A Night at the Drive-In

Yeah I know, I'm late AND I dropped the ball on Friday, many apologies are in order. But really, after watching over 6 hours worth of movies in one night on a giant screen (at the drive-in) I really didn't think I could handle 6 min looking at my comp screen.

For those of you who are fortunate to have one near you, take advantage of a drive-in. I know that they are rare, but check out websites and see if you can find one near you. Joe and I try at least to visit once a summer, so we were lucky that we were both free and AND they had movies we were actually interested in seeing (and at $8 for a triple feature, its a much better deal anyway).

Of course the movies are supposed to be the main attraction, but the real entertainment is in the Intermission. Besides the absolutely over-the-top gee-willickers-that-sounds-swell-ness of it (which is def good for some laughs) you really can't help but feel the history that is encapsulated within that little field. People from our parents generation were sitting right where we were in huge cars borrowed from their parents, watching these same ads and coming attractions. It seems like such a wholly American idea, and it probably is (I'm sure other countries had drive-ins but still).

And I'm sure our American rotund reputation wasn't exactly diverted with the constant onslaught of ads for the damn snack bar. Ice cream, hot dogs, candy, soda, it's amazing the baby-boomers didn't wipe out as quickly as they came. My favorite is when they talk about "tasty and nutritious" hot dogs. It's like that Simpson's episode where they show the film at the Duff Brewery about how Duff fills you with "good wholesome beer goodness". And we wonder why we have things in existence like people-movers.

Sadly, as I remember discovering the first time at the drive-in, they actually need people to buy from the snack bar. In fact, that's really how they make their money. So I usually do my patriotic duty and buy a good gallon of popcorn and try to work it off later by skipping or pushing the car home. Oh well, what's a few thousand calories when a piece of Americana is at stake.

Oh and let me just diverge here for a second and yell at the people who insist on not only bringing their children to an R-rated movie, but then REFUSE to leave after the kid has made it clear that they do NOT want to be there. I don't care if you spent the last of your babysitter money on beer, sit your ass home with your kids and watch Spongebob. Cuz it's distracting to the rest of us who are trying to enjoy the ghastly violence or raunchy sex-scenes. Allow me to explain...

A few weeks ago we went to see the movie Kick-Ass. Yes, I thought it was a kiddie-movie when I first saw the previews too...AU CONTRARY. So we're sitting there, gettin into it (btw, it gets major points for making a 7 year old girl look like the freaking Bride from Kill Bill--brutal yet benevolent), when we here the sounds of little voices behind us. Someone actually brought their kids into the movie...Let's see, what should be the first tip that this movie MIGHT be inappropriate for your youngster: the stabbing? the exploding bodies? the sailor-language? the masturbation? No? Hey congrats, you just won yourself a disturbed little mental-case who'll torture squirrels. (Ok, so maybe many of you have seen worse when you were kids, but just stand-up and be proud to be the grown-up mental cases that you are).

So that was one thing. And then, at the aforementioned drive-in we were parked next to an SUV with a family with this little girl. She couldn't have been older than 5, which is the dead-on right age for the first movie we saw ("How to Train Your Dragon"). But once that concluded around 10:30, wouldn't they, nay, SHOULDN'T they take the hint and get their kid to bed? Naah, let's keep her up to watch the oh-so-stellar "The Bounty Hunter", and follow it up with a nice big helping of "Hot Tub Time Machine". At first the kid was annoying me with her whining but then I felt sorry for her. Wake the fuck up parents, your kid is bored and, I dunno, 8 hrs past her bedtime?? She kept running into the radio pole and falling down, which then led to crying for a good half-hour.

It made me wonder back to the old nostalgia I was feeling before. Then it was a tradition, now its a novelty. Then, it was a way to be away from your parents and yet safe in your car to do all kinds of mischievous shenanigans (I daresay many of us were conceived right there while your parents were "watching" Xanadu). Now, its like a midnight playground for kids to run around while their parents try to have a night out. Or, like it is for me, a place where we can just temporarily step back into the days of Chilly Dilly Pickles or previews for "Frogs". At least, for two hours...