海角大神

It鈥檚 hard to beat real lightning during 鈥�Fantastic Four.鈥�

And I had a front seat to the show when I saw the movie at the drive-in near me the summer that the movie came out in 2005. Sure, seeing the movie in a closed-in theater would have been fine 鈥� maybe. The movie wasn鈥檛 the best. But when I was sitting in a lawn chair on pavement, watching the movie on a 100-foot screen outside, and suddenly saw lightning appear behind superheroes Ioan Gruffudd and Chris Evans鈥� well, let鈥檚 just say it added a certain something.

In a world where most people only know drive-ins from 鈥淕rease,鈥� I was lucky enough to grow up with one forty-five minutes away, an establishment that鈥檚 open from near the end of May to Labor Day and runs a nightly double bill of current films. It鈥檚 located in Wellfleet, Mass. on Cape Cod, and maybe that鈥檚 why, as far as I know, it鈥檚 never been in any danger of closing 鈥� the summer tourists who return year after year crowd into the parking lot at movie time as often as the locals do.

And it鈥檚 become as much a part of the summer season as getting the first ice cream cone 鈥� packing the car with beach chairs and blankets and cruising it up to the theater when it鈥檚 still light out. The parking lot often becomes an impromptu baseball diamond or Frisbee field before the first showing as families relax, and the playground near the snack bar is always a hot spot (my cousins, sister, and I went on the toys there well into our teens). A few minutes before the first movie, a Looney Tunes cartoon starts, usually one of the classics. The fact that the drive-in played them is one of the reasons my sister and I saw the shorts at all (a particular favorite was 鈥淩abbit of Seville鈥�). And then after the cartoon was the adorably old-fashioned intro, which could believably date back to the drive-in鈥檚 1957 opening. The vintage clip tells Mom that it鈥檚 okay if she comes in 鈥渟lacks.鈥�

Younger kids can watch the first film in the double bill and then fall asleep in the back. And it was always a rite of passage when you were allowed to go to the drive-in by yourself with friends, with the added glamour of staying through the second movie starting at 10:15 鈥� which, on the Cape where many establishments close early, was an added bonus. There鈥檚 also the added attraction of seeing exactly which movies will be paired together on the double bill, with a more family-friendly movie often leading off. The best combination I ever saw was 2003鈥檚 鈥�Finding Nemo鈥� followed by 鈥淧irates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.鈥�

Yes, it鈥檚 more enjoyable when the weather actually cooperates 鈥� rain has ruined drive-in trips before, though the theater still screens the planned films.

But that鈥檚 the chance you take, and it鈥檚 a small one to pay for occasional lightning shows.