Saturday Night at the Movies - Redux

There are many things I haven’t done although I wish I had. I haven’t stood on the summit of Everest. I haven’t played football for Scotland (although if I had, I don’t think I would have been any worse than some of their current representatives), I haven’t seen the Great Wall of China and I haven’t ridden a Harley across the United States. And that’s just off the top of my head – there are many more things I’d like to do but still haven’t managed. However, this weekend I did manage to mark one more item off my "things to do list".

I finally made it to my first drive-in movie.

Generally when I tell people that I’ve yet to undergo this life experience the response is one of incredulity. How could I not have been to a drive-in movie? It is after all, I rite of passage for most Americans and almost everyone I know has fond memories of teen weekends spent in the front seat of a car watching the legends of the silver screen in all their 50ft high glory. But the crucial word in that sentence is "Americans". I of course, grew up on that sceptred isle across the pond where drive-ins never really caught on.

There are a number of reasons for this. Britain doesn’t share America’s obsession with the motor car for one. This is partly because the enduring image of motoring in Britain is not freedom and the open road, but gridlock and congestion. British cars are generally much smaller too so snuggling with your honey takes a lot more dexterity than on the bench seat of a Detroit land ship. Then of course, there’s the weather. The whole concept of outdoor movie-going more or less demands that the weather be warm and the sky above filled with stars. It’s hard to fully appreciate the nuances of the filmmakers’ craft when you’re freezing cold and watching through a windshield streaked with rain.

"Ahah!" I hear you say. "But you’ve lived in the US for over 12 years now – there’s no excuse for you still not to have been to a drive-in." Yes but you see, most of those 12 years were spent in Phoenix where the opposite is true when it comes to the weather. The idea of sitting in a car with the engine (and therefore the air-conditioning) turned off while the ambient temperatures hover around the 100 degree mark holds little appeal for me. There was a drive-in there, not too far from my house but I believe the majority of the patrons were teenagers whose rampant hormonal drives overrode any discomfort from the heat. Even so, after three years in Colorado, where the summertime temperatures are far more conducive to motorized movie-going, and despite passing a drive-in almost every day, I still haven’t made it down there.

The challenge recently has been that they never seem to show films I want to see. I’m not really that big on brainless action movies and those seemed to be the staple fare of the drive-in. However, a friend recently put this in perspective for me when she patiently explained "It’s a drive-in, it’s not a frickin’ art-house. If you’re waiting for 'Sideways' to show up, you’re going to be disappointed". This logic was inescapable so I decided that the next time they showed a movie that didn’t actually promise to kill off my brain cells in measurable amounts, I would go.

I still had to wait a while, but this week the main feature turned out to be 'War of the Worlds', a Tom Cruise flick which has received mixed reviews. I’ve never been a huge fan of Cruise’s; either as an actor or a human being but some of his stuff has been passable. There are other places on the web where you can find reviews of the movie if you’re interested; suffice to say, it wasn’t as cheesy as I expected and Cruise played his part very well. The effects weren’t bad and Dakota Fanning is rapidly becoming my favorite actress.

But you see; that’s not really point. The movie itself is secondary to the experience; the novelty of watching a film in a setting that was totally new to me. That’s what made it such a fun night. Spoiled as I’ve been by multiplexes, it’s a few years since I’ve waited in line to see a movie. However, that’s what we did here. Not shuffling along the sidewalk like in the old days, but in one, then two and finally three lines of idling cars, inching our way along the street. Little cars park at the front, bigger ones behind and the biggest of all at the back. Just like in school photos.

I was familiar with the concept of the speaker hooked onto the car door (I have after all, seen the opening credits of 'The Flintstones' many times) but what I was totally unprepared for was the option of listening to the movie via FM radio. I had never heard of this although I later learned it was introduced in the 1960’s as a way to reduce costs incurred by boneheads driving away with the speaker still attached to the door. Our truck has a factory issue, but quite acceptable sound system so the audio quality was way better than the crackly resonance I expected from the speaker.

A number of folks had brought along lounge chairs, others parked backwards so they could sit in the bed of their trucks or tailgates. I saw two small girls in sleeping bags on the roof of a Ford Explorer and one enterprising couple had brought along a couch which they set up to watch in style. I was more than happy to sit in the cab and watch the show from there although I did wish I’d thought to bring along a bottle of Windex and some paper towels like the folks two cars down from us. Our insect graveyard of a windshield didn’t exactly enhance the viewing experience.

All too soon the film was over and as nobody else seemed to be in a hurry to leave, we were out of the parking lot and on our way home while most people were still packing up. It was kind of hot and rather sweaty, and I didn’t get as completely absorbed in the movie as I normally do in a theater. It was also somewhat alarming to have people walking by your head every few minutes so I doubt I’ll be seeing too many movies in this format.

Mind you; if I ever invent my time machine and get to become a teenager again...