Libertyville featured in holiday rom-com ‘The Exes of Christmas Past’
Just as spring was budding last April, parts of downtown Libertyville were transformed with lights and decorations as props for movie makers filming scenes for a holiday rom-com.
In “The Exes of Christmas Past,” a big city hotel manager returns home to her parents’ small town bed and breakfast to encounter not one or two but three of her former boyfriends staying at the inn.
Certainly, in the feel-good movie tradition, hijinks were bound to ensue. For curious onlookers, shopkeepers and others the question became how much of Libertyville will make the cut and what will they recognize?
They’ll find out beginning Sunday as the 86-minute film premieres on the streaming service Tubi and is available on other platforms including Roku, Vizio and Pluto.
Filming was well-received by downtown business owners, residents and property owners, says Jennifer Johnson, executive director of MainStreet Libertyville, a revitalization and marketing group.
“All the action and decorations piqued the community’s interest. We’re looking forward to the release, and the timing is perfect to highlight the downtown small businesses during the holiday season,” she said.
See the movie’s trailer on YouTube.
The independent production was written by Jake Jarvi and Eliza Toser, a husband-and-wife team from Gurnee. Jarvi also served as director of “The Exes of Christmas Past.”
“I loved shooting in Libertyville — it was so fun and everybody was so nice,” Jarvi said. “It couldn’t have been a better experience.”
Chris Charles, a partner at Througline Films, collaborated with the couple on “Haunt Season” a horror movie released in October 2024 and produced “Exes.”
“Libertyville will be featured quite a bit,” he said. All the business names were kept as is and some of the shopkeepers appear in the film, he added.
The village was to have been one of the locations for another of his holiday films, Charles said. That was delayed but filming for “Christmas at the Zoo” has been approved by the village and is planned for December.
“Libertyville has been on our radar for some time,” he said. “Having had a great experience shooting ‘Exes’ there, we’re happy to be coming back.”
According to information provided to the village, the crew will include about 35 people and five to 20 extras. Most scenes will take place inside businesses but there will be footage on sidewalks.
Local actors will be used in the film and Libertyville will be listed as an official filming location on the IMDb website.
“Christmas at the Zoo” is expected to be ready for the 2026 holiday season. Details were being kept under wraps but a general description provided to the village says an entrepreneur finding herself caught between business and romance over the holidays.
Charles and John Bosher, business partner and Mundelein resident, have made a trilogy of holiday films: “Christmas on the Ranch” shot in Long Grove, Mundelein and Hawthorn Woods and debuted Nov. 1, 2024, followed by “Christmas with Felicity” and “Reporting for Christmas.”