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SKOWHEGAN

Campy comedy featured for MIFF at the drive-in

By Doug Harlow dharlow@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

SKOWHEGAN -- What do you get when you combine campy comedy, cult comics and nostalgia?

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The Skowhegan Drive-In, where Doug Corson has worked the summers as manager for 30 years, will show the movie "Tank Girl" Thursday night as part of the Maine International Film Festival.

Staff photo by Doug Harlow

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You get the movie "Tank Girl" at the Skowhegan Drive-in Theater Thursday as part of the 14th annual Maine International Film Festival.

The 1995 action comedy, based on a British cult comic strip, has the tank-riding anti-heroine fighting a mega-corporation that controls the world's water supply, according to promotional information on the movie. It's 2033 and justice rides a tank and wears lip gloss.

The movie stars Lori Petty, Ice-T and Naomi Watts and features actor Malcolm McDowell as the campy villain, Kesslee. McDowell is the recipient of this year's film festival Mid-life Achievement Award.

One of only six drive-in movie theaters left in Maine, the Skowhegan Drive-in looks pretty much like it did when it opened for business in the summer of 1954 -- a 50-by-80-foot movie screen, parking slots for 350 cars and a concession for hot dogs, popcorn and soda pop, says long-time theater manager Doug Corson.

Corson, a retired French language teacher and Bowdoin College graduate, said he has worked at the Skowhegan Drive-in in one capacity or another since he graduated from Skowhegan High School in 1956. He has been manager for the past 30 years.

"I think, for a lot of us who grew up with drive-ins, there's a great deal of nostalgia," Corson said. "Once in a while somebody will come in and say they hadn't been for 20 or 30 years and they can remember when, so I think nostalgia is a factor.

"Young families are aware that the drive-in may be a vanishing breed and so a lot of them do like to come while they can and enjoy it while they can."

The drive-in was built by Lockwood & Gordon Co. of Boston, which also built the original Strand Theater in Skowhegan. The drive-in is owned by Encor Corp. of Needham, Mass.

This is the third year that the festival has used the drive-in as a festival site for a showing, and for good reason, said festival programmer Ken Eisen.

"We're really excited about doing it and I think more and more people are getting into the spirit of it each time," Eisen said. "I think we've got the perfect movie this year."

Eisen said a drive-in movie theater was appealing because it is an unexpected venue for a film festival.

"There's this idea that film festivals are hoity-toity in some way, which is something we are at odds to get rid of in general," he said. "Increasingly there are less drive-ins out there in the world, so it's almost like a living museum in some ways and we're very fortunate to have Skowhegan there and I think there are certain films that just lend themselves to that screening condition.

"I think 'Tank Girl' will be fun, but you have to be in the right mood, and I think the drive-in will help with that," Eisen said. "It's a fun, futurist romp that also plays with gender roles, among other things."

Showtime is 8:30 p.m. at the drive-in on Waterville Road, U.S. Route 201, south of downtown Skowhegan. Tickets are $6.

The 14th annual Maine International Film Festival began Thursday and runs through July 24 at Railroad Square Cinema and Colby College in Waterville. The 10-day festival features nearly 100 films.

Doug Harlow -- 612-2367

dharlow@centralmaine.com