Thursday, June 11, 2015

Let's all go to the movies!

My childhood was filled with trips to the drive in.  My first movie was at a drive in...my parents were teenagers and saw The Exorcist and I slept in the back seat.  Maybe that's what's wrong with me.  HA!  The first movie I remember was Grease but it was more just seeing it from the back seat and I think I fell asleep in my PJ's.  

I had my 12th birthday party at a drive in with my friends on a blanket beside the car while my mom stayed in it.  We saw a horror double feature and squealed like, well, a bunch of 12 year old girls as we held each other and screeched.  I remember mom yelling to pipe down because we were annoying.  LOL  I think about it now and I'd have the same reaction.

I came across this trailer...




We had to own the documentary because we saw it at a drive in.  We have a drive in pretty much nowhere near us but we make the drive because we feel it's important to keep this piece of history alive.  We make sure we buy our snacks there too (except popcorn because we take TJ's lite kettle corn) to do our part to help keep them up and running.  I know by how many of the ones from my youth are gone that each one depends on each and every customer near and far.

I hope you consider buying/renting this DVD for a good education in how they came to be and the state of them now.  I don't want you to buy through my link if you have a drive in within an hour or two of you.  I'd encourage you to make a road trip and buy it there.  I think it's also on Itunes as well if you don't have one near you.

Am I the only one who gets misty watching this?

I've shared some of my favorite drive in memories...share some of yours in the comments!

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9 comments:

  1. I remember my first trip to a drive-in with my buddy and his mom. They showed me the ropes so to speak by making sure we got one of those mosquito rings and we sat in front of the car and also at the playground area while the movie played. The movie? Cannonball Run 2. Let's just say that with the exception of Daisy Duke in a Lamborghini, the experience at the drive-in was much more memorable than the actual movie for my 12 year old self.

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    1. Yes it is usually more about the experience over the movie especially as a kid. It was always such a treat because it was so different than the theaters where you had to be completely silent.

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  2. The Mr. is right - it was the experience rather than the movie (my first drive-in with my parents was Deliverance! My parents were horrified and made us kids lay down on the back seat and go to sleep (yeah, right)). But it was so much fun to get in your pj's, mom packed lots of snacks and all our nice comfy blankets and we got to watch TV outside - it doesn't get any better than that! There are only 2 drive-ins left in my home state of Massachusetts and both are quite a hike, but we try. So sad.

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    1. OMG, Deliverance! LOL I know, you have those movies where they're like "go to sleep" or "cover your eyes" and you peek through your finger cracks. HA! Time to plan a road trip this summer!

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  3. I didn't go to the drive in much as a kid. I go more now as an adult. I love when they do triple features (and you can bring your own food, once we brought our own large pizza!).

    Back in the day in Erie (where I used to live) they had a porn drive in. I can only imagine how many teens were peeping at it from their windows. I worked with a woman who went on a blind date with a guy and he took her to the porn drive in. There was no second date!

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    1. That's awesome! The one we go to will rarely show a triple feature but there's no way I could stay up for it anymore unless I napped beforehand. OLD! LOL

      They talk about that in the documentary. Many drive in's were forced into showing adult movies just to stay open after the advent of HBO and stuff like there where families were staying home. Then the church groups and parents went after them and most of them were shut down but a few remained and rode out the lull in first runs.

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  4. I have vague memories of being at the drive-in with my parents and sister when I was young but cannot recall what movies I'd seen. I want to say Grease was one of them, but I could be wrong on that. Maybe one of Clint Eastwood's Any Which Way But Loose flicks? The drive-in is still there in the town a few over from where we lived and I drive passed it whenever I go to my uncle's place. I believe it's called Cascade. There was a twin drive-in in the north suburb of Wheeling but when a tornado came through it ripped up the screens pretty good and I don't believe they rebuilt it. Could be wrong about that too since it's been years that I've worked up there.

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    1. Oh man, Any Which Way But Loose. I used to love that as a kid. I wonder if I should watch it on Amazon Prime or leave it locked in the rose colored tint of my mind. :-)

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  5. The closest drive in to me is about an hour an a half. It makes for a late night, but I try to go as often as possible. They are pretty busy so I don't think they'll be closing anytime soon, but the more business they have the better. I remember drive-ins with my parents, and then when I got older with groups of friends. It doesn't seem to matter how bad the movie is, seeing it at a drive-in always makes it better.

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