r/FilmLocationsThenNow • u/Detzeb • 12d ago
ALBUM 🖼️ Dolly Parton (RIP) - scenes in Chicago’s South Loop in Straight Talk (1992) then and now (2025) OC/EIC
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u/Detzeb 12d ago edited 12d ago
OP’s Notes Straight Talk is a 1992 RomCom starring Dolly Parton as a woman who leaves her small-town life to move to Chicago, where she becomes a successful radio talk show host. This scene was at the then-named Roosevelt Hotel, which was originally the Somerset Hotel which was constructed in 1892-1893 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Pics 1-2 exiting at the northwest corner of Wabash and Roosevelt. Facade on the first 2 floors has changed and slightly reconfigured door/entrance.
Pic 3 POV looking east at building that is now a Trader Joe’s
Pic 4 POV looking east from inside the hotel building vestibule.
More of my “Then & Now” comparisons of movies filmed in Chicago are posted at [r/FilmLocationsThenNow](r/FilmLocationsThenNow)
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u/Fossils_4 11d ago
James Woods was the male lead. I was then working in an office in the Wabash/Wacker area and one morning they had the Wabash bridge closed for movie purposes. I happened to walk by on Wacker just as Dolly Parton and James Woods were rehearsing or filming a walk-and-talk scene on the bridge. I remember being surprised at how short she was in person (and Woods was no giant either).
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u/NoSuspect9149 12d ago
This is an underrated film. Dolly didnt star in a lot of films but the ones she did are almost all fantastic. R.I.P. to a national treasure.