidi Swedberg), who passed away after ingesting toxic glue while licking her wedding invitations. Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) also pay their respects to a fallen chair model there in a season four episode of “The Office.” And Blue’s (Patrick Cranshaw) funeral in “Old School” takes place at the cemetery, as well. “Moxie” made use of the site’s administration building and chapel in what turned out to be a surprisingly romantic scene marking the start of Vivian and Seth’s relationship.
Disclaimer: Please remember that some of these locations are private homes. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the propertie in any way.