If you're Facebook friends with at least one person of the gay persuasion, you probably already know this, but for the rest of you: Comedienne/gay icon/talk show host Chelsea Handler will be on hand at Women & Children First, 5233 N. Clark, for a book signing this Sunday, April 11 from 5-6:15 p.m. more ›

With a title and premise like Hot Tub Time Machine, you know what you're getting as soon as you walk in. There are no pretenses, no expectations, and the movie probably gets funnier with the more chemicals that are in your bloodstream. It's a buddy comedy fashioned after last year's blockbuster hit The Hangover. The movie follows three friends - Adam (John Cusack), Nick (Craig Robinson), and Lou (Rob Corddry) - each going through his own mid-life crisis and throws in Adam's nephew, Jacob (Clark Duke) as a young outsider for good measure. One of the characters' crisis inspires a weekend trip to a ski lodge, the scene of many of their favorite young adult memories and antics but now a run-down hole. The men make the best of the situation, have a wild night of drinking in a mysterious hot tub, and wake up to find themselves in 1986; the three older men in their 1986 bodies while Jacob remains himself. There's some talk of the space-time continuum using Terminator as a reference and the group decides to do their best to go through the motions of that specific night without doing something to completely throw off the timeline, a plan that goes out the window pretty quick. more ›

We went into the musical High Fidelity with no preconceived notions. We hadn’t seen the movie. We hadn’t read the book. So there was no way we could see the problem with the subject material onstage, right? more ›

With his bid to buy the Chicago Cubs lagging a bit, Tom Ricketts has apparently appealed to some folks with more star wattage as potential partners to buy the franchise. According to the Tribune, Ricketts has met with such local luminaries as Bill Murray, Jim Belushi, and John Cusack. It's part of Ricketts' attempt to pull in private investors willing to chip in $25 million each to help raise capital to finalize the purchase. While it doesn't seem as if the bid is in jeopardy, indications are that there is some finagling going on with the broadcast aspect of the bid and the Ricketts family may lower it somewhat. more ›

A few days ago we unwittingly created a monster when we expressed our frustration about having to wait to see the schedule for this year's Chicago International Film Festival, which runs October 4-17. Well, we finally have a copy of said schedule in our hot little hands. What follows is a very brief, cursory summary of what you can expect this year (the full schedule will be online within the next few days). Regardless of... more ›

The Tribune ran a list of "Ten Things You Might Not Know About Chicago Transit." more ›

Oscar fever has got us doing cartwheels all over the Chicagoist offices, as well as placing more than a few friendly wagers over who will be taking home those expensive doorstops come February 25th. But that’s not the only thing going down in the film world at the moment. A little gathering in Park City, Utah called the Sundance Film Festival has been underway since last week. And lest you shrug your shoulders indifferently just... more ›

Best Life magazine, a.k.a. Men’s Health for the thinking man, has anointed Evanston’s own Jeremy Piven as this month’s sophisticated man’s man. Growing up a theatrical rugrat in a theater-crazy town has paid off, as Piven’s string of supporting roles landed him the testosteroney lead in the HBO series "Entourage." After years of riffing with Ellen, the Cusacks, and the Justice League, Piven is coming into his own. Most of the piece treads well-worn territory.... more ›

All year we’ve been hearing the hype and the promises. This week, two Chicago cultural institutions invite the public to see the results of their high profile face lifts. The venue once known as the Chicago Historical Society regularly provided modest, helpful insights into local and regional history. Now it’s been renovated and renamed the Chicago History Museum, sporting 16,000 shiny new square feet for robust programming, heeding Burnham’s command to “Make no small plans.”... more ›

Want to score a pair of tickets to see Conan when he comes to Chicago May 9-12? Better act fast. To request tickets (2 per person allowed), send an email to ConanInChicago@nbcuni.com with your name, address, phone number and email address. more ›

As has been pointed out elsewhere, Thanksgiving is often a time for families to get together and share some quality time. You just threw up in your mouth a little, didn’t you? Somewhere around Hour Four of your Familial Celebration of Overeating and Passive-Agressive Conversation, you’ll be looking for an out. If two hours of sitting in the dark while no one sharing your DNA says a thing sounds like heaven, then it’s off to... more ›

While the White Sox dismissed the Red Sox and Angels in pretty short order, this series promises to be a much more tightly contested affair. With both teams sporting incredible pitching rotations, the series should be one low-scoring pitchers' dual after another. The Astros look tough with their rotation that includes Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Roy Oswalt. But the White Sox foursome of Jose Contreras, Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland and Freddy Garcia look like they're ready to go toe-to-toe. more ›

Chicagoist did our duty and tuned into the MTV Video Music Awards last night just in case anything Chicago related occurred. Or in case a giant tidal wave washed over Miami. Either way, it would’ve been cool with us. It had been a number of years since we last had cable and were able to watch this so count us as being rather surprised by just how much the rock and/or roll dominated the proceedings.... more ›

Liam Davis, Frisbie more ›

Chicagoist keeps hearing rumblings about declining national box office numbers yet we refuse to think that people aren’t going to the movies as often. Sure, they’re not rushing to see whatever cinematic middle finger John Cusack is flipping at you these days but with so many movie events happening around Chicago, we think there’s something for everyone in theaters this week. more ›

The implied mission of Mayor Richard M. Daley's new chief of staff, Ron Huberman, is to reform city government -- do what none of the almost dozen chiefs of staff before him were unable to do. Monday, in a press conference he announced, along with City Corporation Council Mara Georges, that patronage and clout in city hiring is over. "It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter who you know. We are operating as... more ›

John Cusack is undoubtedly one of Chicagoist's favorite hometown boys. (Well, maybe this would be a more appropriate distinction for the non-existent Evanstonist, but we'll count it anyway.) And his quintessential performances � the ones that really feature his trademark endearing, heart-broken, obsessive compulsive sensitive guys � come in High Fidelity's Rob Gordon and Rob's predecessor, Say Anything's Lloyd Dobler. In fact, that whole film is nicely summed up by its tagline, "To know Lloyd Dobler is to love him. Diane Court is about to know Lloyd Dobler." more ›

Chicagoist just loves receiving mix tapes � or mix CDs now, *sigh* � and analyzing the meaning behind every agonizing choice. As the recent Tony Award winner Avenue Q notes, �A mix tape./ He made a mix tape./ He was thinking of me,/ Which shows he cares!/ Sometimes when someone/ Has a crush on you/ They'll make you a mix tape/ To give you a clue.� And when making the tapes, we definitely abide by the rules of one Rob Gordon: �You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch.� more ›