MATINEE (1993)
There is something inherently magical about movies. When you’re sitting in the dark of the movie theater or - more recently - the comfort of your own home, movies can provide a much needed service for us. They can bring us joy, fear and oftentimes a sense of wonder but, more importantly, they can help us forget about the world outside for a little while and have a moment of peace. That's the beauty of Joe Dante’s 1993 classic MATINEE. It shows us that movies can be exactly what you need even when you may not know it.
Set in 1962 when The Cuban Missile Crisis is at its zenith, MATINEE follows young Gene Loomis (Simon Fenton), a boy whose life has constantly been uprooted due to his father being in the Navy. The only constant thing in his life is monster movies, particularly those of Lawrence Woolsey (John Goodman). As fate would have it, these two are about to cross paths when Woolsey sets out to premiere his latest film MANT in Gene’s current stop of Key West, FL just as the residents have gone into a full-blown panic over the threat of nuclear war.
Goodman never plays Woolsey as a malicious or overly dastardly person. Sure, he may use some underhanded methods to draw crowds and he may constantly be one step ahead of money men, but his intentions are noble. He knows that people are scared every time that they read the paper or turn on their televisions and he believes that the best way to alleviate those fears is to scare them with something that can’t possibly be real, to show them that life is truly worth living.
MATINEE is lighthearted and does take some minor jabs at nuclear paranoia of the time—including Dante regular Robert Picardo as a theater usher with a fallout shelter built in the basement of the theater—but the film isn’t afraid to show you how terrifying nuclear war could be.
In one truly unsettling sequence, Gene dreams that he sees a nuclear bomb fall and witnesses the destruction of several homes firsthand.
While not as graphic as a similar scene in TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY, this scene still managed to make me jump in my seat.
But, the moment danger or fear rear their ugly heads, Dante and screenwriter Charles S. Haas takes the audience right back to where he wants them to feel safest; the movie theater. While every other location in the film is very stark and somewhat bland, The Key West Strand (really a Universal Studios set, sadly) is filmed with loving admiration, posters for westerns and horror films lining the walls and warm lighting meant to evoke a sense of comfort. It’s as if Dante is trying to say that this theater, among the countless others that he’s been to, is where Gene—perhaps acting as a surrogate of Dante himself—really feels that he belongs more than anywhere else.
Along with showing how important cinema can be to one individual, Dante also shows the communal nature of the moviegoing experience. Before the MANT begins, the crowd is shown as an unruly bunch. But, when the lights come down, they’re all transfixed and terrified by what they see on the screen. Movies, especially scary ones, allow us to put aside our differences for a time and simply sit in the dark, trying our best not to be afraid of what we’re seeing on the screen be it a knife wielding maniac or, in the case of MATINEE, a thirty foot tall rampaging ant/man hybrid.
If you thought that I was going to write an article about this movie and not mention the brilliance of MANT you were sorely mistaken. MANT is an absolutely well-crafted bit of Atomic Age horror. If it were placed in the hands of another director it would more than likely fall into the realm of parody and any chance of subtlety would be instantly thrown out the window. Luckily, Dante knows exactly what he’s doing and he lovingly pays tribute to the movies that he more than likely saw in a theater just like the Key West Strand, movies that turned him into the director that we know and love to this day.
While it may not be the best remembered or revered in Joe Dante’s filmography, MATINEE is always going to be a movie that I hold nearest and dearest to my heart.
It’s not just a love letter to monster movies, it’s a love letter to the people who love them. It’s a movie for the kids who spent their time thumbing through Fangoria or the kids who brought the horror flick to the sleepover and that’s why I’m always going to love it.
Like I said before, movies are magical. They may not have the strength to heal the world but, for a brief moment in time, they’re able to help us heal. If that’s not magical, I don’t know what is.
So, if you like ‘60s monster movies, teen romance, and heartfelt family comedy check out MATINEE. It’s currently available for rental or purchase on all digital platforms or, if you’re looking to enjoy the film AND a multitude of special features, check out the Shout Factory Blu-Ray. Whatever you decide to do, you will not regret seeing it.
