It's pretty nice, because usually when the city is featured in a movie, it's for a reason. For as many stories that could be placed at random (Uh, what are we going with here, Chicago or Cleveland? Doesn't really matter to me, but the set designers need to know whether there should be a White Sox or an Indians pennant in the kid's room...) the majority use Chicago as a great backdrop, not to mention as near to a character as it gets.
Aside from New York City and occasionally one of the California towns, Chicago has its niche and I'm always pretty happy to see it used as such, no matter how badly the story sucks.
However the Tribune did a major disservice to the city (aside from its management of the Cubs) by failing to mention High Fidelity in its little list. As much as I love the Blues Brothers and others (except for maybe My Best Friend's Wedding) it seems odd that this should be left out.
Chicago took over for London in the movie and actually added to the final product, in my opinion. It's also kind of cool to see the home of Championship Vinyl from the El at Milwaukee and Honore as you pass by.
Add to that location shots at the Green Mill and other bits and pieces and I think it does a gret job of hitting the details without overpowering the viewer with a travel piece like, oh, say Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Nothing against Ferris, but it plays like a commercial done by the city. (I will now pause to let the imdb.com nerds get the goofs and flaws rants out of their systems. Better now? Good.)
While High Fidelity is a run away favorite for Chicago-based movies, nothing quite soothes the homesickness like Chicago By "L" which, as far as I can tell, is only available as part of a package deal with Chicago; City of the Century, which is a little pricey.
There's a standing order in our house that if the DVD is in, it's been a particlarly nasty day up north and that safe distances should be kept until my bad attitude blows over. This happens more frequently than you would guess.
The series on its own is amazing and follows the city from its founding to the opening of the World's Fair Columbian Exposition in 1893. I'll save you the song and dance from my days as a Chicago Trolley tour guide, but it's a great documentary that helps define Chicago today. It also keys on most of the things Chicagoans take pride in from being the first, biggest or best to a strong blue collar work ethic and tough streaks no matter what your station in life.It's a really well done series and I recommend Netflixing it, if nothing else.
Finally, one movie that has been relegated to late night cable and dusty VHS boxes, About Last Night is mentioned a few times in the Tribune bit, which surprised me. While it's far from being the best movie on any list, this adaptation of a David Mamet work always reminds me of home for the touches they added around Demi Moore and Rob Lowe.
Despite being a vehicle for both as rising stars in the 80s, it captures the rooftops and back porches that come to mind when I think of home. In my early 20s everyone with an apartment in the city had the same standard issue back proch, despite wildly different living spaces inside.
While it was always interesting to see what accents and floorplans were used inside the near identical brick walk ups, the back porches were always the same. From this movie to others, such as Barbershop the wooden steps are always the most authentic piece of a Chicago apartment.
While they are in the process of upgrading and replacing them to bring them up to code, most have kept their charm though the process. Sure, you can pull out the rotten timbers, but most property owners are still going to slap up the same setups on the backs of those three flats and that's comforting. They've been the same since I was a kid and to be honest, the wrought iron just looks a little off to me at this point. I doubt I'm alone in this.
While Ferris may bring back memories for those who have spent a week or two downtown, hitting Wrigley and the Art Institute, About Last Night reminds me of living with three other guys in an old apartment, blowing fuses as window air conditioners kicked on and off in mid-July. Sitting out back with empty kegs floating in melted ice at 4 a.m. and debating whether or not the taco joint was till open is just another part of that, as were the first days of nice weather and nearly burning the damned things down with grill-related mishaps.
Good times.
As much as I hate to admit it, nothing takes me back quite as well as Jim Belushi on a rooftop. I really wish it was John in a used squad car.
(Photos from: Amazon.com / kinoweb.de)
1 comment:
I saw this article in the Sunday paper and had the exact same thoughts on "High Fidelity". Another one that I was really surprised not to see on the list was "The Fugitive" - that film had as many on-location scenes in the city as any other on that list. You would think it would be high up there considering it's giving "The Blues Brothers" a run at being the Chicago movie most frequently shown on basic cable these days.
"When Harry Met Sally", by the way, is not a Chicago movie in any sense of the word. There was the opening scene where they were leaving from U of C and that's it. The rest of it was as much of a New York movie as the average Woody Allen or Martin Scorcese film. This is the equivalent of calling "Meet the Parents" a Chicago movie since they showed the skyline for thirty seconds.
Post a Comment