Jeff Garlin has certainly been making waves as of late! Earlier this month, the comedian/TV star came to a mutual decision with Sony Pictures Television to leave the hit series “The Goldbergs” following a three-year HR investigation into his behavior on set. The departure proved an interesting turn of events for the actor, who has come to be beloved in his role as curmudgeonly patriarch Murray on the 1980s-set series, which is scheduled to wrap its ninth season in 2022.
Garlin’s co-star Hayley Orrantia, who plays eldest Goldberg child, Erica, on the show, has also been in the news recently, but for a much more positive reason – her new movie, “Christmas Is Canceled,” just hit Amazon Prime. In her first leading feature film role, the actress/singer portrays Emma Lockhart, a shy 27-year-old bookworm who returns home from a months-long work trip shortly before Christmas only to discover that her 54-year-old widowed father, Jack (Dermot Mulroney), is dating her high school frenemy, Brandy Barnes (Janel Parrish), and that the two are planning to spend the holidays together. Emma does not take the news well, promptly announcing to everyone within earshot, “Christmas is f*cking canceled!” before kicking a plastic Santa across her father’s busy office lobby. As Heather Hogan of Autostraddle noted, pairing “Mr. 90s Rom-Com” Mulroney with Mona Vanderwaal from “Pretty Little Liars” is “enough to make anyone punt a glowing plastic elf across the room, to be honest. But when it’s your own dad? Well, Santa’s lucky his head’s still attached to his body.”
Originally titled “The Fight Before Christmas,” the flick isn’t exactly garnering stellar reviews, nor did it make The New York Times’ recent 100 best movies currently streaming on Amazon Prime list. But if you’re looking for a mindless R-rated holiday comedy to pass the time during these last few days of the season, it’s worth a watch.
With the Chicago area serving as a picturesque wintery backdrop, “Christmas Is Canceled” was largely filmed in the suburbs of the Windy City. According to set decorator Meredith Tummillo, the shoot was a short one, lasting a scant 16 days, during which only 11 locations were utilized.
Elgin Country Club, at 2575 Weld Rd., pops up as the spot where Jack takes Emma and Brandy for a holiday dinner with his golfing buddies. Also in Elgin is the now-defunct Billy Bricks Wood-Fired Pizza Café at 64 S. Grove Ave., the rear side of which was used as the exterior of Bridgewater Tavern, where Emma’s crush, Josh Jamison (Michael Naizu), works. As depicted onscreen, his apartment can be found just above the restaurant space. Drink Nightclub, at 871 E. Algonquin Rd. in nearby Schaumburg, pulled double duty in the film, appearing as both the inside of Bridgewater Tavern as well as the club where Jack and Brandy’s New Year’s Eve benefit is held. And Shoppe The Mill retail boutique at 37 W. Slade St. in Palatine was transformed into the salon where Emma and Brandy get makeovers mid-film.
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Image Credit: Lionsgate Most memorable, though, is the modern farmhouse belonging to Jack, the real address of which is prominently featured several times, most notably in a scene towards the end that opens with a shot of the home’s front door placard. It’s a move that is quite atypical in the world of film. Sure, productions do occasionally mention the actual location of properties used onscreen. In “Home Alone,” for instance, Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) clearly states that he resides at 671 Lincoln Blvd. (Full disclosure – the “Home Alone” house is located at 671 Lincoln Ave., not Blvd., in Winnetka.) And in “13 Going On 30,” Jenna Rink (Jennifer Garner) asks Matt Flamhaff (Mark Ruffalo) if he “used to live on Spruce St.” (Matt’s childhood home from the movie is genuinely located on Spruce St. in South Pasadena.) But until watching “Christmas Is Canceled,” I had yet to see an actual address showcased so overtly in a production!
In reality, Jack’s house can be found exactly where the movie purports it to be – at 1225 N. Drury Ln. in Arlington Heights, an upscale suburb situated about 25 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. (Please remember this is a private home. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.)
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Image Credit: Google Stunning through and through, the spacious residence consists of five bedrooms and six baths in 5,345 square feet. Amenities include coffered ceilings, hardwood flooring, built-ins galore, a finished basement, multiple fireplaces, a four-car garage and an open kitchen with stainless appliances.
Set back from the road, the picturesque pad stands at the center of a circular driveway on a sprawling 0.61-acre parcel boasting rolling front and rear lawns, a sport court and mature foliage throughout.
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Image Credit: Google A newer build, the abode was completed in 2018 and replaced a much smaller one-story residence that was originally constructed on the premises in 1955 (pictured above).
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Image Credit: Google Exuding curb appeal – not to mention being seemingly tailor-made to display twinkle lights! – it is no wonder the estate was chosen to portray the residence of Emma’s wealthy father in “Christmas Is Canceled.”
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Image Credit: Lionsgate Both the exterior and interior of the property were featured extensively throughout the film. Fun fact – the homeowners had to be relocated to a hotel for about a month to accommodate the pre-production preparations and shooting schedule.
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Image Credit: Lionsgate Of the pad’s gorgeous interior, Orrantia told The Nerds of Color, “I definitely got the Christmas feels when we were there. The set design – they just did a great job. I feel like this house that we were shooting in was just, for one, one of the most magical homes I’ve ever stepped into in my life. If people could even know how amazing the detail was in this home! I’m a big appreciator – I much appreciate interior design, so I was like in this house going, ‘Wow, these cabinets are just . . . ‘ But at the same time, they just made it so magical with all the Christmas decorations, and even though we were shooting in Chicago in May, you wouldn’t really know it.”
Indeed, if nothing else, “Christmas Is Canceled” certainly gives off an enchanted holiday vibe.