I made it over to Barton Creek Cinemas (not in the mall, but the other one) to assess the Star Wars line that has been squatting there for over a week. After my visit, I can now assess how the Barton Creek and Alamo lines stack up. I hear there’s also a line over at the Metropolitan, but I have to work and that theater sucks anyway, so we’ll just ignore them.

Location: The Alamo line set up at the doorstep of the theater, while the Barton Creek group are banished several hundred yards away from the entry. The BC guys get the benefit of lush grash and tent shade rather than concrete slabs, but the Alamo serves beer.
Advantage: Alamo

Size: Neither line has much critical mass, which is either a sign of Austin’s uber-hipness or ultra-lameness depending on your perspective. Alamo folks slept outside for one night while the BC group erected a tent city over a week ago.
Advantage: Barton Creek

Equipment: No costumes at either location (thank god) but light sabers were present at both. Barton Creek had a boombox and a variety of games, while Alamo boasted a large R2-D2 and lots of posters. The coup de grace for the Alamites was the multimedia setup, including a TV and DVD projector w/screen.
Advantage: Alamo

Greetings: The Alamo crew mostly ignored my presence, while I was greeted with insults and taunts from the Barton Creek line-up. Oddly enough, I preferred the taunts.
Advantage: Barton Creek

Style: The Alamo line carried an introspective, comic-reading vibe. The Barton Creek line joked around, mocked Star Trek fans, and seemed to be having more fun “roughing it” to support their habit.
Advantage: Barton Creek

Chick Count: Alamo, 2. Barton Creek, 0.
Advantage: Alamo

Geek Factor: Let’s face it, camping out for any movie is pretty dorky. Unfortunately, rating these groups for a blog is even dorkier.
Advantage: abstain

It’s close, but I have to declare the Barton Creek line the superior Star Wars gathering. If you want to experience a healthy dose of sci-fi devotion prior to tonight’s midnight showing, these are the guys to do it with. Heh heh … I said, “do it.”