Director Joe Dante (The Howling, Gremlins, Explorers, Innerspace, The ‘Burbs) has always had an affinity for 50s/60s sci-fi B-movies, making plenty of references to them in his films, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before he made a full-on tribute. Matinee is a charmingly funny period piece about the movie-going experience at that time intermingled with a coming-of-age story and the Cuban Missile crisis for good measure. It has the trademark Joe Dante goofy and demented quality, though used in ways that help the film rather than overpower as came happen with films of that type, even if admittedly the film does end up taking on a bit too much story-wise and becomes rather chaotic in the finale. And speaking of story, we might as well start there.
The film follows Gene Loomis, a teenage boy growing up on a military base in Key West during the Cuban Missile Crisis. His father works in the Navy and is away dealing with the current situation, so Gene often spends his time taking his brother Dennis along to the theater to watch the new sci-fi B-movies, especially those made by Lawrence Woolsey. Woolsey is a natural showman, always trying to find new tricks and gimmicks to scare and excite the audience, such as buzzers in the seats or a man in a monster suit running through the audience. To Gene’s delight, Woolsey is coming live and in-person to Key West to present his new film Mant (about a man turning into a giant ant) at the local theater. Gene ends up meeting Woolsey beforehand and builds up something of a rapport with him, even helping set up the premiere. At the same time, he also starts up a relationship with a very outspoken and worldly girl named Sandra, whose parents are open-minded liberals who fight against protesters that want to shut the film down (not knowing that they were paid-off by Woolsey to drum up publicity). Meanwhile, Gene’s new friend, Stan, also ends up asking out another girl named Sherry, much to the chagrin of her ex-boyfriend Harvey, an unstable thug/wannabe-poet. And wouldn’t you know it, Harvey just got hired to play the costumed Mant guy that runs through the theater, and both Stan and Sherry are at the premiere (though not after a bit of deceit about cancelling a date on Stan’s part after Harvey threatened him) along with Gene, Dennis, and Sandra, of course. Throw in a nebbish and paranoid theater manager with a bomb shelter, over-the-top effects installations that reverberate throughout the building, and a balcony with a finite load-bearing capacity, and you’ve got a recipe for a chaotic finale. I won’t spoil exactly how it all plays out, but it definitely blows through quite a lot in the end (literally and figuratively).
Matinee feels like Joe Dante’s reflection on his youth, though in an exaggerated and comedic way, as is common of his work. He clearly has a love for the old days of 50s/60s B-movies, and shows why, although they were definitely campy and gimmicky in some regards, they are still a notable part of film history. They often dealt with fears and concerns that people had at the time, such as the effects of radiation and the destruction it can cause, while still providing an exciting and fun show for the audience so that the messaging is there but is never overbearingly heavy. Plus, what better place to show an entertaining yet somewhat provoking film about the dangers of nuclear radiation than Key West, Florida during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The film also depicts the ever-prevalent protests against these kinds of films (and horror films in general), often coming from religious or “moralist” types feeling that they’re degenerating the public or, more specifically, the youth. Ironically, these protests often helped to drive up interest in the films being lambasted and help them to do better at the box office, something that Woolsey is certainly aware of, considering the fact that the protesters are revealed to be paid actors. Ah, those classic dishonest marketing tactics. Still though, Woolsey is still shown to be a generally good guy, seeing Gene as something of a protégé and clearly showing a love for what he does, even if he’s not as respected as he’d like to be (at one point, a service station worker asks for his autograph, clearly mistaking him for Alfred Hitchcock). It should be noted that Woolsey is based on B-movie meister William Castle, who was known for his use of theater gimmicks, such as buzzers in the seats (The Tingler), a skeleton floating over the audience (House on Haunted Hill), or glasses that allowed you to see the ghosts in the film (13 Ghosts). While something of a known name, he never quite developed the legacy of Hitchcock or even Roger Corman, though his theater techniques are definitely iconic to that time period. Mant, the film within the film on the other hand, is not so much a play on a Castle film as it is on films like Tarantula, Them, The Deadly Mantis, The Black Scorpion, and even The Fly as well as its sequel, all of which feature giant insects and/or science-induced insect transformations, so there’s clearly a want to capture different aspects of this subgenre rather than just parodying one individual or film. As for the main characters and their stories, its all very charming 50s/60 teen material, with a bit of a Joe Dante demented twist (it’s awkwardly funny to hear a cheery young teen girl talk about an older guy “helping her discover her body” and such) as well as an acknowledgment of the left-wing undercurrent of the time frame that could often be scrubbed over in the general media portrayals back then. This mainly comes through with Sandra, who is very outspokenly against many of society’s aspects at the time (e.g., segregation, ineffective “duck and cover” drills, etc.), as well as her parents, who might be just a tad bit too open-minded for their own good (valuing freedom of expression and such, but also overthinking this same concept and what they should consider acceptable). All of the teens are likeable or at least engaging, even Harvey, who is at least not a complete schmuck and has his own artistic ambitions (quality notwithstanding), he’s just very outwardly unstable and on a bad path, clearly in need of some major reform and guidance, which doesn’t excuse him from the way he treats Stan and Sherry, I must emphasize. If there was a potentially major issue with the film, it would be its somewhat cluttered story. It takes on several different subplots and story aspects, switching from Gene’s friendship with Woolsey, Gene’s relationship with Sandra, Woolsey trying to get the show ready against the concerns of the theater manager, Stan and Sherry’s relationship, Harvey both trying to break the two apart and also getting involved with Woolsey’s show, and so on. While all these plots do flow together generally well, they also cause the climax to become a bit overly chaotic with everything trying to be resolved in one big event. Plus, something happens in the climax that I felt went a bit too over-the-top, but I won’t say what it is to avoid spoilers. Now, one could look at the inherently frantic nature of the finale and feel that the chaotic approach is appropriate, and they wouldn’t be entirely wrong in that perspective, but I think for many others the jumble of events might become rather overbearing and would lose them, at least to an extent. It’s still not a bad ending overall, it just feels like the film tried to take on quite a lot at once and had to lump it all together to resolve it. Some films can pull off multiple interconnecting storylines (e.g., Snatch, Pulp Fiction), but it’s a tricky thing to pull off depending on how you execute it. Matinee just didn’t quite stick the landing on this front, but it’s still an enjoyable experience on the whole.
This was a fun little tribute to an older trend and time. If you’re a fan of old B-movies, Joe Dante’s work, or even just cinema history, then I’d certainly recommend it. It does a solid job of capturing both the feel that we associate with that era’s media as well as the actual social climate of the time-frame itself. Plus, who doesn’t love a giant radioactive man-ant? Anyway, check out Matinee for a great throwback to a “simpler” time, just check your seat before you sit down, might have a buzzer in it.