In Netflix’s new rom-com The Last Summer, two teens hit the Bean, Reckless Records in Wicker Park, Navy Pier, and other iconic spots in a single montage, measuring almost 20 miles if you map it out. Which we did. Here are some other cinematic geography compressors.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
• Leaving the GT in a garage, the trio seemingly teleports between Sears Tower, Wrigley Field, the Art Institute, and Calder’s Flamingo.
• Miles:11.8
• Realistic time:3 hours, 28 minutes (accounting for two cab trips)
The Lake House (2006)
• Sandra Bullock walks from the Wabash Avenue Bridge to the Near North Side, then admires a graffiti message near the Green Line. Even for a time-travel movie, this is far out.
• Miles:9
• Realistic time:3 hours, 20 minutes
Southside with You (2016)
• In a date that covers 63 miles total, they walk from a “South Side” art center (actually the Chicago Cultural Center) to Douglas Park, then from Altgeld Gardens to Quinn Chapel.
• Miles:28.3
• Realistic time:9 hours, 30 minutes