This week, ReelzChannel goes live on cable in Chicago, and it got us to thinking about all the movies that have been filmed in Chicago. I mean, we all know Chicago is my kind of town—I lived there for five years. But it seems there are quite a few filmmakers who share my appreciation for it.

So what are our favorite movies of the Windy City? Glad you asked...

10. Never Been Kissed

This cute little romantic comedy not only introduced me to the cuteness of Michael Vartan (Alias, Monster-in-Law), but it made me like Drew Barrymore again. Is it the most original movie I’ve ever seen? No. But it was sweet and funny, and who can’t sympathize with Drew’s need to conquer her Josie Gross-ie past?

Favorite Chicago shots: Drew crossing the Chicago River across from the old, pre-Trump Tower Sun Times Building and the exteriors of her cute Lincoln Park pad.

9. The Fugitive

Simply one of the best and smartest thrillers of all time, The Fugitive is riveting down to its last detail and smallest character. Harrison Ford might forever be Han Solo for some or Indiana Jones for others, but to me he’ll always be Dr. Richard Kimball on the hunt for the one-armed man--even if the movie is finally starting to age a little.

Favorite Chicago shots: The Loop, the Loop and yet more of the Loop. Okay, we especially like it when Dr. Kimball is on the phone under the L at the Wells Street Bridge. And when he beats up the one-armed man on the L.

8. My Best Friend’s Wedding

I absolutely adored My Best Friend’s Wedding when I saw it in the theater, most notably because I had a male best friend at the time and we both found the similarities between me and the Julia Roberts character hi-larious. Well, years have gone by, he and I both (happily) married others, and the movie has grown considerably less amusing. BUT, even if it doesn’t wear as well as it did in the day, they sure do show an awful lot of Chicago in the movie—and that must be commended.

Favorite Chicago shots: Wedding fittings on North Clark, kamikaze car chase in the Magnificent Mile, and, of course, riding one of the architectural tour boats on the Chicago River in the Loop.

7. The Break-Up

Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn star as a Chicago couple who can agree to break up, but can't agree on who gets custody of their condo. A little bitterer than many would like, this anti-romantic-comedy have some long-term relationship veterans finding more to identify with in it than we might like to admit. Plus, they do have a kick-ass condo; I’d fight for it, too.

Favorite Chicago shots: The Mile and Water Tower on the Three Brothers tour bus.

6. The Untouchables

If Chicagoans love anything, it’s their Al Capone heritage, and nothing celebrates it better than Brian De Palma’s epic about Elliott Ness and his band of boyscout U.S. Marshalls fighting corrupt cops and Capone’s mob in Prohibition-era Chicago. Plus, a sexy young Kevin Costner and a salty, tough, one-liner-delivering Sean Connery—how can you resist?

Favorite Chicago shots: Well, everyone is going to say the baby-carriage shoot-out at Union Station, but honestly I am partial to all the apartment building exteriors—you know, the ones that are still there now, but you get to see them in the old context.

5. My Big Fat Greek Wedding

There’s a reason why this was the breakout indie of 2002—this movie rocks, from the smart, funny script to the lovably crazy Portokalos family to the ugly duckling-com-swan story of Toula (Nia Vardalos) to dishy John Corbett—oh, how we love John Corbett. What do you mean you don’t eat no meat?

Favorite Chicago shots: Okay, the location shots on this one were mostly done in Toronto, not Chicago. But I like the notion of Chicago’s Greektown it presents, even if the real Greektown isn’t quite as Greek anymore. And the movie is still good.

4. High Fidelity

As a Nick Hornby fan, I was livid when I heard that they were making the London-set High Fidelity book into a Chicago-set movie. Then I saw it. John Cusack, Stephen Frears, D.V. DeVincentis et al did a superior job at this more than faithful adaption of caustic record store owner Rob Gordon’s hunt for the roots of his romantic problems. Love it.

Favorite Chicago shots: Cusack and Lili Taylor walking along Lake Michigan, Rob’s record shop on Honore and Milwaukee in my old hood of Wicker Park, baby.

3. The Blues Brothers

The Blues Brothers is the ultimate in cult classics—at least amongst everyone I went to high school with. I mean, seriously, is there anyone alive who hasn’t succumbed to the wiles of Jake and Elwood’s quest to get the band back together and save the orphanage where they grew up? Remember, it's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses. Hit it.

Favorite Chicago shots: That magnificent car chase on Lower Wacker and the Loop, and of course, the Daley Center.

2. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

A legend in his own time, Ferris Bueller (and his Day Off) may simply be the best high school movie ever. A. It’s still really funny. B. It’s about skipping school. And most importantly, C. It’s a veritable love song to Chicago. If you are young enough that you haven’t seen it, this is a gap in your movie-viewing history you must remedy immediately. It is so choice.

Favorite Chicago shots: Lake Shore Drive, Wrigley Field, the Art Institute of Chicago, the parade in the Loop—need I say more?

1.      Everything else John Hughes

Not only did John Hughes veritably define my generation (and probably contribute to some of my therapist bills), but he did so in a distinctly Chicago sort of way. Even my friends from overseas enjoyed a ‘John Hughes’ tour of the North Shore, which mostly consisted of driving around Northbrook (i.e. ‘Shermer’) and pointing out Hughes-esque houses. Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Home Alone, the list goes on and on. And yes, we know Ferris Bueller was a John Hughes movie, but we think that one was an entity unto itself.

Favorite Chicago shots: Simply too extensive to go into. 

Did I forget anything? What are your favorite Chicago movies? Let me know at hhuntington@reelzchannel.com.