There are countless reasons why film directors and pre-production operatives love making movies in Ontario. The Canadian province has some of the largest cities in the area and isn't lacking in the natural beauty either, making it the perfect place to shoot all kinds of motion pictures. Countless successful films have come out of the province over the past several decades, confirming Ontario's position as an entertainment hotspot.
From the casino-fueled action of Owning Mahowny to the legendary cult classic Catch Me If You Can, Canadians can regularly watch Ontario represented on theater screens, and the result is, more often than not, fantastic. But what are some of the best movies shot in Ontario? Stay with us for a complete rundown of our favorite options from the past few decades. We'll see you on the other side!
Owning Mahowny
Not only is Owning Mahowny filmed in Ontario, but it's also based on a true story about a Toronto banker who embezzled tens of millions of dollars to feed his casino habit. The action swings between Toronto and Atlantic City, where the main character, Dan Mahowny, is increasingly enjoying the extra attention from casino employees. It also helps that he's pretty good at table games and slots, earning himself a quasi-mythical reputation in the gambling hotspot.
Owning Mahowny is set in the early 1980s, but casino options nowadays are even more exciting. For example, you can play slots with numerous paylines and other exciting mechanics without needing to visit an actual casino. As a result, people in Toronto and further afar are flocking to the online casino industry for their fix.
Casino Jack
Although it's called Casino Jack, this film doesn't actually have anything to do with casinos. Instead, it focuses on the businessman and serial lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who gets caught in a huge corruption scandal involving various fraudulent activities like tax evasion. The movie features Kevin Spacey in the lead role, and he was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor in the Musical or Comedy Motion Picture category.
Much of Casino Jack takes place in Washington DC, but there are also several scenes in and around Toronto. In fact, even most scenes that were meant to be in the US capital were actually filmed in Toronto, making this film one of the most popular Ontario-filmed movies in the early 2000s.
Catch Me If You Can
Catch Me If You Can will undoubtedly go down as one of the best films of all time, and for good reason. Starring Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead roles, the film follows Frank Abagnale Jr., a young fraudster who finds out how to make increasingly realistic fake cheques and money to fund his lavish and often quite extraordinary lifestyle. The only problem? Tom Hanks, playing FBI agent Carl Hanratty, is hot on his tail. The film covers several years of cat-and-mouse-like chasing until Hanratty finally captures his prize.
Although Catch Me If You Can isn't actually set in Ontario, eagle-eyed viewers will have spotted that the legendary scene in Miami Airport, where Frank Abagnale Jr. somehow manages to convince everybody he's an airline pilot, is actually filmed at Ontario International Airport. You learn something new every day!
Get Over It
Get Over It was one of many high school comedies to come out of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The movie is loosely based on William Shakespeare's seminal play A Midsummer Night's Dream, but of course, the filmmakers took several creative liberties during the script and screenwriting process. It follows Berke Landers, a high school senior who loses his girlfriend and is determined to win her back in the most dramatic of fashions.
How does he intend to do it? By taking part in the same school production that she and her new boyfriend are starring in. The results are naturally hilarious, and Ontario natives have the added bonus of seeing various locations across Mississauga, Toronto, and Port Credit shown on the big screen.
The Whole Nine Yards
The Whole Nine Yards is somewhere between a mafioso epic and a riotously funny comedy, which is testimony to the versatile display from the cast, which includes Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry in the main roles. The action opens in Quebec, where a normal, down-to-earth dentist is suddenly plunged into the mafia underworld when a former hitman moves next door.
Filming takes place across Quebec, Ontario, and Chicago during the movie, as Matthew Perry tries to notify a mafia boss of the whereabouts of the wanted hitman.
