Demi Moore and Rob Lowe from “About Last Night” in 1986
By Megan McKinney
Several weeks ago we discussed the years during which Chicago’s North Side preceded Hollywood as the nation’s film capital. There is no doubt that southern California weather is more camera friendly than Chicago’s, but what wonderful backdrops the latter offers! Hollywood knows this and the cameras, the directors, and the stars have continued to make the trip.
In 1980, Dan Aykroyd was Elwood Blues, John Belushi was Joliet Jake in “The Blues Brothers.”
And their friend Jane Byrne was Mayor of the city.
The names Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara and Alan Ruck were on the marquee in 1986 . . .
But the true star of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” was Dad’s red Ferrari.
In “About Last Night,” Demi Moore and Rob Lowe spent their evenings in Mother’s on Division Street.
This is the front of Mother’s, next door to Butch McGuire’s, so why did they use the facade of Bootleggers across the street as a stand-in for the on-screen Mother’s?
”Risky Business” made a instant star of Tom Cruise in 1983.
Tom Cruise was back, bringing the late Paul Newman with him in the 1986 film “The Color of Money.”
The great Chicago film of 1987 was “The Untouchables” starring Andy Garcia, Sean Connery, Kevin Costner and Charles Martin Smith. 
In the 1992 “Glengarry Glen Ross”, we saw Jack Lemon—here with Kevin Spacey—as we’d never seen Jack before. Lemon tied with Alec Baldwin for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar that year—both for roles in the same film.
Here’s Alec in his tied-for Best Supporting Role casting in “Glengarry Glen Ross.”
In 1985 we had John Hughes’ classic teen movie “The Breakfast Club,” with Judd Nelson, top; Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall and Emelio Estevez, center; and Molly Ringwald on the floor.
Molly was back in 1986 in another John Hughes teen classic, “Pretty in Pink.” Joining her were Andrew McCarthy and Jon Cryer.
Author Photo: Robert F. Carl
