Tonight’s Free Friday Flicks Brings You Cars 3
Weekly summer series draws big crowds to Charles River Esplanade
Free Friday Flicks, sponsored by WBZ NewsRadio 1030 and the Department of Conservation and Recreation, offers family-friendly movies at the Charles River Esplanade Hatch Shell throughout the summer. Photo by Flickr contributor oeimah
For more than 30 years, Free Friday Flicks has drawn crowds to the Charles River Esplanade Hatch Shell on summer Friday nights. Sponsored by WBZ NewsRadio 1030 and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the weekly movie series shows family-friendly and classic films outdoors on the banks of the Charles River. So end your week or kick off your weekend, kids or no kids, with this fun activity. All screenings begin at dusk.
Tonight’s movie is Cars 3, the latest installment in the popular Pixar Studios computer-animated film franchise about a group of race cars. Once again, the star is Lightning McQueen, voiced by Owen Wilson, who must prove that he is still the best race car in the world, despite new racers outfitted with all kinds of souped-up technology. McQueen begins to train with a new female coach named Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo). The pressure mounts after McQueen agrees to a deal that allows him to decide when to retire if he wins the season’s first race, but would force him to retire immediately if he loses. All of the beloved Cars characters return in this sequel, including McQueen’s best friend, Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), and his old mentor, Doc Hudson, voiced by the late Paul Newman.
Cars 3 garnered kudos from New York Times reviewer Glenn Kenny for its valuable lessons: it “makes a case against sexism and for the joys of mentorship.” Rolling Stone awarded the film three out of four stars, calling it “easily the best entry of the bunch” and “the first one to genuinely deserve having the Pixar name attached to it.”
Come early to get a good spot on the lawn, bring some friends, and enjoy free giveaways in addition to some heartwarming family flicks and the gorgeous Esplanade view.
Cars 3 screens tonight, Friday, July 27, at sundown (8:07 pm) at the Esplanade’s Hatch Shell, 47 David G. Mugar Way, Boston. The event is free and open to the public. Call the Free Friday Flicks Hotline (617-787-7200) for weather-related cancellations. Take an MBTA Green Line trolley to Park Street, transfer to the Red Line toward Alewife, and get off at the Charles/MGH stop.
The remaining films in the 2018 Free Friday Flicks series are Jumangi: Welcome to the Jungle, August 3, at 7:58 pm; Coco, August 10, at 7:48 pm; Beauty and the Beast, August 17, at 7:38 pm; and Thor: Ragnarok, August 24, at 7:26 pm.
Sara Frazier can be reached at smfrazie@bu.edu; follow her on Twitter @Sara_Frazier.
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