The platonic ideal of the outdoor movie experience involves a balmy summer’s eve, a picnic blanket to stretch out upon, plus various picnic delicacies. The San Francisco reality of the open-air movie spectatorship is usually more like a freezing fog-filled night, a down sleeping bag to cuddle in and wine to keep you warm.

Even so, Film Night in the Park rakes in the crowds, the happy campers and the masses yearning to see movies in the great outdoors. 

For weather wusses, San Anselmo and Fairfax are part of the Film Night summer series, and movie lovers can be pretty well assured nice nights in West Marin. WALL*E kicked off the 2009 series in San Anselmo on Memorial Day weekend, and Over the Hedgewill play this Friday in Fairfax. Kung Fu Panda, a decidedly less dreadful kid-toon, will screen in Mill Valley on Saturday night.

But the true test of intrepid cinephiles is their willingness to gamble on unpredictable weather. Movie screenings will be held at Dolores Park (best chance for semi-ok weather) Union Square and Washington Square Park. The selected films range from the classic (Manhattan, On the Waterfront, Rear Window) to the cult-favored (Rushmore, Blade Runner, Forbidden Planet) to the kitsch (Pretty in Pink, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure) to the kid-friendly (Dumbo, Ratatouille, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)

The first San Francisco film screening is June 20 in Dolores Park, where Goldfinger (Bond, James Bond) will screen. This 1964 007 94110 screening is best enjoyed with a martini – shaken, not stirred.