Cue the tribal drums:
We’re going on a journey back more than 100 years to the Southern, New Mexico city of Las Cruces, and the first small predecessor to the drive-in theatre was born in 1915, showing the silent film Bags of Gold under the vast, starry southwest sky.
Sadly, it only lasted little more than a year, but the idea begin to spread to places like Comanche, Texas who tried out something similar. The first official Drive-In finally came to be in 1933 in New Jersey, thanks to a man named Richard Milton Hollingshead, Jr., if I am correct in my research.
Fast forward to 2022. After a century of grindhouse style horror classics, unfocused sci-fi thrillers, $10-a-carload-night-folding-chair-and-cooler-parties, back seat aardvarking, and some of the best-of-the-worst snack bar hot dogs ever pulled out of health-code violating boiling water tubs, there are now just around 325 drive-In theatres going strong in the United States.
Thank the good Lord we have men like Joe Bob Briggs who have been critiquing, celebrating, promoting and loving the drive-in movie psyche since 1982. He is still going strong with The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs on Shudder.
This month, the series will reach a landmark with its 100th episode kicking off its fourth season. I can conjure up about 100 reasons why you should be watching Joe Bob as well, but as I have a tendency to babble on about things, I will instead share a mere 10 very brief reasons unapologetically love this show staring with Numero Uno:
Not every movie featured is a “B-Movie”
Yes, every film comes with the breast and dead body counts, blood gallons, vomit meter, and “Fus,” but in the midst of all the low-budget favorites, there are some genuinely fantastic things that will be featured from time to time. Train to Busan, the Walking Dead pilot and Heathers will pop up among films like Chopping Mall and WolfCop. All of these are given equal treatment in the world of Joe Bob Briggs. As it should be.
Darcy’s cosplay
I’m a straight woman who isn’t much to look at hersefl, so you would think I would hate seeing a buxom brunette like Darcy the Mail Girl show off her assets with either sheer disinterest or snarky jealousy. But dang it, I love the ideas that think outside the cosplay box. I might not be able to pull off a convincing Frakenhooker, but I’m glad someone out there has the backbone to do it.
Ernie (Personal reasons)
There’s just something about little bearded dragon hanging out (sometime seen in a cowboy hat) that triggers my adorable meter. I used to know a bearded dragon. He belonged to our vet, and would sit in his tank and look at me, still and judgy-like as I waited to get my dog his annual shots. I did the talking and he did the listening. He has since passed on, but it was always nice to see Ernie doing the exact same thing. Which is, of course, nothing.
There’s a Texas-centric vibe
Joe Bob is drive-in master of the entire world, but as a native Texan, I can’t help but feel at home with his look, accent, set, beer and whiskey choices and most of all, Texas attitude. If you’re a Texan, you’ll know. If not, I don’t have time to explain, and it won’t matter no-how.
It’s a celebration of DIY
This is a big one for me. I am all about creativity, and do-it-yourself. Putting things together with your own money, your own friends, and your own hands — be it a roadside attraction, recipe, or a independent film is something that needs to be celebrated. The history and fun facts of how some of these filmmakers worked their tails off getting ideas turned into films should make you appreciate them even more, no matter how stilted the acting or shaky to practical effects. Let’s face it, we love these films not because of any pristine result, but for the heartfelt effort. Today, it seems every blu-ray and DVD comes with 137-hours hours or so of behind-the-scenes footage. Any budding filmmaker out there can watch these and think “I can do that with an iPhone and my high school buddies.” I hope they do.
The guests can actually look like are having fun.
I am not a fan of talk shows, regardless of the guest. They all just strike me as these pre-approved questions where the guests are trying desperately to come up with a funny anecdote that makes them seem “just like you and me.” I might be wrong, but it just seems so schmaltzy and fake. Joe Bob can get anything from a mainstream director to a long-time exploitation film star or even a horror makeup expert and give them to really get into their passion for the craft. I don’t know if it is the time they get to spend with him, or the trailer park atmosphere, but they seem perfectly at ease. Maybe it’s some well-enjoyed libations. My faves: Eli Roth (via zoom, sadly), and Bruce Campbell. Find them and watch them.
Joe Bob Briggs is a brilliant man.
Yes, I mean that without irony. Joe Bob’s commentary is filled with redneck humor, but he is a walking encyclopedia of film history, special effects, true crime, Americana and anything else he feels fit to explain. Listen closely, and disguised in his good-ol-boy banter is some well stored wisdom. Don’t believe me, check out a non-fiction history on the birth of satellite communications Eccentric Orbits: The Iridium Story, by a guy named John Bloom.
Or, you could watch this clip right here, which should be required viewing for every film student, historian, critic and fan:
There’s room for everyone.
In today’s world, the term “diversity” and “inclusiveness” is rammed down our throats like the shish kebob death scene in Happy Birthday to Me, but you can appeal to a broad spectrum of people from different backgrounds, political views, or lifestyles if you just put out an original, honest, and entertaining product. Whether you’re a drag queen or a truck driver, there’s a spot for you in The Last Drive-In.
It is the furthest from PC as you can get.
Are you easily offended? Who cares. Do these films need a warning label for “outdated stereotypes” for those who thought the world started in 2015? Likely. That’s what makes this beautiful. There are some kills on some of these movies that are so wrong, on so many levels this could make some folks horribly traumatized. The rest of us have to laugh as the silicone and latex models explode, and the red-dyed corn syrup flows like a river. Someone had the “grand vision” to think of that and try it out. God bless America (or wherever else the film was made).
Which leads me to the final reason, upon which I don’t need to expand:
It is just plain, good old-fashioned, no-excuses, fun.
And we all need some of that right now.
Maybe, I didn’t list every reason to watch The Last Drive-In in this finite amount of story space, but if you need all 100 reason, just sit back, crack open a nice, cold Lone Star Beer, cuddle up, buckle up, and watch all 100 episodes.
I’m not first to say this, and certainly won’t be the last, but Joe Bob Briggs is a one-of-a-kind, elegantly outspoken national treasure and should be protected as all costs.
The 100th Episode of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs airs on Shudder Friday, April 29, with more new episodes coming each week.