We will be showing “Uncle Fun, You’re the One” at a special ticketed event that will feature goodie bags of toys from Uncle Fun, a cake, and other fun. Tickets are extremely limited and are available through Square. Filmmaker Laura Scruggs will be in attendance! We’ll also have special guest appearances from musicians featured in the film. What a beautiful thing.

We’ve extended our movie party to two nights! Come over on either Saturday or Sunday at 7 pm, but please RSVP your spot in advance!

“First-time filmmaker Laura Scruggs pays tribute to Chicago’s late, lamented toy and novelty shop Uncle Fun and its owner, Ted Frankel. An unabashed fan, Scruggs doesn’t even feign critical distance, but none is necessary when making a love letter to one’s favorite place on earth. A mecca for gag gifts and doodads of every kind, the store was a reflection of its proprietor, who appears often in the film, wearing a loud shirt or a goofy hat every single time. A parade of customers and employees sing the store’s praises and there’s no reason to doubt their sincerity and impossible not to empathize with their sense of loss at the store’s looming closure. Uncle Fun was a sanctuary for artists, musicians, and oddballs of all stripes and this is a celebration of their Valhalla. There are out-of-focus shots, cheesy graphics, and amateurish editing throughout but it doesn’t matter one bit. This is a heartfelt appreciation for a place dedicated to making people happy, made by people who adored it, and I’m not going to be the one to rain on their parade. Scruggs and Frankel in person at the 2pm and 7pm screenings; Scruggs in person at the 11:30am screening.”

(2018, 60 min, Digital Projection) DS
From the Cinephile review:
https://www.cinefile.info/cine-list/2018/6/8/61418

So far this documentary has screened at five different venues:

*Chicago Filmmakers (three showings, two were sold out)

*American Visionary Art Museum (in Baltimore, John Waters attended)

*Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art (sold out, in Chicago)

*Bric-A-Brac Records (Chicago)

*The Nest (Michigan City, Indiana).

Press:

An interview on WGN:

http://wgnradio.com/2018/04/26/uncle-fun-youre-the-one-laura-scruggs-explores-a-classic-chicago-novelty-spot-and-a-story-of-hope/

an article in the Chicago Reader (they also listed it as one of the top things to do in Chicago that weekend):

https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/uncle-fun-youre-the-one-ted-frankel-laura-scruggs/Content?oid=49780771

Official Website

More events on this date

Tags: Chicago, Illinois, Laura Scruggs, Space Oddities, Uncle Fun You're the One, West Town