Drive-In

I caught this movie quite by accident on a cable system in 1976, and immediately fell in love with it! DRIVE-IN, featuring character actor Glenn Morshower in his movie debut, is an entertaining comedy about teens (and adults) gathering at a drive-in movie in a small Texas town in the mid 70's. Lisa Lemole is wonderful as the femme fatale who switches romantic partners mid-movie. DRIVE-IN features romance, gang violence, wonderful moments between two brothers, and enough slapstick comedy to satisfy almost anyone! And, let's not forget the movie-within-a-movie, "Disaster '76". which is the movie that's playing at the...DRIVE-IN! Highly recommend this one!

There are some movies that just stick in your head. I saw Drive-In when it came out in the 70s and a couple of times on TV in the 80s, and I just recall it being very likable. I tend to think of it along with Smile, which I recall being a similar movie from around the same time, although one that got far more attention.

The movie is a loving tribute to what was then a dying industry, the drive-in. Taking place in a small town in Texas, the movie follows the fortunes of a variety of characters whose fates will take decisive turns - or not - by the end of the movie, including a couple of thieves, a bland teen boy and his annoyingly precocious younger brother, the girl who inexplicably likes the bland teen boy, her ex and his gang of troublemakers, the only black guy in town and a few others. It's essentially the structure of American Graffiti, only the soundtrack for this one is sprightly country western music.

Once they all reach the drive-in the action flits from character to character, pausing in between to show the movie itself, a send-up of disaster movies seen in amusing snippets.

Drive-In is not quite as good as I recall, but then, I was 17 when I saw it the first time and 54 when I saw it most recently and I don't always agree with my younger self. But even though the acting is hit and miss, some of the story threads are weak, and the movie-within-a-movie didn't make me laugh nearly as much this time as it did in the '70s, I still found this movie charming and likable, an ode to a bygone era that probably never really existed. It's one of those little B movies you're glad you've seen.

In the mid-1970's the Texas Film Commission provided considerable assistance to local filmmakers in an effort to grow the in-state film industry. One benefit of this was a little film appropriately titled "Drive-In"; a feature about drive-in movies meant to be shown at drive-ins. Although set in a small town outside Dallas, it could be Anywhere, USA; or at least any place where teen entertainment is centered around a town's roller skating rink and the drive-in theater.

If "Drive-In" was nothing more than a loving look at drive-ins and a time-capsule of the mid-70's it would be a treat, but this film is actually very well made. I originally saw it at a drive in Orange County, CA a few months after moving there from Texas. Although most of America's drive-ins have vanished, the entertainment aspect of this film has held up very well.

Don't go looking for a lot of familiar faces in the cast, part of the film commission's mission was to utilize local talent so you will see a lot of Texas folks getting their first and last screen credits. You might recognize Engelberg (Gary Cavagnaro), the fat catcher from "The Bad News Bears"; and character actor Glenn Morshower but the rest of the cast are folks like Michelle Franks, a local beauty who just acts natural.

The main story involves the efforts of the town's hottest girl (Glowie played by Lisa LeMole) to convince nice but very shy Orville (Morshower) that she is sincerely interested in him. But the film is loaded with side stories that weave into and around the main story. These include two wimpy teen gangs, The Widow Makers and The Gear Grinders who have a mild fight witnessed by a couple of outlaw bikers who comment: "Gang violence, its frightening". There are a couple of bumbling small time thieves who attempt to rob the theater box office. There is an auxiliary sheriff with gun rack and right-wing bumper stickers who shuts up his nagging mother by smoking a joint with her. There is an engaged couple having second thoughts about getting married, especially after the guy gets a look at Michelle Franks at the concession stand.

Much of the humor comes from "Disaster 76", a movie within the movie. It is being screened at the drive-in and there are frequent cuts to the action on that screen. It is a nice spoof of a whole group of disaster flicks including "Airport", "Jaws", and "The Towering Inferno". Current viewers will be shocked when a 747 crashes into the side of a skyscraper in a manner almost identical to the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. Obviously this idea has been around for a long time although apparently no one in the FBI ever viewed "Drive-In", wonder if it got any play in the Middle East?

There is also a television show within the movie as The Widow Makers spend their downtime watching "Ozzie and Harriet" reruns on the television set in their van.

At one point Engleberg refers to Oklahoma as Baja Arkansas and says "reasoning with a woman is like eating soup with a fork". Glowie turns down the offer of a ride home from a guy hitting on her with the immortal line: "I'd rather have a nonspecific infection".

Fans of classic country music will love the soundtrack featuring Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Ronnie Milsap, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, and Jerry Lee Lewis. "Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott?" by The Statler Brothers is the theme song.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

I throw my hat in the ring with most of the other commenters here. This is a marvelous little film with a sly sense of humor, acted with gusto by (mostly) local nonprofessional actors. I doubt this movie would ever get made today. Who'd fund it? As an added bonus the passage of the years has turned it into a time capsule of both drive-ins and small-town life. "Drive-In" sets up several major plot threads - a holdup attempt, Glowie's plan to dump her gang-leader boyfriend for the nice and shy Orville, Bill Hill's proposal to his girlfriend - and then tosses in a few additional minor ones once the sun goes down and the action shifts to the theater. Everything collides in a cascade of hilarity. The feature film showing in the background, "Disaster '76," is a great sendup of seventies disaster movies and just adds to the fun.

I once saw Glenn Morshower in an interview ruefully recalling a review of "Drive-In" which stated "Gets better after twelve beers." You don't need even one to appreciate this flick. If you can find it, watch it.

I have not seen this film since its cable run in the mid-1970s, but I still occasionally enjoy a private laugh when I think about it. The filmmakers clearly had a good eye for the details of small southern towns (the setting was Texas, but it would have been just fine for my native Tennessee). There is an early scene at a classic roller rink, where the dough-faced, slack-jawed teens used as extras were just perfect for the parts.

As mentioned by other reviewers, the movie-within-the-movie, DISASTER '76, is a solid parody worth watching just by itself. If a DVD is ever made (unlikely, I'm sure), DISASTER '76 should be included by itself as an extra.

7 out of 10.