I’m thinking of hosting a summer BBQ/dinner with the neighbors. I don’t hang out with the neighbors at all. We had a BBQ last year, and people enjoyed it, but it did not lead to everyone being best friends. However, people did enjoy coming over and spending some time talking to their neighbors over some food and drinks.
This is the second annual neighborhood back yard BBQ. We were thinking of maybe having the BBQ in the evening with an outdoor movie using a projector & laptop.
QUESTION 1: Is this a good idea?
QUESTION 2: What movie? Your ideas are appreciated.
It should have these charateristics:
Light and fun. Maybe a comedy but not necessarily. Maybe something animated?
Something that everyone hasn’t watched to death already (e.g. Breakfast Club, Airplane)
Maybe current, but not necessarily
Probably should be PG-13 at worst
The shorter the better so people don’t start drifting off or getting uncomfortable. Also, we probably can’t start it until dark, and we don’t want people sticking around until midnight.
Something that people can sorta watch and talk through, maybe being able to follow the plot while only half way paying attention and perhaps chatting on the side
Hmmm… I don’t think it’s a good idea at all. Why not actually converse? I’d be bored shitless if I had to sit outside in someone’s yard watching a movie instead of talking and mingling.
We would mingle for quite some time and then let people know they can stick around after dark and watch or continue mingling if they like. So, mingling will happen pre-movie and the movie is optional after people have been there for a while. Maybe people won’t take to it and we will skip it.
However, there are public parks in town that are doing outdoor movies, and people seem to like it. I just saw an ad for one showing Grease in a local park.
It’s not like everyone will come over and just plop in front of a movie. Even after the movie starts, there’s nothing stopping people from continuing to mingle, just not right in the same spot as the movie.
Not sure what your tastes are but something that doesn’t warrant 100% attention would be preferable, no?
What about a compilation of skits, like Monty Python, or SCTV, or Saturday Night Live episodes? That way if you need to pee and come back you can still get interested again.
The original Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s fun, it’s light, it’s family friendly but not insipid, it’s relatively timely and it doesn’t require a lot of intense concentration.
I have a friend who does this every year. Despite reports to the contrary, it is actually a lot of fun. We mingle quite a bit before and after the movie. The host also has a movie quiz and a small prize for the winner right after the movie. (I won last year… a $10 gift card to a local restaurent. The year before she gave out a DVD of the movie we watched.)
Anyway: Last two movies we watched were Back to the Future and So I Married an Axe Murderer.
She enjoys doing the comedies, and tries to usually make them a little older. Sort of like movie comfort food. The suggestion for Raiders is awesome, and I may suggest that to her this year… although its not a comedy, definitely fits in the movie comfort food category I think.
The Great Outdoors with John Candy and Dan Akroyd. I just watched it the other day and while it screams 80’s movie it’s aged surprisingly well and is still pretty funny.
I think you should pick something light, action packed: a saturday afternoon movie. Some other suggestions:
“The Mummy” (Brendan Fraser)
“Pirates of the Carribean: Curse of the Black Pearl” (the first of the series)
“The Fifth Element”
“Lake Placid”
“The Mask of Zorro” (Antonio Banderas)
Okay, other than that one I was thing of an outdoors movie very few of your neighbors probably have seen: Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog. It’s about a boy, his dog, and their attempts to get back home after a boating accident.
