Drive-in theater
| Drive-in theater | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First appearance | Back and Forth, page 15 May 19, 2010 |
| Related characters | Paulo, Rachel |
The Drive-in theater is an outdoor movie venue near Rachel’s house, where Casablanca plays just about every night.[1] Its only visitors in the entire comic are Rachel and Paulo, who come here twice: once for their first date, and once for a driving lesson that ends in a long talk in the front seats.
Description
A white changeable-letter marquee on posts stands at the entrance, topped with a star and missing a fair number of its plastic letters.[1] Beyond it lies an open asphalt lot, cracked here and there.[2] Rows of thin white posts with rounded tops mark out the parking spots, and cars pull in between them.[3][4] The screen itself is enormous, several storeys tall, set into a pale tower whose sides step down in slabs on either side.[3]
The place runs a pretty sleepy operation. It sits empty of other customers on weeknights,[1] shows no movies at all on Mondays,[2] and never has a single staff member on panel. Paulo himself points out that you’d expect cops to be checking the cars.[5] Every one of its appearances takes place at night, with nothing lighting the lot but headlights and the screen.[1][3]
History
In Back and Forth, Rachel drives a stressed-out Paulo here on the spur of the moment for their first proper date, having already stocked the backseat with snacks.[1] They flirt and kiss their way through Casablanca, and as the film’s final scene plays, Rachel sends Paulo climbing into the back for the chips and follows him over the seat.[7] They have sex, and Paulo loses his virginity here. Afterward, cuddled under a blanket in front of the dark screen, Rachel giggles that “It’s just been a while since I bagged a virgin!”, leaving Paulo mortified.[5]
The theater’s second and final appearance comes in Small Fry, on a Monday night when no movies are playing. Rachel brings Paulo back to practice driving in the vacant lot,[2] and he is thrilled with himself for parking her car “straight as an arrow” between two of the white posts.[3] Afterward, while they sit in the front seats, Rachel apologizes for the manipulative way she set up their first date, and Paulo forgives her without much fuss.[8]
The conversation keeps going, into harder territory. Rachel admits that the date had really been about him all along, while Paulo guiltily confesses that his feelings keep circling back to Lucy.[9] Rachel gets as far as “I don’t want to fall in love with you, but I..” before trailing off, apologizing, and holding onto him.[10] Later, Rachel falls asleep on Paulo’s shoulder in the back of the car while he stares up at the stars.[4]
Trivia
- The only feature film ever shown here is Casablanca, a real 1942 classic, and its famous final scene is playing as Rachel pulls Paulo into the backseat.[7]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 15
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chapter 83: Small Fry, page 12
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Chapter 83: Small Fry, page 13
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chapter 83: Small Fry, page 17
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 17
- ↑ Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 15
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 16
- ↑ Chapter 83: Small Fry, page 14
- ↑ Chapter 83: Small Fry, page 15
- ↑ Chapter 83: Small Fry, page 16