Let's Go to the Drive-In

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 29, 2011 3:45PM

Once a ubiquitous part of the American Experience, today drive-in movie theaters are looked upon with nostalgia and a little bit of ridicule by some.

A search of drive-ins in Illinois at Drive-ins.com pulls up an even dozen in the Land of Lincoln, two of them along Route 66 downstate and two within minutes from the city limits.

One of those drive-ins, the McHenry Outdoor Theater, launched a "Fall Throwback" movie series last weekend with a double feature of E.T. and Jaws.

Each weekend through the end of September has a theme. This weekend's theme is classic an "80s Weekend" with Back to the Future and Top Gun. That's followed by a comedy weekend with Caddyshack and Blazing Saddles; a horror weekend with The Exorcist and Psycho; The Blues Brothers and American Graffiti in a "classic cars" weekend Sept. 23 and 24 before closing out with a "sing-a-long weekend" Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 with Grease and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The thought of seeing "sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania" Dr. Frank-N-Furter on a drive-in screen may be a turn-off to some, but the rest of that lineup is as solid as it can get.

The McHenry Outdoor Theater has even rolled back admissions for the series, with $5 adult admissions and $3 for kids 11 and under. We've visited the McHenry Outdoor Theater years ago and had very positive experiences.