My roommates, girlfriend, and I were talking about how it seems like many holiday movies are set in Chicago and its suburbs. We realized this while watching "Home Alone," and it got us thinking about other holiday movies set in Chicago. We think the reason so many great holiday movies are set in Chicago is because there really is no place quite like it for the holidays, as anyone from the area knows. So, here is the list of holiday movies set in Chicago that we came up with.
"Home Alone" (1990).
I think that everyone has probably seen this movie, and if you haven’t, you really need to watch it. There are many "Home Alone" movies (five), but the first three are really the only ones worth watching. They all share the same plot in which a kid is left at home alone, and needs to thwart off thieves from robbing his house. Home Alone 1 takes place almost exclusively in Winnetka, which is also where the second movie begins. The third movie, in which the main character helps take down a terrorist ring, is also filmed in the Chicago subjects. These three movies are all worth a watch. There is also a unique fan theory about the first movie which sees John Candy symbolizing the devil.
"National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation" (1989).
This is another classic movie that is funny every time you watch it. I would know, as I watch it at least once a year around Christmas time with my family. I think this may be my Dad’s favorite Christmas movie, and for a good reason. Chevy Chase is incredibly funny in this movie that is also filled with many other funny characters. The movie perfectly encapsulates what it is like to have family at your house for the holidays which everyone can relate to, also. It was set in Chicago, but was actually primarily shot in California.
"Christmas with the Kranks" (2004).
Set in Riverside, Illinois, this movie is about a couple who decides to skip Christmas, which angers almost their whole town. But when they find out their daughter plans on coming home from Christmas, they must ask for the help of their neighbors to make it seem like they were having Christmas as always. The neighbors come together to help pull off this feat in a way that helps display the kind character of people from the Midwest. A common theme in all of these movies seems to be O’Hare international airport, which also makes a cameo in this movie.
"Uncle Buck" (1989).
OK, so Uncle Buck isn't necessarily a movie about the holidays, but it takes place in the winter, as there is snow, so I am including it on this list. This movie stars the hilarious John Candy as the bachelor, slob, uncle who is called upon to watch his upper-middle class niece and nephew. The movie was filmed in large, at New Trier High School. One of the gyms was actually used to house the set of the two-leveled house which much of the film takes place in. It should be noted that this movie, the first three "Home Alone" movies, "Christmas Vacation," and "Planes Trains and Automobiles" were all written by John Hughes and set in Chicago. Hughes is famous for setting his movies in Chicago, as he also is famous for writing "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club," "Weird Science," and "Ferris Bueller’s Day Off," which are all set in Chicago.
"Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" (1987).
This, again, is a John Hughes movie and he, again, uses John Candy. Steve Martin is the other lead role, who plays a high-strung businessman, who is trying to return to Chicago from New York for Thanksgiving. His travel home becomes an absolute nightmare, and he is accompanied by John Candy, who plays a character much the opposite of Steve Martin’s. Chicago is again picked as the location for the holiday gathering, as it has been in the previously mentioned movies. There is just something about Chicago and that makes it the perfect place to be for the holidays with your family as indicated by the long list of movies set there.
