So, I know that memorial day weekend is coming up soon. I suppose I should be planning a weekend by the lake with cold beer, suntan lotion, and a flyswatter–maybe planning a day on a bud light party cruise. However, what I really want to do…is go to the movies. I want to sit indoors in a dark cool theater and get lost in one fantastical story after another….no bug spray or bathing suit required.
Now, this is not a normal urge. I like movies…but, I much prefer the great outdoors, warm weather, and sunshine. I am not some strange pale person in an overcoat that has no social life and hisses at strangers. (well, the pale part is correct). But, it has been a long time since I watched a good movie…had the powerful ‘suspension of disbelief’ that a hushed theater and a giant screen can offer.
However, I don’t want just any movie experience. I am actually craving a very singular type of movie outing…
The Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas.
This small chain of Austin theaters has taken all that you love about watching a movie at home (comfortable seating, food, ability to drink a glass(or 3) of wine) and mixed it with all that you love about watching a movie in the theater (large screen, great sound, getting out of the house).
They show first-run, second-run, and off the wall movies and they let you drink beer and wine and order from an extensive and suprisingly tasty menu–before and during the film. It’s as good as the movie-going experience can get.
Now, if they would only pause the film every time you had to go to the bathroom, it would be sheer perfection!
The Drafthouse began in a small renovated parking garage in Austin’s trendy Wharehouse District (before it was very trendy). They showed second run films and quickly got a reputation for screening a wide variety of non traditional films—documentaries, indies, and reruns of old cult classics, like Rocky Horror Picture Show and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.
As the theater became more popular, they also started hosting events and creating fun theme nights around different movies. I have ‘a friend’ that went to the Michael Jackson, Thriller Sing-Along, where costumes and dancing were strongly encouraged (and adhered too!). One of my favorite theme nights was watching the fourth Harry Potter movie and ordering off their special menu… items like butter beer and chocolate frogs. Another ‘special menu’ that was created was for a screening of “Like Water for Chocolate” and the kitchen served the same menu as was consumed during the wedding feast in the movie!
As time has gone on…the original theater has turned into 6 in Austin and about 15 in other cities across Texas. I have also read that the first out of state Alamo Drafthouse is slated to open its doors in Virginia, in 2009. They have added mainstream movie selections and big blockbusters to their line-up, but, have managed to keep the oddball and zany features alive as well.
What I don’t understand is why this concept has not been picked up all across the U.S. I live in the Bay Area and have had trouble finding any theaters that let you drink and order food off a menu. The Sundance Kabuki theater is the only one that comes close. But, it doesn’t have in-movie waiter service…much less the themed screenings and wacky cult classics that make the Alamo so special.
I have found more of these kinds of theaters overseas than in the U.S. of A. One of the best is the Cinema Paradiso in Wanaka, New Zealand. But, I won’t expound on it here as it is worthy of its very own post!
So, while there are certainly plenty of fantastic things to do in San Francisco and across the rest of California for Memorial Day Weekend. I am sitting here looking up cheap flights to Austin…..gotta get my Alamo movie fix!
What are your Memorial Day plans?
