American flicks filmed in Toronto

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Photo by Paul Bica

Photo by Paul Bica

Everyone has their favorite American movie. Whether it was a box office smash or bomb, you can’t help but pick it up at the movie store or stream it for movie night. But, did you ever stop to think maybe your favorite movie isn’t as American as you’ve thought? Those buildings in the background of your favorite scene just have to be in NYC, right?

Several “American” films have actually been filmed partially or exclusively in other countries. Toronto, Canada is a popular film location for American movies and has been for years because of tax breaks and urban scenery looking very similar to New York City or Chicago.

Check out the list below to see if your favorite American movie was filmed in Toronto and to learn what other American classics were filmed there.

1. A Christmas Story (1983)

Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Family
Length: 94 minutes

Young Ralphie only wants one thing for Christmas this year — a Red Ryder B.B. gun. He does his best throughout the movie to convince his mom and dad, his teacher and Santa Claus that this is the perfect gift. But when Christmas Day comes, is the gun one of the many presents under the tree?

2. American Psycho (2000)

Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Length: 102 minutes

Christian Bales plays a young, wealthy New York investment banker working on Wall Street who has to hide his alternate ego of being a serial killer who kills people just because from his coworkers.

3. Billy Madison (1995)

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Length: 89 minutes

Billy Madison is lazy and immature and only passed school because his dad paid his teachers. Now, to earn the respect of his dad and inherit his dad’s hotel empire, Billy makes a deal with him to repeat first grade through 12th grade to prove he can handle running the business.

4. Cheaper By The Dozen 2 (2005)

Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Family
Length: 94 minutes

In this sequel, the Baker family heads to Lake Winnetka for a family vacation where they end up in a competition with a family of eight whose father is Tom Baker’s old nemesis.

5. Chicago (2003)

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Musical
Length: 113 minutes

In this hot musical set in Chicago during the 1920s, two murderesses are on death row and each fights for the fame they desire to prevent being hung for their crimes.

6. Cinderella Man (2005)

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
Length: 144 minutes

Based on true events from the life of James Braddock during the Great Depression, this American boxer was seen as washed up and one who didn’t have a shot when he returned to the ring. But Braddock was fueled by his love for his family and determination to prove everyone wrong, which helped him win and become a boxing champion and an inspiration to the American people.

7. Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Rating: R
Genre: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Length: 101 minutes

A group of survivors band together and find refuge in a shopping mall while flesh-eating zombies plague their world.

8. Four Brothers (2005)

Rating: R
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Length: 109 minutes

Four adoptive brothers seek to avenge their mother’s death after they investigate and find out it wasn’t just a random killing during a store robbery.

9. Good Will Hunting (1998)

Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Length: 126 minutes

Will Hunting, who works as a janitor at MIT, has no problem solving math problems. He just can’t seem to figure out what he’s doing with his life until one day a psychologist comes along and helps him find his way.

10. Hairspray (2007)

Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Musical, Romance
Length: 117 minutes

1962 Baltimore is a very segregated city, but when Tracy Turnblad lands a spot on a popular local TV dance show — even though she’s not the typical kind of candidate — she teaches the city some things about segregation along with the help of some friends and her parents.

11. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Length: 112 minutes

An experiment gone wrong causes Dr. Bruce Banner to transform into a giant green creature whenever something causes his pulse rate to get high. But he’s not the only one, as a soldier negatively uses the exact same technology to become an evil version of the creature.

12. John Q (2002)

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Length: 116 minutes

Denzel Washington plays a loving father who will do anything to save his son’s life when his insurance won’t help, including holding a hospital’s ER hostage until doctors agree to perform heart surgery on his son.

13. Kick-Ass (2010)

Rating: R
Genre: Action, Comedy
Length: 117 minutes

An ignored high-school student who’s a big comic book fan decides one day he’s going to become a superhero and doesn’t let the fact he has no training or powers stop him from trying.

14. Max Payne (2008)

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Length: 100 minutes

A NYPD detective’s wife and child were killed as part of a conspiracy, and a few years after this tragedy he ends up joining forces with an assassin whose sister died to solve a series of NYC murders.

15. Mean Girls (2004)

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Length: 97 minutes

After being raised in Africa for years, Cady Heron and her parents move back to the U.S. In her new school she becomes friends with the “Burnouts”, becomes accepted as a member of the “Plastics” and falls for jock Aaron Samuels, who’s the ex-boyfriend of the head of the “Plastics”.

16. Police Academy (1984)

Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Crime
Length: 96 minutes

Now that just about anyone can join the police academy — much to the detest of the instructors — a group of inept misfits become the newest recruits and pull some wild pranks the instructors don’t put up with.

17. RED (2010)

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime
Length: 111 minutes

When a very sophisticated assassin threatens the now peaceful retirement life of former black-ops agent Frank Moses, he gets his old team together (those deemed RED or retired and extremely dangerous) to help him stay alive and find out just who his assailants are.

18. The Recruit (2003)

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Length: 115 minutes

A young but very bright CIA trainee, who ends up falling for a fellow recruit, is asked by his mentor to help find a mole within the Agency.

19. Tommy Boy (1995)

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Length: 97 minutes

After an auto parts factory owner dies, the fate of the factory, its workers and the town are left in the hands of the owner’s incompetent son who must go on the road along with his dad’s right-hand man and sell the company’s new brake pads to save the day.

20. Total Recall (2012)

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Length: 118 minutes

Douglas Quaid isn’t happy with his current life and has been having nightmares of him fighting with a woman and then being captured, so he goes to Rekall where they implant false memories into your head. The procedure goes wrong, and Quaid ends up learning his current life isn’t what it seems and must go on the run to stay alive.

21. X-Men (2000)

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Length: 104 minutes

Two mutants go to a private academy for young mutants run by Charles Xavier, a.k.a. Professor X. His mutant team must fight an opposing mutant team that has a plan for war with humanity.

More hit American movies were filmed in Toronto than you probably thought. (We admit it was more than we knew about!) If this Canadian city is good enough for several American movie film locations, then it’s good enough for you to visit. Find an IHG hotel in Toronto and take a Northern Hollywood tour and stop by some of the Toronto streets, shops and buildings found in these American classics.

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