MN Movie Sets: Overnight Delivery
When I was researching for my post about the history of Ayd Mill Road, I was reminded of a piece of Minnesota movie magic.
In 1996, citizens who lived in the area of Ayd Mill Road were reminded that the parkway would be closed because it was being used as the set of a film. No, not “Jingle All the Way” or “Mighty Ducks”. This one was very under the radar.
“Overnight Delivery” went straight-to-video and it seems that that was a good choice. The script was a Kevin Smith follow-up to “Mallrats” and the studios, in their rush to capitalize on that success, were rushing production. Smith, after ongoing script revisions from the producers, took his name off of the project.
The movie stars a ver young Paul Rudd, although he doesn’t seem to ever age. His partner in the Rom-Com is a very brunette Reese Witherspoon who takes on the role of the world-weary stripper with a heart of gold. The goofiness starts when Rudd, who in a drunken state and believing his college girlfriend is cheating on him, sends a nasty break up via a knockoff FedEx. Realizing his mistake after he sobers up, he and Witherspoon embark on a cross-country chase to make sure the package doesn’t reach its destination.
“Across the country” turns out to mean various locations in the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs. The Ground Zero nightclub, the campus of the University of Minnesota, St. Mary’s Basilica, the Minneapolis Convention Center, the University of St. Thomas, the Stillwater Lift Bridge, 2nd Street in Hastings, and the Embassy Suites are just some of the locations that I was able to recognize.
And of course, Ayd Mill Road, as a convenient stand-in for a highway since they were able to shut it down in both directions without creating a traffic jam. It gets featured during a silly chase scene with the fanatical delivery driver who is absolutely dead set on completing his mission and delivering his package on time.
Turns out, being a rod to nowhere comes in handy for Hollywood.
