Florida is known for its gorgeous beaches, amazing seafood, and hot climate. It also has a vibrant adventure scene, with Magic Kingdom Park and Universal Orlando Resort. People visit Florida for a few different reasons yet it never seems boring.

The nightlife in the cities of Miami and Tampa is vibrant and popular because of beachfront settings and late-night opening times. Miami is the party capital because of its mixture of beachfront restaurants, bars, and a selection of late-night and upmarket nightclubs. Miami has been the setting of many iconic movies and is a cultural staple for the Cuban community.

Outside Miami, Florida has a vibrant nightlife because of the casino. Miami is home to casinos that appeal to tourists, but back in the day, it was the Florida card rooms and old-style casinos that drove in tourists and visitors.

A lot of the Florida card rooms or poker rooms have made gambling and casinos popular within the state. So much so that in the 1980s there was a boom in the casino industry in the form of Indian-run casinos, independent-run casinos that became known to offer high-stakes gambling, specifically bingo which became popular within these casinos.

Bingo in the casino setting is played the same way with players possibly winning if they complete a row of numbers, or where they fill out all spaces on the card. A lot of the Indian casinos have specifics when it comes to these games, online, however, it’s different. Bingo in online casinos has the same principle, but they use digital cards to mark off numbers that are drawn randomly to complete patterns for various prize pots. Online casino bingo has become popular because many variations exist and bingo is culturally widespread across the United States.

Florida’s cultural impact goes beyond the evolution of casinos, though. Florida’s tropical location, beaches, and diverse neighborhoods have made it desirable for Hollywood films because it is aesthetically pleasing. But…which are the best films shot in Florida?

1. Scarface

From classic movies, nothing encapsulates the beauty of 1980s Florida more than Scarface, which was shot in Miami. The film is about a criminal gang in 1980s America, with a young Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino as the leading stars. One legendary and most violent scene was filmed in the Sun Ray Hotel at 728 Ocean Drive. There are also other common filming locations in Scarface, such as Little Havana and Ocean Drive.

2. Step Up Revolution

Step Up was a series that came onto our screens in the 2000s, with Channing Tatum playing the lead heartthrob. One of his most recent films, Fly Me To The Moon, is vastly different to his Step Up days, but unfortunately, the 2012 film doesn’t star Channing. The same love themes apply, with Ryan Guzman playing a choreographer who develops a relationship with a dancer, Emily, and together they work to create flash mobs to protest against the proposal for works to be done in their neighborhood.

Step Up Revolution is mostly shot on the streets of Miami, Florida because it is centered around the flash mobs and dance choreography, but it does feature some memorable moments elsewhere. Ocean Drive is once again used as a backdrop in this movie, and for some of the main dance scenes, there are scenes shot at the Nikki Beach Club near Miami Beach and the Dimont Hotel.

3. Bad Boys

This cop film starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence spanned a franchise and the most recent sequel, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, in 2024. The original, though, was the blueprint for all the beautiful Florida locations. It is about two detectives working for the Miami Police Department and all the actions and disasters that they get up to. Bad Boys, again, is heavily set in Miami because of the police department, but it features settings from South Beach and other famous hotels where the duo frequent.

Primarily it is about protecting a witness who saw a horrific crime, but it is hilarious at the same time.

4. Spring Breakers

Spring Breakers starred a bunch of young stars, including Selena Gomez and Ashley Benson. It’s about four girls who get into trouble on their spring break and are bailed out by a criminal. The movie is supposed to be set in the chaos of Florida’s spring break, but it was filled mainly in St. Petersburg.

What’s great about it is that it’s an edgy version of spring break, a gritty look at what can happen if you do bad things while being mindlessly young. However, it’s not something that is interesting without its stars, since it has a stellar cast of Disney and former child stars.

5. The Truman Show

The Truman Show is a film that is a freaky look into what could become the future where a man who is living his life, Truman (Jim Carey) is secretly a part of a TV show without his notice. The movie portrays a picture-perfect town filmed in the real town of Seaside, Florida, appropriate for the weather and sunny disposition that the movie is supposed to represent.

It’s very much like a Big Brother scenario, but the fictional town is stunning, despite the film’s freaky subject matter.