Party At The Moon Tower

Dazed and Confused
Mahoning Drive-In Theater - Lehighton, PA
Last night, we got to see a 30th anniversary screening of one of my favorite movies from the 90's, the 1993 Richard Linklater classic, Dazed and Confused.

Show banner designed by Andrew Kern

Dazed and Confused premiered in theaters on September 24th, 1993, and although it wasn't a big hit at the box office, it became a cult classic when it found its audience on home video.  This is where I discovered it as well.  At some point during the mid 90's, some friends and I picked up a pizza and wings and rented a few movies from Blockbuster.  I don't remember what year it was or what other movies we picked up that night, but I do remember that we spent the next few months quoting lines from this flick to each other every chance that we got.

We brought Harvey out to the lot and he had a great time as always.  He was excited to have the opportunity to play with his little buddy, Gizmo, who was brought out to the drive-in by two of our friends.  He also sat nicely to pose for a photo in the 70's den photo op on the stage outside of the concession building.

 

Donnie went above and beyond with buttons for this screening.  There were three Matthew McConaughey / Wooderson buttons.  The one on the left is a reference to Mr. Nasty from VHS Fest, who is still chasing after residuals for a tape that he appeared in which may have sold a dozen copies worldwide.  The one on the right is for all of those lovely people who don't know how to turn their headlights off when they're at a drive-in theater, and the one in the center is a plea for the Mahoning to add the greatest concession item in movie history to their menu.

Bring the Personality Pickle to the Mahoning!

 

There were four more Dazed and Confused themed pins that Donnie brought to the lot.  Just to give you an idea of what a good dude this guy is, he pays for these out of his own pocket and he hands them out to folks on the lot for free.  It's guys like Donnie that really make this place feel like a community.

After the sun went down, the film hit the screen, and it was an absolutely gorgeous 35mm print.  Dazed and Confused is the perfect drive-in movie.  I missed out on seeing this during its original theatrical run and I'm very thankful to have had the opportunity to see it in my favorite place in the world to watch a movie.

 

There was a secret feature at the end of the night that we once again have Donnie to thank for.  Not only did he bring the movie to the lot, but he had special buttons made up that he passed out to folks who stuck around to see it.  The rule on the lot is to keep secret features a secret, but I will say that it's a movie that I've never seen and has been on my watch list for a long time.  The button is a pretty good clue to folks who are familiar with this film.  I wouldn't say that I'd rank it on the same level as Dazed and Confused, which is is often compared to, but it was a fun flick and I'm glad to have had the chance to see it on the big screen.