The Flicks: Rick’s Cafe Americain

The Flicks is a great example of a community theater showing outstanding movies that in most cases aren’t going to be the blockbusters that appear on the large chain screens.
The four screening rooms are fairly small but the seats are comfortable and the building is well-​maintained.
The staff is friendly and it’s a good place to watch a movie. The admission price is also lower than what is charged at the big box theaters.

The Flicks is a great movie house that has beer, wine, good food, great popcorn, and excellent movies. One of my favorite values at The Flicks is their year pass, if you love movies it is a superb value.
The Flicks is an old school theatre in the sense that the screens are small and seating is limited. If you are tall your knees will hit the chair in front of you and you’ll crowd a bit into the person next to you … just like the 70s when I’m sure this theatre was built. You get to know your neighbors and it doesn’t matter a bit. And that’s coming from someone who doesn’t like to be crowded.
The movies are not the run of the mill blockbusters you’ll see at the big chains typically. They are art house movies, documentaries, smaller release movies. Not every movie will suit your tastes but if you like those kind of movies many will.
The food and drink is very good. You can even get Red Vines for a dime a piece, it’s kind of fun. You can get hot meals, sandwiches, and pastries. I haven’t had anything that I didn’t enjoy.
The popcorn is the popcorn you remember from the movies when you were a kid and the butter is real. Grab a tub of popcorn, your favorite beer or wine, a couple of Red Vines and you have an excellent date night. Or, make it the full night and grab dinner in the theatre first (or take it in with you).
The Flicks is all the way across town for me but I’ll make the trip anytime they have a movie I want to see because I love the experience and I love it that Boise supports a theatre like this.

The Flicks will always be my favorite place to watch a movie. The selection they choose is top notch. It’s not a corporate sell out of an institution. It has class and the staff takes pride in their films.

I just want to start by saying I LOVE independent films but have always been disappointed that I couldn’t watch them on the big screen but now I can. I am so glad that Boise has this theatre. The atmosphere is great and the staff is outstanding.

The only reason I came here was to see Sunshine superman. A great BASE jumping documentary tonight. I can easily see myself coming back though. I had a burger that wasn’t bad. Enjoyed a beer and watched the movie. This place has a great feel to it and is hitting everything out of the park. Thanks! And thanks for playing sunshine superman!

Throw out anything you think you know about movie theaters when going here. This theater takes a whole new approach. I don’t tend to see many foreign/​art films, but I did stop in after a recommendation to check out this theater. For a small theater in a world full of multiplexes they seem to have done well for themselves. My only criticism was the kind of confusing layout on where to get to two of the auditoriums. You have to cross through a mini video store for access. Not that that’s something that can be easily fixed, but just a measure of caution. The theater I was in was very small and the screen size wasn’t anything special, but the movie started on time, and it was presented with great picture and sound. For those interested in these types of films this is a great place to go and I hope it sticks around for a long time. There needs to be more small independent theaters out there.

Great, old fashioned, homey, movie theater. I wonder if its days are numbered though because of some stupid chain hotel that is supposed to be built in that area :(It will be very sad if they close up and tear this place down. I absolutely LOVE this theater! It brings you back to when you were a kid, to when life was a little simpler, when people were a little friendlier, when life wasn’t so stressful. Yeah, I know I make it sound serious LOL. but it brought back a ton of memories for me when I first went and I was so happy to see it there and to go and would be devastated to see it go. I heard recently a «boutique hotel» is supposed to go up in that area… Im hoping its not in top of this theater. Its just nice to have some real character left in a city that is going to all «new»
While it is still here… check it out, you’ll love it! Great staff! Prices are AWESOME! I paid 6.00 bucks for a popcorn and a soda! Crazy! at an Edwards… that would cost 11.50 or some crap like that haha!
Great place! Go check it out :)
They also have a little restaurant in there. You can order and eat in the theater, or eat by the fireplace, or eat out on the patio… so cool! love it!

Yours truly popped into Flicks for some much-​needed arthouse cinema, choosing to watch the Stephen Hawking biopic «The Theory of Everything» on a crisp December eve.
I snagged a frosty brew and took my seat, only to have to displeasure of sitting behind some of the local matriculates from BSU, who were convinced this film was supposed to be about time travel.
Anyhoo, if you’re a movie lover looking for a theater run by movie lovers, this is the place. It’s not glamorous, but it’s real, homey.
Now if they could get a special screening of Top Gun, that would be fantastic…

Truthfully, the 5^th star here is my little thank-​you gift for simply existing in the first place. Not everything is perfect here, but when we think of all the things in Boise that we’d miss if they went away, The Flicks easily makes our Top 10.
Yes, the megaplexes have bigger, brighter screens, better sound, stadium seating, spacious auditoriums, abundant parking and 3D. We need those places too. But do they feature indies, docs, and foreign films? They do not. Can you have a glass of wine or grab a sandwich? You cannot (unless you’re at The Village). And at Flicks you won’t have to sit through 10 minutes of commercials and another 10 of previews for movies you will never, ever want to see.
If you’ve never been to The Flicks, be aware that the lack of commercials means that the films start more or less as advertised. Also, there are more of us cinephiles in town than you might think, and these auditoriums are not huge and they can fill up quickly. So please show up on time. And if you’re drinking beer, we suggest sitting on the aisle so we don’t miss something important because you have to dash off to the bathroom.
You can save a few bucks by buying a pass card, which gives you 10 admissions at a discount. If you normally attend the matinees, it’s not a big difference, but still convenient and it gives you the illusion weeks later that you might as well check out that new indie film since it’s free.
Two of the viewing rooms are quite small. These are #3 & 4, through the video rental area (!). The seating is like flying economy coach and not too comfortable for tall people like me. Screens 1 & 2 are better. However, in some theaters there is only one drink holder for two seats, so you might have to share. Finally, parking is limited and the spaces fairly narrow, so leave the Hummer at home.

I like this place, you can drink and have even more fun when you leave by hitting downtown. I usually come here about once a month, always an enjoyable time.

Best chicken & spinach lasagna I’ve had in — maybe forever. Paired of with a nice Pinot Grigio and sat through one of the worst movies I’e ever seen! But the food was amazing. Also kudos to the counter people juggling orders. We were behind a VERY rude woman who was so condescending to the young lady behind the counter I wanted to intervene. But the server just kept her cool, kept smiling and took our orders as if the lady in front of us had never been there and our order was the most important of the evening. Wish I’d gotten her name, but it shows the level of training the employees have received. Very impressive. Even if you don’t watch a move the food experience is well worth a visit.

I love the Flicks, just for the fact that they show Indie/​limited release and documentary films, a rarity in this age of the multi screen mega-​plex and mass appeal movies. This place is for the serious cine-​file. Nice café with very good food, beer and wine. A perfect date night venue. The relaxed and quiet coffee house atmospheres’ lack of gaudy advertising, flashing lights and neon is more for the ‘60s Boomer than the Millennial generation and a throw back to the classic «art house» movie venue. The theaters themselves are relatively small and not suited for THX sound and digital visual spectacle films. The traditional seats seem a tad small and close together also. But these are minor inconveniences. It’s the art that matters.

Gotta love a theater that serves beer and wine.
My husband and I grabbed a couple Flicks burgers before the movie. So thick and tasty, it almost makes up for the lack of option in chips. There’s a good selection of dishes, including standard theater fair and some nicer and possibly healthier options.
We were in one of the medium sized theaters. If you’re expecting stadium seating, you will be disappointed but my previous indie theater experiences in larger Arizona markets involved folding chairs so this was a pleasant surprise. Plus it’s the only place to view less mainstream films.
The best part is you don’t have to worry about arriving early to get a decent seat nor do you have to sit through a bunch of ads, just a few movie trailers. It’s almost a nostalgic experience.

Loooooove the Brie and sun dried tomatoes and chocolate chip cookie. This is a local favorite.

Food: not worth the money compared to other theater/​restaurants
Beer: selection is great with fair prices
Popcorn: yummy butter on stale kernels — super disappointing
Seats: narrow and tight
NO TABLES!
I’ve been to other theater/​restaurants in other cities and they have all had a narrow table in front of the seat.
While we are only visitors to Boise and have loved a lot of the places we have gone, this in one place we won’t return to on the next visit.

We love watching movies and relaxing at the Flicks. Buy a multi-​ticket punch card and save on admissions!

OK so initially we had a bad experience. But things do happen. I up the rating from 2 stars to 4 as the owner took the time to get a hold of me. Apologized for the bad outing and is sending a couple of passes. We promised that we will go again and try the food again. So if food is better then our first experience maybe we take the rating to the top…

The Flicks is a wonderful locally-​owned movie theater where they strive to bring in independent and foreign films. The café always has delicious food and a good selection of beer and wine, which can be enjoyed in their nice seating area or in the theater.
It is true that the theaters are smaller than the stadium seating theaters elsewhere and the seats are more cramped, but this is a small operation and what I love about the Flicks more than makes up for the small seats.

Unless you find waiting for a movie to come out on DVD impossible, I have a hard time finding any reason to go to Flicks.
Seats are small and cramped. If you’re over 6′ 1″, forget about it, you’ll be miserable. If you’re 5′ 11″ or taller, you’ll probably also be uncomfortable.
Screens are by far the smallest in town, essentially negating any big (or even remotely big) screen movie experience.
Dining in a movie theater is a nice idea in theory. Listening to people eat dinner during a movie, in a very, very close-​quarters theater is not such a great idea in reality.
Another reviewer mentioned that the staff is snobby. I can’t wholly disagree with that assessment. Some of the staff are polite, but some seem unnecessarily snotty and arrogant– they definitely should not be working in position that requires customer interaction.
I really don’t see any benefit or advantage to watching a movie at Flicks. Given the rude nature of some of the staff, I would have a very hard time finding any desire to ever return.

I love this theater!
The Flicks is a cute little theater that plays indie and international movies that serves beer/​wine and light meals.
They also have a great collection of hard to find rentals.