Back in March, we announced we were partnering with Bounce Milwaukee for their Apocalypse Drive-In, a free weekend movie series of end-of-the-world flicks projected on the side of the Bounce building (2801 S. 5th Ct.) And then, before it began, it was canceled. You know, because of the whole “Safer At Home” thing. Welcome to 2020.
But now, thanks to Wisconsin allowing drive-in movie theaters to open their fields and parking lots again, Apocalypse Drive-In is back on, baby. Just stay in your car, wear a mask, and enjoy!
The fun begins next Friday and Saturday, May 22 and 23, with a kid-friendly movie at 8-ish, and an adult-friendly movie at 10-ish. (All movies “will be announced at completely random intervals, and are subject to change.”) From there, the series will continue every Friday and Saturday through August or the end of the world, whichever comes first. Watch these Facebook events for movie titles when they become available.
Some more details: you’ll need an FM radio for the sound, parking is very limited, there’ll be movie- and pandemic-specific trivia from Rob at QuizCube Trivia, there’ll be Milwaukee Record swag with your food and beverage deliveries, and the overall production value of the drive-in experience will be, well, not that great. (“We are likely to experience technical difficulties of the sort that you’d expect from trying to project a movie onto the side of a beige building with little actual technical know-how,” says Bounce Milwaukee.)
Oh, and remember: you can’t get out of your vehicle. Bounce will allow emergency-only bathroom breaks for one person or group at a time, but you’re urged to pee at home. So do that.
Here’s everything else you need to know, via Bounce Milwaukee:
Every Friday and Saturday night, Bounce Milwaukee and Milwaukee Record present “Apocalypse Drive-In”, featuring free dystopian films and appalling production values.
Curbside food, beverage and swag service will be provided to your vehicle, from the full menu on www.bouncemilwaukee.com/menu. When you arrive, we’ll put a number under your windshield wiper, you can order on our website (or call us at 414-312-4357 if you prefer) and we’ll bring it out to you when it’s ready. We’ll have package specials which include Milwaukee Record merch, too!
All you need is a vehicle, and a working FM radio. We’ll broadcast the sound into your ears through the magic of frequency modulation, and we’ll announce the frequency at the beginning of each showing!
The movie will be shown on the side of the Bounce Milwaukee building; one of the amazing Bounce staff will direct you to a parking spot when you arrive (and we recommend arriving a bit early, as parking is extremely limited). We’ll have movie- and pandemic-specific trivia from Rob at QuizCube Trivia to keep you entertained, too!
We do ask that, except for an emergency bathroom break, that you remain in your vehicle during your entire stay. If you need to leave, we do ask that you do so in your vehicle, and will not allow individuals or groups to leave their vehicles to watch in chairs or on blankets – though you’re welcome to roll your windows down and say hello to the folks in that other car six feet away during the intermission. This experience is intended for individuals, or for people (families, couples, whatever) who are already in close contact with each other. Leave your tinder date for after this is all over, please.
Movies will be announced the week of each event, and are subject to change. You may attend the 8pmish family-friendly movie, the 10pm(ish) adult movie, or both. We are likely to experience technical difficulties of the sort that you’d expect from trying to project a movie onto the side of a beige building with little actual technical know-how, so please bear with us. In the event that we have no sound, use your imagination. In the event that we have no picture, our staff has promised to act out the entirety of each movie.
FAQs:
Q: Where am I supposed to use the bathroom? Can I use the bathrooms at Bounce?
A: To protect our staff and the public, the bathrooms at Bounce will be limited to one household/carload at a time, so go before you arrive, please. Also, nobody is going to judge you if your kid pees into a Calypso Lemonades bottle. It’ll be dark anyway. Sorry for tagging you, Calypso.Q: Is beer/wine/liquor available for curbside service, too?
A: Yes, though it’s not intended for consumption during the movie. We will happily deliver sealed containers of beer and wine to you with your food and beverage order so that you can enjoy it at home, after the show, though.Q: Should we tip the servers who are delivering food to our vehicles?
A: Yes, unless you’re a terrible person. And thank you for supporting our service industry through this shutdown. This event directly makes it possible for us to bring our amazing employees back to work; your patronage (and tips) helps them pay their bills, (and helps us delay opening our full facility until it’s safe to do so). Likewise, buy a Milwaukee Record shirt if you can; they rely on the service industry for ad revenue.Q: I wasn’t able to get a spot!
A: We have limited space, so thanks for understanding. We’ll have discounts on merchandise and curbside service (and will prioritize your orders so you can get going as quickly as possible) if you arrived for a showing and we ran out of room, and we hope to see you at the next one. If you showed up for the 8pm showing, we do anticipate some cars leaving with their kids before the 10pm showing; we’ll do our best to find you a spot. Most weeks, we’ll play the same movies on Fridays and Saturdays for folks who missed the first oneQ: I really want to see [name of movie]
A: Keep the suggestions coming! Post in here, or post somewhere else and tag this event, and we’ll see what we can do. We’re open to anything dystopian (and kids movies which are somehow both touching and also deal with complex themes of community, isolation and perseverance). If you cry while watching Wall-E, we won’t judge you, either.Q: What if it rains?
A: If it’s a little bit of rain, we’ll keep going. If there’s a lot of rain, we’ll give you back your zero dollars and see you at the next one. There are more than enough dystopian/post-apocalyptic films (we hope) to keep us going through this.Q: Should I bring a mask?
A: Please do. If you need to tinkle, we require that all adults wear one to enter Bounce (and we’d appreciate you making an effort with kids, if possible). We’ll have extras for purchase and can deliver them to your car if you need them.Q: Didn’t you first announce this in April? What happened?
A: We did. Almost immediately after we announced it, drive-in movies were specifically prohibited under the Stay At Home order, which we completely support. The prohibition on drive-in movies has now been lifted. We know that we can do this as safely as possible, and are excited to provide an outlet for folks who want to connect with each other via a shared experience, and without exposing those most vulnerable among us to this horrific disease.Thanks for being awesome, Milwaukee.