Some all-too-minor local cameos in movies that are primarily set elsewhere come and go, while some become icons. Mandatory Milwaukee is all about the latter. This week: loving when a very brief portion of a film takes place in Milwaukee!
Tomorrow night, Milwaukee Record will be screening Tommy Boy at Avalon Theater. There are countless reasons the classic 1995 comedy is still beloved by audiences 30 years after its release. Chris Farley was never better, and his on-screen dynamic with David Spade is undeniable. The movie is jam-packed with memorable quotes, sidesplitting scenes, and oodles of physical comedy. It has lots of heart and a happy ending. There’s a lot to love about the film.
For people living in Milwaukee, Tommy Boy is rendered a little more special because a small portion of the movie is set right here in our fair city. As most readers probably recall, the movie begins with Farley (as the titular Tommy Callahan) running through “Marquette University” in order to take a final exam on time. Spoiler alert for a 30-year-old film: Tommy narrowly graduates, then gets drunk/high at a house party and falls through a coffee table.
Even though the footage was actually filmed at the University of Toronto, the inclusion of Marquette—Farley’s actual alma mater—in the plot, no matter how brief, gives Milwaukeeans a little something extra to add to our collective enjoyment of an already timeless movie. While this is one of the better-known instances of an oh-so-momentary Milwaukee cameo is a classic movie, it’s far from the only time it has happened.
To be clear: we’re NOT talking about films like Bridesmaids, Mr. 3000, the Dawn Of The Dead remake, or BASEketball that were primarily set in Milwaukee, that feature local exteriors or maybe even a few scenes actually shot here, and that make the location a significant part of the plot. Honestly, focusing on local landmarks shown or judging ways our city was accurately or inaccurately portrayed in such films takes us out of the movie at times.
Instead, we’re referring to the times Milwaukee unexpectedly pops up within a movie that’s mostly set elsewhere, plays a very minimal part of the movie’s overall plot, then is moved on from (sometimes within a matter of two or three minutes) to never be seen or talked about again. Need some examples?
How about Michael Clayton being sent to Milwaukee for a portion of Michael Clayton to tend to his friend Arthur Edens when the litigator has a breakdown in a deposition room and is arrested?
There’s that time demons Loki and Bartleby—played by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck respectively—are at the Milwaukee Airport (actually filmed at an airport in Pennsylvania) in Dogma after being banished to Wisconsin, a place said in the film to be worse than hell.
There’s the one non-U.K. storyline in Love Actually in which Colin is destined to reverse his romantic misfortunes by meeting beautiful American women. Of course, that brings him directly to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Even though we could go on, we’ll leave you with the hands-down best example of this admittedly very specific movie occurrence: Wayne’s World. In this 1992 masterpiece, Wayne and Garth arrive in town and immediately spoof Laverne & Shirley before getting an unexpected Milwaukee history lesson from none other than Alice Cooper in the rocker’s green room. It really adds nothing to help advance the plot and it accounts for only about three minutes of the movie’s total runtime, but it—for better or worse, as it’s still repeatedly referenced almost 35 years later—is still a distinctly localized moment in a movie that otherwise has nothing to do with our city.
However brief, these unexpected Cream City cameos have a way of adding to the viewing experience. Tommy could’ve graduated with a D+ from any college. Wayne and Garth could’ve been unworthy to party with Alice Cooper in any Midwest metro. Colin could’ve taken a direct flight to America from London to get his groove back in, like, New York or Philly or something. But thankfully, all of that happened in Milwaukee, making each of these movies all the more enjoyable.