I was vaguely aware that they showed movies outside of Wrigley Field, projected on a jumbotron, a TV-like display, against the side of a building in Gallagher Way, but I was unfamiliar with the 2019 line-up until I heard the night’s feature mentioned on the radio.

Gallagher Way (named after a global insurance company) is a park area between the third base side wall and arcade of stores, across the street from new bars and restaurants and the Hotel Zachary, all of which sprung up along Clark Street over the last few years.

I have very mixed feelings about the Disney-fication of Wrigley Field and surrounding area.  For me, Wrigley Field, with its Ivy-covered outfield walls and old-fashioned charm, and its human scale (it’s a ballpark, not a stadium), plus all the memories I have of seeing games there since 1967 does not need additional reasons to visit.

…But I do understand efforts to cash in on the brand and offer new generations of fans something beyond nostalgia (which is not natural to young people anyway).  And I do love the pork shoulder tacos served up at Big Star, which is across the street.

Anyway, this pristine area of suitable for miniature golf lawn is the site for a series of outdoor movies, a film festival curated by the Music Box Theatre, another Chicago institution, and takes place every other Wednesday night when there is no ballgame.  Features are likely to be about baseball or Chicago.

In a hurry to take advantage of a warm spring night (very aware that it’s already snowed a few times since Easter and it might turn cold again) and hang out near the marquee of my youth, the chance to see Wayne’s World was a no-brainer.

I took public trans there and brought a small folding chair although they have room for beach blankets and have set up some chairs which you can reserve online.

The crowd was mostly young people; couples out on budget dates or groups of friends, also young families.  In line with the rock ‘n roll theme of the pic, the insurance company under whose logo we lounged sponsored an air guitar contest for kids.

Most of the crowd probably had not yet been born when Saturday Night Live ensemble members Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey created the characters of Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar for a sketch on Saturday Night Live, but I found the playfulness and irony that worked in the early 90s is still funny.

The story line of the movie is pretty simple.  Big time rock fan and otherwise ne’er-do-well, Wayne Campbell broadcasts a local cable access show from his mother’s basement in Aurora, Illinois.

The charm and idiocy of this is one and the same.  He can have anyone as his guest and can choose anything he wants to feature.  It’s HIS show.

People don’t tune in to catch a particular guest.  His fans tune in because Wayne is like them.  At times, he’s enthusiastic and at other times, he’s bored.  At times, he’s conflicted, and at other times, confident.

A producer becomes aware of the money-making potential of Wayne’s show and gets a business to invest, one that is interested in the same audience as Wayne has cultivated.  The allure of money is strong and Wayne’s hyper-crush on an exotic-looking Asian femme fatale, who happens to have great heavy metal musical chops, takes us through twists and turns, but…

… the enduring appeal of the movie is that Wayne talks to us, the audience, as friends, throughout the film, even as he introduces alternate endings. He speaks directly to the camera – to us.

I haven’t seen the movie in years.  Last Wednesday night, it felt like the first time. I laughed at Mike Meyers’ attempts to speak Cantonese to his new lady love, and I rooted for him to triumph over the producer’s efforts to turn his show into a vehicle for advertising.

I observed enjoyment in the quilt of humanity that was spread out on the lawn before me, pairs or foursomes on blankets, laughing along with me. Some laughed out loud, and I don’t mean they took up a LOL text suggestion.

In a world of streaming on demand and binge-watching entire seasons of premium cable shows in a day, it’s so nice to me to have a communal experience of watching a movie with friends or strangers.

Going out for entertainment is not just about the content of what you take in, it’s about sharing the experience with others.  From the air guitar contest to staking out a spot for my chair behind the folks stretched out on blankets so as to not to interfere with their view, I loved the whole experience of my evening in Wayne’s World.

I hope to come back for Wednesday night screenings of Field of Dreams and High Fidelity later this summer.

That I can leave an outdoor movie in a park knowing that twenty-somethings and preteens will be echoing Wayne’s catch phrases of “Schving” and “Party On!” is no small thing.