It's baaaack: The Return of The River Oaks Theater!

River Oaks Theater Marquee - Houston, TX 2022, photo by John Barrett

Sis and I attended the soft re-opening of a Houston staple, The River Oaks Theater. I wrote about the closing of the doors of the venerable movie house and the local efforts to save it, and its eventual reopening (which has, thankfully happened!) 

The restoration is grand. The concept of a high end food menu and the expansion of the theater into a live venue is promising. 

Tuesday's soft opening night went smoother than many others I've attended (restaurants, mostly, but also book stores, and even smaller theaters). There were a couple of hiccups, but nothing that would derail the experience for me.

I'm talking really minor stuff like too-high volume levels for the short film that followed Dave Upp's live set. The levels were set for an acoustic performance (which was good), likely increased for the switch to electric guitar for the last song and not brought back down when the film began. 

The main presentation of The Royal Tenenbaums was perfect and my assumption is that the previous film was projected from a laptop run through the sound board at the back of the house to keep things flowing, while the feature was, of course, projected from the booth in its traditional space.

Really interesting to note is that the main theater will have two screens to more easily accomodate different aspect ratios. EDIT: check out the theater's page for technical specs. Very good to know!

The house lighting was just a little off, with lights not slowly dimming so much as dimming and then just out. I was super impressed with the number of staff on the floor, taking orders and delivering food, but I suspect there will be fewer on the floor once the kinks are ironed out and smoother protocols are in place.

My sister didn't care for the seats. Theser are poofily cushioned with a back that echoes a deco design from the 30s. The center section is raised up from the two in relief and while I didn't find it a problem, she did and I wonder if that's going to be a complaint from other people. Frankly, I found the chairs comfortable.

I enjoyed Dave's set. The songs were all very similar in composition and his playing was steady. His accompanist on double bass was excellent and the sonority of that instrument lent gravitas to what to my ears, sounded like fairly standard love songs of falling in love, falling out of love, and the attendant pains that go with all of that. Dave himself was almost shy and his in between song banter was sefl-deprecating and a little awkward. Endearing, though.

The Greatest View - Paris was the short film written and performed by Upp (you can find it on YouTube, but it is stunning on a big screen). It began as a kind of Wes Anderson homage (in French!), fittingly, and was a pretty engaging story of love and death. I'd like to see more from him if this is any indication of what he's got in store. Very clever and seeing Sarah Burkett show up was a surprise. Brooks Cruzen deserves a round of applause for his camera work and the score was swell.

Then onto the feature. Let's be clear, I just saw The Royal Tenenbaums a year ago and I think it's the Wes Anderson film I seem to revisit the most. Not sure how that happens, since it's edged out a little by The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Aquatic Life of Steve Zissou (though this is a case of ask me tomorrow and Tenenbaums would be back at the top...oh, the Wesishness of it all!) There's nothing I can possibly say here because this isn't a movie review, it's a theater review and oh, yes, I am overjoyed that the River Oaks Theater is back!

If you're in Houston - either living here or visiting - put her on your destination list. She's the last of the great cinema houses left in this city. The Alabama Thester is now a Trader Joe's, the Tower Theater is a restauratn (I think; it's been a number of things since it closed), The Majestic Metro is long, long gone, the Delman, the Village Theater, the Shamrock...all are lost in time, like tears in rain. But The River Oaks has risen and Houston can raise its head a little taller in cinematic curation circles.

i can't recommend the theater's website highly enough. There's a plethora of info and a lot of really exciting events and screenings. Do yourself a favor and head over there or, uh, here: https://www.theriveroakstheatre.com/.

Also, like and follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/riveroakstheater/.

Actually, while I'm at it, you can find Dave Upp/Warmtapes on FB, Instagram, and YouTube, too. Check out his film here: https://youtu.be/uJxmu08Mk-I?si=KiwxfJsIgUf-eMAw.

And some interior shots to give you some ideas of the main auditorium and stage.

All photos by John Barrett.