Summer may be the season where Hollywood puts out most of its big blockbusters, but it’s also the time of year meant to be spent outside. Drive-ins are the ideal option for movie-goers who also want to enjoy the outdoors. However, you won’t find a lot of places to watch a film from the comfort of your own car around Chicago, unless you have a television in your vehicle already.
The question arises, “what happened to all the drive-ins?” A lot of people grew up with drive-in movie theaters close to home but have seen the majority of those businesses close. In Illinois, there have been a total of 154 drive-in movie theaters that were in operation at some point. Today, only 12 theaters remain open for business in the entire state, according to drive-ins.com.
The memories of family outings and taking a date out for a special night live on only in the minds of those lucky enough to live in that era. Fortunately, some drive-ins remain relatively close to the city and in popular vacation spots for Chicagoans.
Cascade Outdoor Theater: The closest physical theater to the city is located in West Chicago right near route 66. This theater has one screen, opens its gates seven nights a week and features two movies per night. This theater is usually open for business from March through November.
Route 66 drive-in: Formerly known as “Green Meadows Drive-In,” Route 66 opened in 1978, closed 4 years later, and reopened in 2002 in Springfield, Illinois. This theater now features two screens and is typically open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, according to the company web site. This movie theater is very family-friendly, with a neighboring theme park so you can expect to see a lot of little ones at this location.
Keno Family Drive-In: Pleasant Prarie, Wisc., is located just north of the Illinois and Wisconsin border. This theater has space for roughly 800 vehicles and features two movies that play back-to-back per night. This theater is owned by the same company as Cascade so all of the amenities that the venue in West Chicago offers is available in Pleasant Prarie. These features include a full-service food station and a picnic area.
The next time a movie hits the big screen, consider viewing it under the night sky.
The Essentials:
Cascade Outdoor Theatre
1100 E. North Ave.
W. Chicago, IL 60185
Phone: (630) 231-3150 (showtimes)
Phone: (630) 231-3151 (contact)
Official Website:http://www.cascadedrivein.com/
Twitter: @CASCADEKENODI
Once a year Chicago gets a chance to have one great big collective nerdgasm. We call it C2E2, or the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo. This year’s event took place at McCormick Place from April 13-15, and had it lasted another two days I doubt anyone would have complained. My goals this year were a little more tame than last. Rather than hoping to get a black eye from Thor actor Chris Hemsworth, I instead focused my attention on getting kisses from John Cusack, Lauren Cohan (Maggie on AMC’s The Walking Dead) and Anthony Daniels (C3P0 from, well, if you don’t know Star Wars this might not be the convention for you).
Day one was packed with everything from speed dating and a costume contest to the return of the “Food and Comics” panel. A Silver Age trivia challenge featuring Daredevil writer Mark Waid proved to be less a collection of Simpson’s Comic Book Guys and more a bit of improvisational comedy. Waid combined his endearing sense of humor with his frightening comic book knowledge to keep the crowd chuckling and marveling. A slightly more crass level of joking came courtesy of the Cyanide & Happiness crew, who showed off some short animation and kept the crowd rolling with tales of hate mail and disapproving family members.
The main exhibition floor
The main floor was jam-packed with vendors selling all sorts of goodies — Pikachu backpacks, steampunk gasmasks, classic comic books and samurai swords, just for a taste. I spent much of my time/money sifting through longboxes filled with trade paperbacks and graphic novels. Can you really beat $4 a book? Even Amazon is shaking its head.
Saturday kicked off with a sneak peak at a new PBS documentary, Superheroes! A Never-Ending Battle. Though the piece featured insightful interviews with the likes of Stan Lee and Jim Steranko, its highlight was a dramatic reading of Batman’s rather bleak origin by none other than Adam West. The actor, perhaps best known to young folks as the voice of Quahog’s absent minded mayor on Family Guy, is most famous for his role as The Caped Crusader on the campy old ’60s Batman TV show. Try as he might to lend gravity to the death of the Wayne family and subsequent transformation of Bruce Wayne, it proved to be one of the funniest things I’ve heard in my life.
The aforementioned Anthony Daniels held a Q&A in the IGN Theater, and though it would prove to be a chance for some robot necking I opted to check out C2E2’s Artist’s Alley. Located at the back half of the main convention floor, it featured dozens of artists, inkers, colorist and writers selling and signing their work. I was able to meet and snag autographs from the likes of Len Wein (creator of Swamp Thing and Wolverine), Rick Remender (Fear Agent, Uncanny X-Force), Clayton Crain (Ghost Rider, Carnage), Tony Moore (Walking Dead, Fear Agent), Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night), Skottie Young (Marvel’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) and Chandra Free (The God Machine). The entire area was totally overwhelming, in a totally fantastic way. Almost everyone I stopped to talk with was beyond friendly, more than willing to chat about their art, their impressions of Chicago and their upcoming projects. If you plan on going next year (and why wouldn’t you?) I highly recommend making significant time for Artist’s Alley.
Lauren Cohan and Steven Yuen, from AMC's The Walking Dead
Saturday wound down with a couple of events back in the theater — a Q&A with “The Walking Dead’s” Steven Yuen and Lauren Cohan and later standup set’s by Kevin “Dot Com” Brown and Stephen Rannazzisi. Yuen and Cohan proved to be as charming off-screen as on, and their obvious chemistry had me hoping they’d become a couple in real life too (I don’t care how fanboy of me that is). “The Walking Dead” actor’s lighter sides were on full display, a nice contrast to how tense they are on-screen. Then again, it’s probably hard to regale others with humorous anecdotes while running from flesh eating zombies. That said, I gave up my quest for a kiss from Cohan. How could I come between her and Steven? As for the actual comedians, Dot Com Brown did a good job of warming the crowd up, hitting one really good riff when he referred to lady parts as a “sarlacc pit.” I guess that’s playing to your audience. Rannazzisi, on the other hand, left my cheeks and sides aching from a solid forty-five minutes of laughter. Best known for his work on The League (set in Chicago), the comedian told a fantastic story that illustrated the difficulties of keeping marijuana in your life post-marriage/child-birth. Much like most tales from the Married With Children crowd, this one had me both cracking up and relishing my decision to stay wife and baby free. Case in point, after the set was over I strutted on over to the CBR Bar, C2E2’s takeover of the Hyatt McCormick’s lounge. Swank clubs are generally populated by expensive-looking people in expensive-looking clothing, but on this evening I was able to grab a space at the bar right next to Spider-Man and The Joker.
Sunday is kids day!
And so I was hungover on Sunday morning and guess what? Sunday is Kids Day! All you procreators who have trouble snagging a babysitter, C2E2 has got you covered. Children 12 and under got free admission to the convention for a day and there were tons of panels and activities to keep them busy. Ben’s Bubble Show seemed to be a hit — a quirky blend of art, science and “magic” that featured Ben Jimenez using a few simple tools and his bare hands to create wacky soap bubble sculptures. Other kiddie activities included Brookfield Zoo’s Extreme Bugs exhibit, Kids Quidditch, Story Time with the Ghostbusters and a Star Wars Imperial Academy event that had a crazy long line. Watching a pack of Stormtroopers swear intimidated children into the ranks of the Galactic Empire? Priceless.
Don’t fret, old people! Sunday had plenty of cool things for big kids too. Archaia press held a delightful panel for aspiring writers/artists on “How to Tell a Better Story Through World-Building.” Featuring David Peterson (Mouseguard) and several other storytellers, the event provided a neat peak at the eccentric lengths some writers will go to in order to bring their vision to life. Later, Chicago radio man and Word Balloon podcast host John Siuntres hosted a screening of “The Lost 1979 Comics Documentary,” which featured tons of rare footage of guys like Stan Lee, Archie Goodwin and Neal Adams, as well as fascinating shots of the 1979 Chicago Comic Con’s costume contest.
John Cusack, graciously handling weird requests.
The John Cusack spotlight was standing-room only, and well, let’s just say I wasn’t the only person looking for a peck from the Rob Gordon. Sadly, much of the Q&A was clogged with middle-aged women asking for hugs, or in the case of one overzealous lady, a first kiss. She had to be damn near 40. Really, not doing the stereotype of comics fans any favors.
I made one last trip to Artist’s Alley to scoop up some more artwork, being careful to make sure I left myself enough money for a post-Con dinner at Kuma’s. I was also hoping to find Scott Snyder and check that last autograph off my list, but the American Vampire and Batman writer had left his table and, for some reason, didn’t respond as I stood in the middle of the show floor and screamed his name at the top of my lungs. Repeatedly.
First opened in 1927 as a mid-sized movie palace, the stunning 1500-seat Patio has opened its doors once again to movie-goers on the lookout for a marvelous film-watching experience at a price the average human being can afford.
Designed by Rudolph G. Wolff, this aesthetically captivating space features a completely restored neo-Pompeian lobby, state-of-the-art sound and a ceiling decorated with twinkling lights and projected clouds. Thankfully never carved up like many of Chicago’s other old movie palaces (The Davis, The Logan, etc.), The Patio also boasts one of Chicago’s largest single screens. Now operating as a second run theater, the screens typically show films about three or four weeks after their debut, for a fraction of the price. Tickets are $5 for all ages, and concessions ring in at almost half of what larger chain theaters will hit you for.
While The Patio is extremely affordable, new manager Demetri Kouvalis didn’t spare any expense in giving the old movie house a new life in the new millennium. The chance to walk around the lobby and take in the ornate flourishes and grand design of the building’s interior is worth five bucks in and of itself. Plans are in the works to bring more alternative programming to the theater in the future, with talk of short-run revival screenings, midnight shows, inclusion in Chicago’s film festival circuit and even stand-up comedy all churning in the rumor mill.
Either way, with the theater industry moving towards escalating prices and silly kitsch like recliners, bars in theaters and obnoxious 3D gimmickery, The Patio sets itself apart as one of the few places to truly watch a movie in style.
The Essentials:
Location: 6008 W. Irving Park Rd
Phone: 773.685.4291
Website: www.patiotheater.net/, and on Facebook here
Getting there:
Driving: Street Parking
L: Blue Line, Irving Park exit
Bus: #80 Irving Park bus, #91 Austin bus
John Hughes may have been born in Lansing, Michigan, but he is a Chicagoan at heart. Where’s the proof? In Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Breakfast Club, Home Alone, Sixteen Candles, Planes Trains and Automobiles, Pretty in Pink, and Uncle Buck. Hughes moved to Northbrook, Illinois when he was 12 years old, and if he hadn’t, some of the classic movies of the 80s and 90s would not be what they are today.
Hughes certainly had a talent for scripting some of the most memorable characters. Whether it was a kid ditching school for the day, a group of students in Saturday detention or a young boy left at home by accident and forced to defend himself when burglars try to rob his house, Hughes’ characters are relatable. Okay, maybe the last one isn’t as relatable as the others, but the majority of Hughes characters depict a person we Chicagoans have encountered at some point in our lives. Hughes used his experience of growing up in a suburb of Chicago to capture the essence of the people and the city itself.
There is no denying the Chicago influence in the majority of Hughes films. He filmed The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles at several different high schools in the northern suburbs including Maine North in Des Plaines, New Trier in Winnetka, and Niles East in Skokie, and his alma mater, Glenbrook High School.
The Breakfast Club is set in a fictional town called Shermer, Illinois named after the street address of Glenbrook High School. The 90s classic, Home Alone, was filmed primarily in Winnetka, as well as in Evanston, Oak Park, Wilmette — not to mention that famous scene in O’Hare Airport. The “Home Alone House” is currently (Summer 2011) for sale for an asking price of 2.4 million dollars. Uncle Buck, starring John Candy and Macaulay Culkin, was filmed all over the Chicagoland area and surrounding suburbs. His comedy Planes, Trains and Automobiles was set to be filmed in Kankakee, but a lack of snow forced production to New York.
No movie captures Hughes’ love for Chicago like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. In fact, Hughes once said this movie was his “love letter to the city.” He wanted to capture what Chicago really was and what better way to do that than to ditch a day of high school and explore. Not all of the scenes were filmed in the city itself, though. The scenes filmed in the suburbs alternated between Winnetka, Northbrook, Oak Park, River Forest, and Lake Forest. Hughes also used footage of Glenbrook North for the interior shots of the high school, and the majority of the extras in the film were actual high school students.
Other famous locations seen throughout the film are The Sears (ok, Willis) Tower, Wrigley Field, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Board of Trade, Ben Rose Auto Museum, various streets in the Loop including Dearborn and Adams, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on 30 S. Wacker Drive.
Hughes was often criticized for favoring the Windy City, but he didn’t let it deter him. He wanted to portray Chicago in a way that showed audiences what the city had to offer. After leaving Hollywood, Hughes moved back to Chicago with his family. While on vacation in New York in 2009, Hughes died suddenly from a heart attack. He was laid to rest in the city he knew and loved.
About a month ago, I was downtown and needed to meet my dad at the Prudential building to grab a ride home. I can’t say my dad was shocked when I called him three times asking for directions because if directionally challenged people had a poster child it would be me. The conversation went like this:
Dad: Okay, what direction are you going?
Me: Oh, please. Um, I just passed a Walgreens and a man playing the saxophone?
Dad: Ok, do you see a building with a blue, giant, very visible sign that says Prudential?
Me: No, but I can sense your sarcasm, or your frustration. Or you’re making fun of me…
Dad: Do you see the Adventures in Babysitting building?
Me: Of course.
Dad: Walk towards it and I’ll meet you.
Me: (distracted) Man, they just don’t make them like they use to.
Dad: What? The buildings?
Me: No, the movies.
I think it’s safe to say that not many people know the exact name of the “diamond building*” or the “Adventures in Babysitting Building**.” I doubt Sara Anderson even knew the name and she was the one scaling down the building in attempts to get away from the mean Mr. Bleak, who just wanted the Playboy Magazine the kids stole from him while they were being held captive after they discovered his chop shop where he stole cars and sold them for parts. (Like I said, they don’t make ‘em like they use to).
I was shocked when I found out the majority of the movie, with the exception of certain scenes, was actually filmed in Toronto rather than Chicago. The babysitter, Chris Parker, and the kids she babysits for, Sara and Brad Anderson, and Daryl Coopersmith are said to live in Oak Park, Illinois yet the cast and crew never actually set foot in the suburb. They did however get to experience that great feeling many of us have had on the Dan Ryan of racing towards the perfectly lit Chicago skyline at night. Both the breakdown scene in the beginning and the race home at the end take place on the famous Chicago expressway.
Oh, and don’t forget about Brenda. They wouldn’t even be on this great adventure if it wasn’t for Brenda, who ran away from home and is stranded at the old bus station on 20 E. Randolph Street (which is now a parking garage). And last but not least, the famous scenes in the Smurfit-Stone Building*** where Sara nearly plummets to her death, Chris and the gang almost get caught by the angry chop shop guys, while Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are coincidentally attending a party in the same building.
Though the numbers of scenes actually filmed in Chicago are limited, the references to the Windy City are not. Chris, Brad, and Daryl go to “Hemingway High” which is written on the Letterman’s jacket Brad wears during the entire movie. This high school doesn’t exist, but Ernest Hemmingway was in fact a native of Oak Park. In an attempt to get away from the angry mobsters, the kids run into a bar where they are forced to pay tribute to the Chicago Blues by singing an impromptu blues song. After their rendition of “Babysitting Blues,” Brad and Daryl stumble their way into a party at the University of Chicago where The Bears and the University are both referenced.
One of my all-time favorite scenes in the movie takes place on the “L” when two rival gangs, decked out in sweatbands, black leather jackets, and red leather vests, threaten to kill one another. They reference Jefferson and Jackson before whipping out their knives.
I can’t say that I’ve ever had to drive downtown, escape angry mobsters tailing me, survive a gang fight, pick up my friend from the train station, get home before the parents do and most importantly, have the kids in bed before bedtime. But I can relate to the moral of this movie. Chris Parker said it well after defeating the Lords of Hell on the L — “Don’t f$#! with the babysitter.”
The Vic Theater is silent. For anyone who’s ever been to a concert there, this is not normal. Usually, your feet are sticking to the ground and your elbows are rubbing against the sweaty t-shirt of the stranger next to you while somebody like Conor Oberst jams out on stage. Tonight though, the Vic isn’t only silent but, it’s also pitch black and, instead of Oberst’s wailing, Conan O’Brien’s Can’t Stop, a documentary about the comedian’s recent tour, plays on a movie screen in front of an audience of roughly thirty people.
Four or five days a week the Vic transforms itself from a concert venue into Brew and View, a cozy movie theater with a full bar and menu. Depending on that week’s schedule, you’ll find yourself throwing down a measly five bucks for a double feature (and occasionally they’ll even throw in a third!) Not bad. The films are usually second or third run movies or classics like Jaws or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
The Vic’s beverages are averagely priced — on my recent Sunday visit the cheapest beer on the menu was draft MGD and High Life for $4. Considering the neighborhood and the price of a pop and popcorn combination at your average AMC movie theater, this was nothing to get upset about.
At times it was hard to hear the movie — and I’d say that’s to be expected here. The crowd often quotes the dialogue, or even sings and dances to the film (think “Grease Lightning” flash mob). It’s definitely a fun atmosphere, but perhaps not for those looking for a more serious movie-going experience. The theatre’s seats are simple hardback chairs around small tables, and while this isn’t uncomfortable, it doesn’t share the same comfort as your standard, plush AMC chairs. If you’re trying to focus on a movie and plot line you’re unfamiliar with, this could be an issue.
There isn’t any other place in Chicago where you can see two to three movies and grab a beer for $9. There’s especially no other place in Lakeview that offers this luxury. As if that isn’t enough, Brew and View also offers live entertainment. Check out Brew and View on Tuesdays for Brew-Ha-Ha, where free open mic comedy takes place before the shows, or on Wednesdays when Marquis Hill Trio plays live jazz begining at 5:00pm.
Keep in mind that the venue is 18+ even for movie nights, and you must be 21+ to drink.
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