Having closed its doors for good in 1988, the Rocky Point Drive-In is still remembered fondly by a Smithtown native. Tami Huie, 54, and a friend saw “Rambo III” on the outdoor movie theater’s final day of business. They grabbed seafood dinners, then ate them atop the hood of Huie’s ’76 Monte Carlo. “[And] as a kid, we’d start at the playground, then make our way over in PJs – knowing we’d fall asleep on Mom and Dad and be carried to bed by the end. It was a communal affair.. but today, the [moviegoing] experience is very detached.”
Though drive-ins were once relatively more prominent across the Island – and in general – the rising tide of the big-budget blockbuster has recently seen a total changeover. It is no longer necessary for the entire neighborhood block to hear the loud, far-traveling projection of speakers to spread a movie’s word-of-mouth reputation. People flock to the cinema in droves – the “pandemic year” notwithstanding – regardless, committed to taking in their film-of-choice with the new-wave insular lens, where immersion via total enclosure reigns supreme.
However, such does not preclude a drive-in revolt from occurring. For if the pandemic has proven anything, it is that you cannot predict the future. Merely anticipate the one you hope for, then adjust accordingly.
Pop-up drive-ins have taken some of the Island’s notable shopping center parking lots not exactly by storm, but certainly by respectable drizzle. Movies both old and new have screened for families with kids of all ages – effectively designed to encourage them to spend a night out of the house for once, during the age where no one would blame them if they remained inside indefinitely.
Though the modern version of a Long Island drive-in may not mean what it once did in terms of overall scope, one could still stand to benefit from introducing their children or friends belonging to a younger generation to the nostalgic pull of yesteryear. For enough renewed interest can turn a trend into demand, then bring forth the authentic revival former patrons of Long Island’s treasured-and-lost cinemas have been eagerly waiting for since the moment most of them closed shop way back when.
Until then, allow the following slate of more-than-adequate local drive-in experiences to suffice:
WESTFIELD SOUTH SHORE MALL (1701 Sunrise Hwy, Bay Shore) $40 per carload; 8:45 p.m. June 25: “Raya and the Last Dragon,” 11:15 p.m. June 25: “Us,” 8:45 p.m. June 26: “Scoob!” 11 p.m. June 26: George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead”; 8:30 p.m. July 15: “The Wizard of Oz”; 8:30 p.m. July 16, “The Lion King”; 10:45 p.m. July 16: “The Amityville Horror”; 8:30 p.m. July 17: “Grease”; 11 p.m. July 17: “Coming 2 America”
MAIN BEACH (104 Ocean Ave, East Hampton) $40 admission (48 hrs prior); $50 day of 8:30-10 p.m. June 26: “The Lego Movie;” 8:30-10 p.m. Sept. 18: “Monsters University”
STRAWBERRY FIELDS FAIRGROUNDS (48 Country Road, Mattituck) Free admission 8:30 p.m. July 9: “Lilo and Stitch”
TOWN OF BABYLON (On the lawn Tanner Park Banshell, Kerrigan Road, Copiague) Free admission for residents 8:30 p.m. July 12; rain date: July 13: “Enchanted”; 8:30 p.m. July 19; rain date: July 20: “Men in Black”; 8:15 p.m. Aug. 2; rain date: Aug. 3: “Stars Wars New Hope Episode IV”; 8 p.m. Aug. 9; rain date: Aug. 10: “Finding Nemo”
TOWN OF HUNTINGTON (Various Locations) Free admission/bring nonperishable food items to benefit Long Island food banks July 12: “Onward” at the Walt Whitman Shops, Route 110; July 19: “Coco” at Crab Meadow Beach, Waterview Street West; July 26: “Trolls: World Tour” at Crab Meadow Beach, Waterview Street West; August 2: “Tom and Jerry” at the Walt Whitman Mall Shops, Route 110; August 9: “Dirty Dancing” at the Walt Whitman Shops, Route 110; August 16: “Raya and The Last Dragon” at the Walt Whitman Shops, Route 110
TOWN OF ISLIP (Various Locations) Free admission 8:30 p.m. July 12: “Zathura: A Space Adventure”; 8 p.m.Aug. 9: “Nanny McPhee”: Byron Lake Park, Oakdale; 8:30 p.m. June 28: “The Sandlot,” 8:30 p.m. July 12: “Zathura: A Space Adventure,” Byron Lake Park, Oakdale; 8:15 p.m. July 26: “The Lego Batman Movie,” Casamento Park, West Islip; 8:30 p.m. July 6: “Nim’s Island”; 8:15 p.m. Aug. 2: “How to Train Your Dragon,” 7:45 p.m. Aug. 23: “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” Gulf Haven Golf Course, Central Islip; 8:30 p.m. July 19: “Big Hero,” 8 p.m. Aug. 16: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Holbrook Country Club “Make a point to go. Park backwards and bring a pillow and blanket. Sit on the car and watch as the stars light up and the sun goes down. It’s a genuine experience.” Tami Huie, Smithtown native
