Free outdoor movies this summer!

If you're down for some outdoor movies this summer, here are some popular options. You could see a few movies a week this summer and not pay a dime. Most start around July, but check the links for specifics. Scroll down for the rules of engagement.

MONDAYS: 2007 HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival
I used to go to the Bryant Park HBO film festival years ago, but it's been a while due to work or neglect (or poor offerings). Remember to be firm: "No! You may not put your Birkenstocks on my organically grown hemp blanket!" There are some classics this year -- Annie Hall, Psycho, Casablanca. Looks better than in years past.

WEDNESDAYS: River Flicks for Grown ups
On piers on the west side, riverflicks for kids and grown-ups both have great offerings (and different locations -- check the link). Adult version is a "no-loser" theme, with Gladiator, Rocky Balboa and Superman Returns in the line-up.

THURSDAYS: Brooklyn Bridge Park Movies with a View
Cross the river for this one, it's got some great shows. Currently, you have search the calendar to see they'll be showing The Princess Bride, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Muppets Take Manhattan, and more.

FRIDAYS: River Flicks for Kids
The kids menu ("life is an adventure!") features Back to the Future and the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, so adults may enjoy them too.


And now, the rules of engagement (at least for Bryant Park):

1. Plan to get there at 2:00 to get a great spot.
2. Pack a delightful picnic basket with a bottle of wine and some nice cheese.
3. Bring a balloon so your two best friends can find you.
4. Get there at 2:00, and realize all the great spots are taken.
5. Aim bad thoughts at the person sitting by himself using a 40-ft parachute as his blanket.
6. Realize you brought the wrong book/forgot your crochet hook/dressed too warmly.
7. Appreciate this beautiful park, get over the little things, and take a 5-minute nap.
8. Wake up an hour later, drenched in sweat from the sun, finding your neighbors' blankets overlapping yours on every side. Your cheese is melted all over your grandmother's picnic basket.
9. Call your friends and find out they won't be as early as they expected. One mentions he/she might bring a friend. You look at your shrinking real estate and suppose it's okay. The more the merrier, right? Eat the cheese off of the picnic basket with your fingers, since you brought neither crackers nor a knife.
10. Pass time till sundown trying not to eavesdrop on the nearby tweens, all shouting on separate phone calls. "Well, he wasn't hot anyway. [pause] his brother! OH MY GOD! [pause] HAHAHAHAHAHAH [pause] Oh, I'm so sorry... when was the funeral? [pause] HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
    
11. Observe that your friends have no idea *which* balloon is yours in this helium minefield, which is fine since your friends brought a 10 person entourage anyway.
12. Use the empty bottle of wine as a pillow and sleep until there's enough room to leave. Who's idea it was to watch this stinker in the first place???
13. Finally, wish you'd brought an umbrella...