'Chicago: Not the Second City Anymore!'

'Chicago: Not the Second City Anymore!'

On Monday October 11 I attended a Chicago Tribune critic's panel discussion on the Chicago fall arts season. After the discussion I felt prouder of my city and I think we all forget sometimes how special our city and it's artists are. We have a lot of filmmakers who love filming in our city and always praise it and it's inhabitants. We have a great local music scene and a lot of great clubs and venues to listen to rock, jazz and blues. We have a famous orchestra conductor who has recently had stomach problems and is loved by all and is one of the best in the country. We also have a thriving theatre scene where underground plays and big productions co- exist. We have the great local actress Laurie Metcalf in a small production and we also have "Billy Elliot" and "The Lion King". We have local musicians and actors and comedians from this city who are well respected and famous. We also have three local comedic actors from "Second City" on "Saturday Night Live" right as I am writing now.

Movie critic Michael Phillips said something very profound on the panel last night and I totally agree. He bemoaned the fact that we are called the Second City. In many ways we should be considered more than that and just as good as New York and Los Angeles. Consider other cities in this country that aren't as influential as Chicago for great entertainment. We also have many movies over the last few decades that were filmed in Chicago that are some of my favorites of all time. There are some that have been nominated for many awards. I started a debate on facebook a while back about the best movies filmed in Chicago. I am revisiting this subject after last night's event. I am compiling a list of my top 11 movies filmed here in Chicago. My choices are up for debate either on here or on my facebook page so feel free to contribute your picks and debate me. I came up with movies I love but also that capture the personality of the city and locations that to me are special. So here are my top 11 with an extra pick that I love but a lot of others haven't seen or hate.

12.) Doctor Detroit (R)(83) Director: Michael Pressman
Starring: Dan Aykroyd

This is a movie a lot of people hate but a major reason I love it is because it shows off Chicago very well. I also think it is very under rated for I love it's energy, weird sense of humor and satisfying moral lesson that isn't sappy. It is a fast paced, screwball comedy with a great Aykroyd performance. It also has beautiful cinematography that makes our city look gorgeous even in the early 80's. It has an awesome James Brown musical number that rivals anything in "The Blues Brothers". It shows off the Loop area, Lake Shore Drive, seedy alley ways and many Michigan Avenue hot spots.

11.) Continental Divide (PG) (81) Director: Michael Apted
Starring: John Belushi, Blair Brown

This movie is a charming Hepburn/Tracy type romance and a great departure for John Belushi playing a leading romantic role. This sadly showed that Belushi would not only have been one of the funniest men on screen but he could act and do dramatic scenes as great as comedy. The movie starts in Chicago capturing our newspaper industry well and we believe that Belushi is a Royko type reporter. It is a great valentine to Royko and our city capturing our beautiful city streets and hot spots. When Belushi finds romance and love out in the cold winter in the mountains and comes back to the city, we feel his fondness for the city and how much he missed it.

10.) The Fugitive (PG-13) (93) Director: Andrew Davis
Starring: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones

This Academy Award nominated Best Picture is one of my favorite action movies of all time. It's best scenes are probably not filmed in the city but in the end the rousing climax takes part in our city and Chicago looks thrilling to match the end. Andrew Davis also directed many movies in our city and shown off Chicago beautifully. My number 13 pick would probably be his "Code of Silence" with Chuck Norris. Thank you Andrew for loving our city!

9.) Ordinary People (R) (80) Director: Robert Redford
Starring: Timothy Hutton, Mary Tyler Moore

This powerful and beautifully acted drama filmed mostly in Lake Forest and Evanston won the Oscar for Best Picture (robbing "Raging Bull", oh well). My sister went to Lake Forest College and this movie captures this beautiful town and it's people very well. It is filmed in a beautiful house in the heart of Lake Forest. The performances are so great we actually believe these characters are from Lake Forest. I know the people and the houses in these areas having grown up and worked around there and this movie captures it flawlessly. Also if you don't cry at least 5 times during this movie you are dead inside.

8.) Thief (R) (81) Director: Michael Mann
Starring: James Caan, Jim Belushi, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson

This under rated crime/heist masterpiece with James Caan's best performance of his career is beautifully filmed in this city. All the characters are seedy criminals and killers but the city looks beautiful even if most of it is filmed in places you would never walk through alone. Michael Mann is from Chicago and you can tell he knows the city because who could have picked such unseen areas of Chicago. Look fast for a young William Petersen in a Blues club. The movie also has some wonderful Blues music throughout and an Oscar caliber performance by Willie Nelson.

7.) Ferris Beuhler's Day Off (PG-13) (86) Director: John Hughes
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck

Arguably John Hughes's most popular movie, if not his greatest, has one of the most iconic characters ever on screen. This a very fun movie that captures the city wonderfully especially during the awesome parade scene. You get Wrigley Field before lights, fancy city restaurants and the beautiful streets and skyline of Chicago. The personality of Ferris is so Chicago even if I never grew up with any Ferris types.

6.) The Dark Knight (08) Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Heath Ledger, Christian Bale

This super hero masterpiece does such a wonderful job capturing the architecture of this beautiful city. The city is Gotham but us Chicago natives see it as only Chicago. Wacker Drive, LaSalle street, our unique subway system. The buildings in this city to others are so under valued. We have some of the greatest buildings and structures in this country. The cinematography is awesome in this movie and it is a dark movie (duh!) but I have never seen the city look so beautiful as I have here, like a painting.

5.) My Bodyguard (PG) (80) Director: Tony Bill
Starring: Matt Dillon, Adam Baldwin, Chris Makepeace

This rousing coming of age story is one my favorite of all time growing up probably because it is filmed in Chicago. It captures the teen life in Chicago in the early 80's brilliantly. Filmed at Lake View High on Ashland, the Ambassador East Hotel and and many South side streets. I have to watch this movie multiple times. Every time I watch I get goose bumps seeing the city and getting wrapped up in this crowd pleasing masterpiece. Out of all these movies I think this one captures the most iconic areas in this great city next to my #1 pick.

4.) About Last Night (R) (86) Director: Edward Zwick
Starring: Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Jim Belushi

One of my favorite romances and love stories of all time has a great, vulgar and very funny screenplay. Evanston native Edward Zwick knows Chicago well and you get everything the city offers. The bars on Division street, Wrigley Field before lights, the antiquated subway system , man does it look ancient and rickety!, and great softball scenes in our great parks. I always chuckle when a character tells someone to go get a Big Mac on Broadway and Belmont. There is no McDonalds there now, was there one there before, people help me out. I love this movie for it's great drama, hilarious comedy and the love of Chicago and it's people. Look for a very young and different Megan Mullally from "Will & Grace" in many scenes. This like many movies on my list capture the night life of Chicago beautifully.

3.) Risky Business (R) (83) Director: Paul Brickman
Starring: Tom Cruise, Rebecca DeMornay, Joe Pantaliano

This movie has a great car chase scene as Guido the Killer Pimp chases a young Tom Cruise. The scene was filmed just down the street from my house in Highland Park. Yes the ads in the Chicago papers do advertise hookers like they do in this movie (that's what I heard). This coming of age story is my favorite of it's kind. It is modeled after "The Graduate and I think it is even better. It also made Tom Cruise a star and you can see why. Okay all of you who gasped when I said it was better than "The Graduate" can take a chill pill. I was about to be a sophomore in high school when this came out and this movie spoke to me. It captures the towns of this area plus great locations in the city. It flawlessly captures what it was like growing up in Chicago and how the city was such a wonderful, mysterious present you wanted to open and wanted to become an adult in.

2.) The Untouchables (R) (87) Director: Brian DePalma
Starring: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert DeNiro

This period piece captures Chicago flawlessly and when I first saw the vintage cars lined up on LaSalle street I gasped! This is such a beautiful shot and I knew then that this had to be what the city looked like back then. I love how the city looks in the prohibition era when Al Capone ruled Chicago. There is also one of the best action sequences ever filmed here in the shootout at Union Station. Every now and then I walk down those same steps there and I get goose bumps. Like "The Dark Knight" this movie captures our buildings and city streets flawlessly. "The Untouchables" is an epic masterpiece that is thrilling and a great crowd pleaser. Also everyone remembers the classic line when someone tells Ness he doesn't approve of his methods. Elliot simply tells him "That's because you're not from Chicago". A classic line that everyone cheered and it only happened in Chicago theatres.

1.) The Blues Brothers (R) (80) Director: John Landis
Starring: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd

The Chicago Blues scene is I think the most special in the World and "The Blues Brothers" is a valentine to that scene in this great city. When this was filmed everyone wanted to see them destroy that old mall in Gurnee, wanted to be downtown to see the chase scenes and I wanted to see the car fly into that semi truck. I also know people who were in this movie, I worked with one of the Illinois Nazis. All the scenes that are filmed in this city are fantastic. The movie also captures the Maxwell Street scene so beautifully and it is sad to see it not the same. The blues music in this movie is amazing and brought it more to the mainstream in this city. The chase scenes filmed very early in the morning are breathtaking all the more for taking part downtown. There is a beautiful shot of a car plummeting to the ground from very high above and you can see a beautiful overhead shot of our awesome city. I am proud that one of the best and classic comedies ever made brought our iconic city to the masses in the early 80's. I think this is the movie that put Chicago on the map!

Do you agree? Do I have some of your favorites on my list? Do you have your own personal favorites I skipped. Remember this is only 12, I have many more including movies like "Cooley High" and "Only the Lonely" and "16 Candles", "Breakfast Club". If you haven't seen some of the movies on this list I urge you to watch them!. I really want to know what people think of "Doctor Detroit". You can comment here or on my facebook page and we can start a discussion. I love Chicago, it's people, it's architecture, it's skyline and the many artists and entertainment we provide. I also love all the film makers who brought us all these love letters to our city!