Trying to show the British that you won’t stand for their taxation without representation? Come visit the Boston Harbor and recreate America’s tea party! No trip to Boston is complete without stopping by the Harbor and viewing the scenery of some of the oldest ports in America, still occupied by hundreds of sailing and luxury vessels. Many Boston films feature the area due to its instant recognizability and status as extremely upper class, and is such featured on the private Boston TV & Movie Sites Tour.
Who better to bask in the upper class lifestyle than famed criminal Frank Costello, played by Jack Nicholson in The Departed. Costello’s apartment complex is at the Flagship Wharf, right next to the famous Lobster Cafe. This complex just goes to show how expensive Harbor properties are, with most apartments going for ~$2,000,000. The same complex is also featured in Once Around starring Richard Dreyfuss. Once again, the family living in the house came from money and can be seen enjoying a feast of lobsters.
Close to the downtown area is the Boston Convention Center, which once stood as a casino for a single day. This was done for the movie 21 starring Jim Sturgess. This film is about a MIT student looking to get money for Harvard Medical School in a unique way – gambling. Sturgess’ first experience counting cards in underground casinos takes place at the convention center. All the machines in that scene were broken ones the crew could buy for cheap, which were repurposed to create the feel of a real casino.
Near the Boston Tea Party Museum in the Seaport district, there are many other locations used in Boston media. Paul Feig’s The Heat used the roads here for the backdrop of a conversation between Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock after leaving the FBI building. Feig loved Boston so much that he wanted as many locals in the movie as possible. He even found roles for Real Housewives of South Boston alums Jessica Chaffin and Jamie Denbo (they play Gina and Beth)! Additionally, the Disney movie The Game Plan starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson filmed in this location. They used the famous “Barking Crab” restaurant as the backdrop for a dramatic scene where the Rock’s daughter (Madison Petis) eats a peanut and has a dangerous allergic reaction, causing her to be rushed to the emergency room.
Check out The Boston Harbor on the Boston TV & Movie Sites Bus Tour and you’ll be sure to see many of the locations featured in these films!
* In an effort to stay current, we are constantly updating our tours with new locations and cannot guarantee the presence of locations mentioned on our site. If you have a particular interest in locations from a specific TV show or movie, please let your tour guide know and we will do our best to accommodate your request.