Oak Park

Backdraft - Rehm Pool

Backdraft is an action thriller about Chicago firefighters, including brothers Stephen "Bull" and Brian McCaffrey, and the investigation of fires that led to the deaths of several firemen. Director Ron Howard used the high dive well of Rehm Pool (515 Garfield Street, Oak Park) for the pivotal elevator shaft scene. 

Home Alone + A Wedding - Grace Episcopal Church

The acclaimed Christmas movie Home Alone made a star out of Macaulay Culkin, the clever and quick-witted protagonist Kevin McCallister, and the house in Chicago’s North Shore suburbs used as the McCallister family home. Although Home Alone was filmed almost exclusively in Winnetka (with the obvious exception of the family’s hysterical dash through O’Hare Airport), when Kevin hides in the nativity scene at Trinity United Methodist Church in Winnetka, the interior shots were filmed at Grace Episcopal Church, 924 Lake Street in Oak Park.

The pivotal wedding scenes in Robert Altman’s, A Wedding, were also filmed at the Grace Episcopal Church, adding a touch of local charm to this satirical comedy. The movie captures the chaos and quirks of a lavish wedding, and its connection to Oak Park is a point of pride for the community.

Rookie of the Year - Neighborhood Scenes

Filmed at Veterans Memorial Park (55 East Richmond Street, Westmont) are various scenes from Rookie of the Year, a fantastical film about Henry Rowengartner, a young boy who dreams of growing up to play baseball like his dad. Henry breaks his arm, and when his cast is removed, he realizes he has developed a powerful pitching arm. He is “discovered” on his little league field and goes on to lead the struggling Chicago Cubs to the National League playoffs.

Scenes of Henry and his friends running around their neighborhood were shot around Oak Park, including on the sidewalk in front of the stores along Oak Park Boulevard. Henry imagines he is making a catch in the vines at Wrigley Field in an alley between 812 and 814 North Avenue. The doctor who tries to unravel the mystery of Henry’s miraculous arm sees him at his office at 129 North Oak Park Avenue.

Soul Food - Home in Oak Park

Widely acclaimed Soul Food centers on the challenges of a close-knit family living in Chicago’s Southside that gathers for Sunday dinners at Josephine "Big Mama" Joseph’s house. When the matriarch falls into a coma, the Joseph sisters, played by Vivica A. Fox, Vanessa Williams, and Nia Long, struggle to adjust to the changing family dynamics while still managing to maintain the long-standing family dinners every Sunday at Big Mama’s house (321 Clinton Avenue, Oak Park).

Vice Versa - Percy Julian Middle School, Ridgeland Common

Vice Versa is a body-swap comedy with Judge Reinhold as a jaded middle-aged divorcée and Fred Savage as his 11-year-old son. Unaware of the mystical powers of an exotic skull, Marshall (Reinhold) and Charlie (Savage) make a wish and switch bodies, resulting in surprising and sometimes hilarious effects. Charlie’s school, Percy Julian Junior High, is at 416 South Ridgeland Avenue, and he plays hockey at Paul Hruby Arena at Ridgeland Common (415 West Lake Street). Both locations are in Oak Park. Previously a shopping mall, the vacant Shaker Building on the corner of Lake and Marion in Oak Park was revamped into a mall where Marshall is the vice president of a Chicago department store. 

FitzGerald's (Berwyn)

A League of Their Own + Adventures in Babysitting + The Color of Money - FitzGerald's

We never run out of excuses to visit FitzGerald’s (6615 Roosevelt Road, Berwyn), and neither do filmmakers! This historic music club was the filming location for the Silver Dollar Room, the downtown Chicago Blues Club where Elisabeth Shue and the kids sing “Babysitting Blues” in Adventures in Babysitting. This hilarious film is a whirlwind of wacky situations during one crazy night in downtown Chicago.

In A League of Their Own, FitzGerald’s became the Suds Bucket, a raucous roadhouse where the All-American Girls Professional Baseball team, the Rockford Peaches, spend an evening blowing off steam. Madonna brings down the house with a naughty jitterbug in her role as “All the Way” Mae.

With the addition of a pool table that was removed after production, FitzGerald’s is where “Fast Eddie” Felson, an iconic character played by Paul Newman in The Color of Money, first sets eyes on his young, cocky protégé Vincent, played by Tom Cruise. The following day, Fast Eddie visits Vincent at work (Child World at 7600 Roosevelt Road, Forest Park) to convince him to go on the road with him.

Another interesting bit of trivia: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who plays Carmen, Vincent’s girlfriend, grew up near FitzGerald’s and is an alumna of Oak Park River Forest High School.

La Grange

While You Were Sleeping - Multiple Locations

While You Were Sleeping is a romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock as Lucy, a self-isolated Chicago Transit Authority token taker who is secretly in love with a handsome commuter who passes through the Randolph/Wabash Station each day. When she saves his life and is rushed—along with him—to the hospital, a misunderstanding causes his family to believe that she is his fiance. While Lucy’s love interest lies in a coma, she develops strong ties to his family, especially his skeptical brother Jack, played by Bill Pullman. While You Were Sleeping features two awesome La Grange locations. Emmanuel Episcopal Church (203 South Kensington Avenue) is the church where Lucy’s parents are married. When Lucy visits the home of her comatose “fiance” for the holidays, it’s at 203 8th Avenue in La Grange.

Riverside

The Lake House - Home in Riverside

The unusual glass house on stilts at the center of the romantic fantasy The Lake House, starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves, was custom-built on the east end of Maple Lake in Willow Springs. Unfortunately, it was torn down when production finished. The film revolves around Alex (Reeves), a frustrated architect, and Kate (Bullock), a lonely doctor, who live at the lake house at different times—he lives in 2004, and she lives in 2006. Becoming connected by a mystical mailbox and a stray dog, they fall in love through a series of letters exchanged while they remain separated by time.

Many scenes were shot in Riverside, including a chase over a bridge on Millbridge Road and along the footpath. Alex and Kate encounter each other in his present (her past) at the home Kate shares with her then-boyfriend at 84 Riverside Road while she is in medical school. In another scene, Jack delivers the keys to the lake house (and the dog) to her boyfriend on the corner of East Avenue at Forest Avenue.

More About the Upcoming Film Festival

Set for Thursday, September 12 and Saturday, September 14, 2024, the Oak Park, IL Film Festival is designed to unite and showcase Oak Park’s outstanding creative community. First-day festivities (September 12) will be held at The Lake Theatre (1022 Lake Street, Oak Park) with a red carpet gala event and a screening of The Abyss: Special Edition, a film starring Academy Award-nominated actress and Oak Park native Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. 

Second-day (September 14) events at the Madison Street Theater (1010 Madison Street) will include an industry panel with animator Warren Trezevant and special screenings, including shorts, animations, documentaries, and student films. The event will conclude with an awards ceremony. The festival is open to movies of various genres and lengths so long as they have a local connection, such as cast or crew members from Oak Park or a setting or shooting location in the village.

Find out more about the Oak Park, IL Film Festival at opilff.org and visit visitoakpark.com for inspiration while planning your trip.