Experiencing the grimy & sleaze of Grindhouse at the drive-in theatre

Rating: 5/10 (7 April 2007)

I went to the drive-in theatre for the purpose of experiencing the rough film aesthetics of Grindhouse Friday night. I have not been to the drive-in theatre for at least 15 years but Grindhouse provided the reason to see the movie under a specific setting for optimal movie-going experience.
It was probably most popular screening at the drive-in because of the large number of vehicles parked to view the movie.
However, I wonder what the hell were these parents thinking for bringing children to see Grindhouse. There's Firehouse Dog/TMNT double feature shown on the left side screen during the movie.
I saw young boys and some girls with their parents. Mostly Hispanic.
Grindhouse is NOT for kids. Planet Terror may be goofy fun that seem to have paid more homage to Resident Evil video game series (especially part 2 & 3) than Zombie films. Death Proof depicts banality of evil in depth as exerted by Kurt Russell's turn in "crazy" acting but maybe too slow paced in heavy dialogue scenes (brilliantly acted in long shots, the actresses really mastered their dialogue skill flawlessly like it's a live theater). After a few amusing fake trailers shown, the last trailer Thanksgiving elicited profoundly disturbed reactions as seen from the vehicle occupants nearby.
No doubt Thanksgiving trailer give the parents some pause as to what the hell were they thinking for bring kids in the first place. Eli Roth may be talented in revolting horror film-making but Thanksgiving is a sick, stomach-churning trailer that makes me question Eli's mental health in pushing the envelope as maximally as possible in a few minutes. Frankly, that trailer is the most disturbing part of the Grindhouse movie and it made me feel queasy as a 'jaded' horror fan.
Interesting to note that because Death Proof paced so slow with seemingly endless dialogue scenes, a few vehicles left after ten minutes and some parents walked their kids to the concession with arcades and back.
What makes the drive-in experience bizarre was there was the firework display for some ten minutes in the distance while the car chase towards the end in Death Proof is being shown. People in the vehicle were distracted in bewilderment.
It was a jolly good time at the drive-in theatre. However, if you dislike slow-paced movies, then would be the time to leave Death Proof after ten minutes of expositary dialogue -- it goes on literally forever...
Tarantino & Rodriguez did a splendid job of duplicating the gritty & sleazy grindhouse experience from the 70's, with the fake trailers upping the ante in over the top violence. But it's not enough to justify the reason for existence -- it's fulfilling the wet dreams to demonstrate their entry in the B-movie realm and hope the experience might be the same as they had experienced when they were young.
Hard to believe the MPAA didn't give Grindhouse a NC-17 rating for Thanksgiving trailer alone, that seriously demented piece might have seriously traumatized children the stupid parents brought to force them to watch.
** 1/2