Matinee

There's a certain lighthearted charm to Joe Dante's Matinee that I can't help but love. It's a loving salute to Sci-Fi and Horror B-Movies and the guys who made them, but also the kids who loved them, including Dante himself. Now, I came of age later on in the late 80's, early 90's, but I still was able to relate to the movie through my own love of the genres it was paying homage to. 

Gene Loomis (played by Simon Fenton) has recently moved to Key West, Florida in Fall, 1962 with his little brother Dennis (played by Jesse Lee Soffer) and mother (played by Lucinda Jenney) to live on the Military Base where his father is stationed. Because of his father's military career, Gene has moved around a lot in his life and with a lack of friends, has found solace in monster movies at the local cinema, including ones made by the gimmicky schlockmeister Lawrence Woolsey (played by John Goodman). He is excited to discover that Woolsey will be visiting Key West to preview his latest sci-fi horror movie, MAnt, with girlfriend and leading lady Ruth Corday (played by Cathy Moriarty) in tow. Gene recognizes two protesters outside the theatre, played by John Sayles and Dick Miller no less, as actors that have worked with Woolsey in the past and realizes it's a put on to stir up free publicity by Woolsey and when Gene confronts him about it, Woolsey decides to take the kid under his wing and show him a few of his tricks. Meanwhile, the Cuban Missle Crisis is starting to heat up with tensions rising all across Key West, making it the ideal time for Woolsey to debut his new monster movie.

Joe Dante directed the film from a script by Charlie Haas and both show a real affinity for both the 1950s monster movies as well as the kids who loved them, kids like Dante himself, as the director has freely admitted. Even with the movie within a movie, MAnt!, it's recreated with more reverence than parody (another film the kids see at one point, The Shook Up Shopping Cart, is an amusing parody of the cheesiest of the Disney Live Action films of the era, and the kids look suitably bored throughout). For the character of the film director Lawrence Woolsey, Dante and Haas pull mainly from William Castle, who had a love for gimmicks with his scary movies and we see Woolsey shares this affinity as he wires buzzers to the seats and sets up other effects in the theater, including having an actor running through the theater in the MAnt costume at one point. There is a great moment between Gene and Lawrence where Gene explains why he likes Monster movies so much and Woolsey discusses why he enjoys making them so much. It's a small moment in the film but it sums up so perfectly the fun of going to see a scary movie. Then they take this portion of the plot and place it up against the very real threat of the Cuban Missile Crisis and how these kids are dealing with the very real prospect of nuclear annihilation, with the new movie providing a welcome relief from those real world fears.

John Goodman is great in the role of Lawrence Woolsey, who finds the perfect balance for the character. At his core, Woolsey is a showman and he loves creating a unique experience for his audience. His character could have easily been a slick trickster, but Goodman gives the character a lot of warmth and shows that despite his character's faults, he just wants to put on a good show for his audiences. Of course, he's not above a little scheming for the sake of publicity either. Cathy Moriarty is reliably good as Woolsey's girlfriend and frequent leading lady, who puts up with his antics yet you get the sense it's all getting a little old for her. Still, Moriarty is quite amusing in the role with her dead-pan delivery both in the film within the film and in helping Woolsey on the road, especially in the climactic Matinee showing on MAnt, where she poses as a nurse having patrons sign release forms promising not to sue if the film scares them into cardiac arrest. Simon Fenton does well as Gene, who on one had has to help take care of his younger brother since it's just them and their Mom while their dad is deployed, but also trying to find his place in a new town and not sure if he should even bother making friends. Lisa Jakub has an amusing turn as well as Sandra, the child of two beatnik parents who makes an early impression on Gene when she refuses to take part in a duck and cover drill, pointing out that it is completely pointless in the event of a real nuclear bombing. She's a wonderful character and portrayed wonderfully by Jakub.

It's easy to see why a movie like this would appeal to me. A film with a main character who is a walking encyclopedia of movie trivia and is happiest at the local cinema who gets to meet and hang out with one of his filmmaking idols. What's not to love? But at the same time, the film shows a lot of affection for a certain type of film and the guys who made them while also playfully parodying those same films. Joe Dante, who began making films for B-Movie film producer Roger Corman, was the perfect person to direct the film as well, as he loved those same films as a kid too (in fact most of the posters and memorabilia come from Dante's own collection). It's a film that didn't do so hot when it first came out 25 years ago, in part because Universal didn't know how to sell it, but has built a devoted fan base over the years. It's a film I found on cable and have loved ever since that first viewing. It'd be a suitably entertaining film for anyone I think, but for people like me - the cinephiles, I think would have even more affection for it. It certainly ranks among Joe Dante's best films for me. Maybe even his best one.