Matinee

"This is Lawrence Woolsey and ...." starts this movie in great style as a 1960's style of movie promo. The movie starts starts very well and only gets bogged down late in the film when a couple of kids get shut into a bomb shelter by mistake.

This film portrait of the 1960's schlock entertainer Woolsey (as portrayed by John Goodman) continues to be his best film role. Goodman who is now one of the spokes people for Duncan Donuts (quickly putting Starbucks out of business), is perfect for the role of Woolsey. He is surrounded by a lot of old time talent & some younger folks who manage to put over an active film story.

Two coups of this are the film within a film setting which is employed successfully with the cutting between them being made smoothly without losing the plot line and the melding of some old timers into the film in support. William Schallert is used very effectively in the MANT film within the film. Jesse White is just as effective as the guy who is trying to evaluate Woolsey's show.

The film is a send up of lots of themes from Civil Defense, to the Missile Crisis, to movies in general, to sci-fi 1950's films, to spoofing life itself. There are even spoofs of characters within the film including a broad send-up of two Liberal Parents and their attitude towards raising their daughter.

This film is loaded with everything including the theater sign which has now failed, "Fight Pay TV". If you like John Goodman, this is his best role to date outside of Dan on Roseanne, a must see film for the Goodman fan.

`Half Man, Half Ant, All Terror!,' screams the promotional for fictional film producer Lawrence Woolsey's newest film, Mant. Mant is the film within the 1993 film titled Matinee. Matinee, starring John Goodman as the William Castle-like Woolsey, is director Joe Dante's valentine to all of us who grew up in the middle of the cold war. That he has managed to combine a salute to the science fiction films of the 1950's and early 60's with a warning about nuclear power and human imperfection is quite impressive. The plotline is straightforward. Woolsey and his delightful lover, leading lady and all around Girl Friday Ruth, ably played by Cathy Moriarty, (who shows she could have been a great 50's sci-fi heroine), roll into Key West, Florida for a sneak preview of his latest film, Mant. The weekend of the big event, autumn of 1962, also happens to be the time of the Cuban missile crisis. Here the story gets a little stretched as we try to keep up with all that is going on. Panicky theatre managers, adolescent love and jealousy, and several amusing scenes from Mant are among the many points of interest against the sobering backdrop of the missile crisis, only 90 miles away in Cuba. This film is a bit hard to describe, the best thing to do is rent it and enjoy it for yourself. Much of it takes place in the theatre on Saturday afternoon and is a true trip down memory lane for old guys like me who lived during this era and remember very well what indoor theatres were like in 1962. Mant is a special treat for all of us who love the sci-fi films of that era. It has several un-credited science fiction legends in it (Kevin McCarthy, William Schallert and Robert Cornthwaite appeared with the sultry Moriarty) and numerous insider jokes. McCarthy was `General Ankrum.' Oh Brother! Is there a sci-fi fan anywhere who is not aware that the late Morris Ankrum made a career of portraying military generals in these types of films? This is only one example of a ton of fun in this film. There were other appearances by old time favorites, such as Jesse White and Roger Corman regular Dick Miller. It is obvious that everyone had a good time making Matinee and just about all of the performances are way over the top, especially Goodman's. He held his oversized stogie just like Castle used to. I've heard that there are more Mant scenes in the DVD version of Matinee but I have been unable to locate what has turned out to be a harder to obtain film that I imagined it would or should be. Matinee is a warm-hearted gem. By all means make the effort to see this one if you can obtain a copy. I promise, you will not be disappointed.

The Strand Theatre, where the `action' takes place, has a big Milk Duds ad over the snack bar. Hmm . . . sounds like an idea to me!

I have a lot of time for Joe Dante. Most of his movies are fairly light-hearted, nostalgic fare aimed at kids or the young at heart, but unlike his occasional collaborator Steven Spielberg he really pulls it off convincingly without getting too sentimental and treacly, and always has enough in-jokes and references in his movies to amuse diehard science fiction and horror film buffs. Dante is a BIG fan of film makers like Roger Corman (who gave him his big break), William Castle (a major inspiration for 'Matinee') and Mario Bava, while one has to wonder if Spielberg even knows who they are. 'Matinee' is a slight, but very entertaining picture, concerning b-grade 50s/60s horror movies, and fans of that era will absolutely love it. John Goodman ('The Big Lebowski') plays flamboyant writer/director Lawrence Woolsey. Woolsey's gimmicks and showmanship are inspired by William Castle ('The Tingler', '13 Ghosts', 'House On Haunted Hill',etc.etc.) though the fictional movie 'Mant' which is part of the plot is quite unlike Castle's output and closer to 50s paranoid monster movies like 'Them!' and 'Tarantula'. Goodman is perfectly cast and loads of fun. I also really liked Cathy Moriarty ('Raging Bull') as Woolsey's leading actress/assistant. The chemistry between the two was enjoyable and made for some nice comic touches. The young kid actors were all pretty good, and Dante regulars Dick Miller ('A Bucket Of Blood'), Kevin McCarthy ('Invasion Of The Body Snatchers'), Robert Picardo ('Star Trek Voyager') and William Schallert ('The Incredible Shrinking Man') seem like they are all having a wonderful time. Trivia buffs note that this movie includes an actor from 'The Thing From Another World' (Robert Cornthwaite) and also one from John Carpenter's remake 'The Thing' (David Clennon'). The movie within the movie 'Mant' is hilarious, but I enjoyed the whole thing. 'Matinee' is another fun movie from the underrated Joe Dante.

One of those films that deserved to reach a huge audience but somehow slipped away, Joe Dante's affectionate homage to creature features and B-movie king William Castle is a joy from start to finish. This is due to both Dante's direction - and obvious love of the script - and John Goodman's delightful performance (what was he doing in crap like "Coyote Ugly?"). Even the movie-within-a-movie - "Mant!" ("half man, half ant - all terror!") is fun. The only downside is that this rarely turns up on TV and hasn't been released on DVD in the UK. A scratchy vhs is better than nothing I suppose...

This isn't such a very well known film (at least I never heard of it before I watched it) and actually that is a god-awful shame, as "Matinee" is a joyously vivid, versatile and refreshingly imaginative little comedy. "Matinee" is director Joe Dante's ultimate tribute to typically 50's Sci-Fi B-movies and massively promoted gimmick-laden low-budget flicks; particularly the repertoire of the legendary William Castle. In one of his most glorious roles to date, John Goodman depicts the unscrupulous and sleazy horror movie producer Lawrence Woolsey, who is practically the reincarnation of William Castle, what with his sly and shameless salesmanship techniques and continuous wide-mouthed smile. At the highpoint of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, Woolsey jaunts out to Key West – where the Navy and population hectically prepares for a bomb attack – in order to proudly present his newest and supposedly most shocking motion picture named "Mant". "Mant" is a silly shock feature about a man slowly mutating into a gigantic ant after being exposed to nuclear radiation, and for the big premiere Woolsey stuffed the film theater with horrid decorations and gimmicks to raise extra fear in the audience. With the threat of actual bombing attack going on outside the theater, Woolsey bumps into a lot of protest and resistance from the adult population in Key West, but luckily the younger and horror-crazed generation are wildly enthusiast about the upcoming matinée preview. With "Matinee", the still incredibly underrated director Joe Dante delivered another delicious and charming movie. The extended bits and clips from the fictional movie "Mant" masterfully capture the essence of 1950's B-movie cinema, with grotesque ideas and effects, cheesy nonsensical dialogs and wooden acting performances. The real William Castle actually never made such a type of monster movie, but the gimmicks and promotional stunts (like buzzers underneath the seats and guys in rubber suits running around) are right up his delightful alley! But "Matinee" is a terrifically clever movie on other levels as well. Apart from a wonderful homage to horror cinema, it also contains an admirable "coming of age" sub plot and it effectively parodies the mass hysteria going on around the time of the Cold War. Whilst the adult population of Key West practices their duck & cover bomb alarms and prepare their shelters, the teenagers are more concerned about finding a date to go see "Mant" on Saturday. The acting performances are fantastic (like his monster "Mant", John Goodman himself is larger than life!), the decors and atmosphere of the early 60's are marvelously re-enacted and – in good old Joe Dante tradition – there are multiple cameos of horror veterans, like Dick Miller, Kevin McCarthy and Robert Cornthwaite. This is truly a film meant for genuine horror movie buffs, but nevertheless a stupendously enjoyable comedy for all type of audiences.