Alamo Drafthouse’s BAYWATCH ON THE BEACH (Event Coverage)
So most movie aficionados, especially in the Austin, TX area, love their neighborhood Alamo Drafthouses. And let’s face it who of my generation doesn’t love the Baywatch television series featuring David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson and more? I know right! So imagine my surprise when I received an invite to cover the following event. It read and I quote “Join us on Wednesday, May 24th for BAYWATCH ON THE BEACH, a special opening night only event of a no shirt, no shoes, no problemo screening of the summer of 2017’s bronzed and buff comedy spectacular, all happening on the sunny, lake-side shores of Volente Beach.” As an added bonus Volente Beach is located in the city of Leander. Hello! That’s where I live. While I have never been there before I knew I could not pass this unique screening opportunity up so I did what I always do. I applied for press credentials and the rest is history. So join me down below here in my recap of this historic screening.
The invite form the Alamo Drafthouse PR team also came with the tagline “What could make all the sunning, funning, and slo-mo running of big screen BAYWATCH just that much more awesome? Show it at an actual beach, brah. Duh.” I cannot disagree with that sentiment. Four years ago I moved from cold Cleveland, OH to soak up all the sun I could and dammit I want to have fun with Baywatch! So needless to say I was pumped for this screening of the new comedy, which also released nationwide the same night too. However, if you follow our site, then you’d already known that I got to check this one out early last week so this is my second time taking in Baywatch in less than a week. Yay! How did it hold up a second time? Rest assured I’ll cover that down below, but for now you can find my original movie review of it all over here.
DATE AND TIME
LOCATION
The beach party movie of the year has inspired our beach party kick off to the summer.
Here’s what’s on deck for BAYWATCH ON THE BEACH…
- You’ll get to sip on cocktails while lounging on a real-life sandy beach or cruising down waterslides.
- Pacific Ocean not included, but two hours of water park playtime before the movie is, with access to Volente Beach Water Park fun, including the Lazy Lagoon, The Sidewinder, water slides, volleyball, a beachside bar and grill and a whole lot more.
- A shark-themed inner tube that you get to keep.
- Every ticket includes a buffet dinner (menu TBD, but vegan / vegetarian options will be available).
- Before the film, we’ll hold intensive lifeguard trials via a harder-than-it-looks slo-mo running competition.
- Slather on the coconut oil and relax. You’ll get to watch the antics of The Rock, The Zac & the gang on the big screen from the comfort and safety of your own personal floatation device that you get to take home with you after the movie.
- Surprises throughout the party and the film itself.
- Swimsuits required. Sunscreen highly recommended. Sleazy drug traffickers, diamond thieves, and evil real estate developers with ponytails not allowed.
So there you have it. That’s the gist of the event and what it’s all about. What’s next is my take and the experience I had with it all. I hope you enjoy!
The first misconception was this event was billed to be taken place in Leander. Um that’s not so much true. It’s actually in the city of Volente, hence the name Violent Beach. However, I digress. It was a 16 mile ride from my house to the beach. Whatever! So upon walking into the water park I was instantly greeted by the great looking cast of Baywatch (as pictured below) and that heavenly body of Alexandra Daddario. You have no idea how much I miss my truck back in Ohio. Given permission I would have taken this standee home and prominently displayed it in my dining room. LOL.
So from about 6 to 8:30 it was nothing but sun, water and frolicking. There were adequate picnic tables, a full service tiki hut bar and several generous water play areas and slides as pictured below too.
Around 7 o’clock people rushed towards the buffet, which consisted of a Mexican entree (chicken or beef fajitas). Around 8:30 everyone gathered on the beach, some in chairs and others sitting on their Alamo Drafthouse provided rafts (also pictured below).
While waiting for it to get darker Alamo put on a slow motion running contest before the main event began moments before the 9 o’clock hour. Truth be told for me the feature held up just fine the second time around. It was great to hear the interactive crowd laugh and clap along with it all. There’s really some great moments to be had with this film despite what all the critics say. For me though it was the fireworks ending that totally capped off the perfect night. Act 3 in this film is an explosive one and I swear to God the Alamo Drafthouse scared the crap out of me when they lit off fireworks over the big screen that went off simultaneously with the onscreen fireworks. Bravo! It truly was Baywatch in 4D!
Brian White
Owner/Writer/Reviewer/Editor, Dreamer, Producer, Agent of Love, Film Lover, Writer of Screenplays and a Devoted Apostle to all things Ford Mustangs (the real ones with V8's!). Some of my favorite films include FIGHT CLUB, MOULIN ROUGE, THE DARK KNIGHT, STAR WARS alongside television shows such as SEINFELD, 24, SANFORD & SON and even the often loathed in the geek community BIG BANG THEORY. Outside of my three lives I live I also enjoy spending time with my girlfriend and our three girls (of the furry kind).
Leave it to the Drafthouse to create a day to remember! This is such a fun read and picture tour – great to see you movie geeking out Brian! (aka great article!)
Thanks, Jason! I appreciate it. Yes it was a break from the norm and everyday stress of life. I enjoyed the treat!