Matinee [Collector's Edition] [Blu-ray]

Overview

John Goodman's full-throttle performance as a William Castle-inspired schlockmeister propels Joe Dante's delightful and charming comedy Matinee. The film takes place during the fall 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, a time when America's innocence began to crumble. Goodman plays film producer Lawrence Woolsey, who is in Key West to premiere his latest horror epic, "Mant," the story of a man who turns into a giant insect ("Half Man! ... Half Ant! ... All Terror!"). He's busy rigging the local movie theater with all manner of gimmicks, such as Atomo-Vision and Rumble-Rama, and stationing a buxom nurse -- played by Woolsey's girlfriend and leading lady Ruth (Cathy Moriarty) -- in the lobby to assist potential heart attack victims. Amidst all the hubbub, a quartet of local teenagers gear up for the big premiere: Gene (Simon Fenton), a Navy brat whose father is on alert for the duration of the crisis; Stan (Omri Katz), Gene's friend who has a furious crush on Sherry (Kellie Martin); and Sandra (Lisa Jakub), the daughter of two beatnik free-thinkers. As the premiere of "Mant" gets closer and Soviet-U.S. tensions increase, the four teenagers' problems and desires also mount to the boiling point.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/16/2018
UPC:	0826663182293
Original Release:	1993
Rating:	PG
Source:	Shout Factory
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:39:00
Sales rank:	17,169

Special Features

NEW interviews with director Joe Dante, editor Marshall Harvey, cinematographer John Hora, Mant performer Mark McCracken and Mant designer Jim McPherson; "Paranoia In Ant Vision" - Joe Dante discusses the making of the film; MANT! - The full-length version of the film with introduction by Joe Dante; Vintage making-of featurette; Theatrical trailer; And more!

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

John Goodman	Lawrence Woolsey
Cathy Moriarty	Ruth Corday,Lady in Line
Simon Fenton	Gene Loomis
Omri Katz	Stan
Lisa Jakub	Sandra
Kellie Martin	Sherry
Jesse Lee	Dennis Loomis
Lucinda Jenney	Anne Loomis
James Villemaire	Harvey Starkweather
Robert Picardo	Howard, the Theatre Manager
Jesse White	Mr. Spector
Dick Miller	Herb
John Sayles	Bob
David Clennon	Jack
Lucy Butler	Rhonda
Georgie Cranford	Dwight
Nick Bronson	Andy
Cory Barlog	Stan's Friend
George Carson	Stan's Friend
Joe Gonzalez	Stan's Friend
Belinda Balaski	Stan's Mom
Charlie Haas	Mr. Elroy
Mark McCracken	Mant/Bill
Archie Hahn	`Shopping Cart' Star
Naomi Watts	`Shopping Cart' Starlet
Chris Stacy	Gas Station Attendant
Allison McKay	Teacher
Glenda Chism	Teacher
Aaron Stormer	Kid Near Andy
Lana Bucciarelli	`Eew!' Girl
Richard Rossomme	Shredded Wheat Man
D. Christian Gottshall	Store Clerk
Brett Rice	Genes Dad
William Schallert	Doctor
Robert Cornthwaite	Scientist
Kevin McCarthy	General
Simone Reynolds	Actor
Archie Hahn III	"Shopping Cart" Star
Luke Halpin	Man in Crowd
Elizabeth Dimon	Theater Cashier
Shane Obedzinski	Bleeding Kid
Danny Haneman	Man Outside Theater
Steve Zurk	Cop
Jeff Breslauer	Movie Theater Actor
Kurt Smildsin	Mob Actor
Ike Pappas	Newscaster
Jesse Zeigler	Kid in Line
Tracy Roberts	Screaming Woman
Marc Macaulay	"Shopping Cart" Crook
Jerry Goldsmith	Composer

Technical Credits

Charles S. Haas

Joe Dante	Director
Michael Finnell	Producer
Dennis Michelson	Special Effects
Gretchen Rennell	Casting
Jeff Smolek	Stunts
Charles S. Haas	Screenwriter,Screenwriter
Pat Kehoe	Producer
Rick Alexander	Sound Effects
Matthew C. Beville	Sound Effects
James Bolt	Sound Effects
Warren Hamilton	Sound Editor

Editorial Reviews

Joe Dante is a guy who loves his exploitation films, as anyone who has read his early writings for Famous Monsters of Filmland or Film Bulletin knows, and his 1992 feature Matinee is a delightful and heartfelt valentine to the gimmicky low-budget schlock of his youth. John Goodman, a fine comic actor who is rarely used well onscreen, is (for a change) perfectly cast as big and blustery Lawrence Woolsey, a low-rent showman who is sincere and honest about only one thing -- giving the audience what they came for. While Woolsey is obviously meant to stand in for the great gimmickmeister William Castle, at the same time he seems the embodiment of every low-budget would-be mogul who struggled to get his movies seen by popcorn-eating crowds across the nation, and Goodman's engaging performance makes even his crassest hucksterism endearing. (He also has a fine foil in Cathy Moriarty, the least convincing fake nurse in film history.) Simon Fenton is also funny and engaging as Gene Loomis, the youthful monster movie fan who gets to know the great Lawrence Woolsey as he arrives in Florida to open his latest picture, Mant! (which, starring Robert Cornthwaite, Kevin McCarthy, and William Schallert, would probably be a pretty good movie), as the Cuban Missile Crisis threatens to end the world as everyone knows it. And while Dante does pass along a semi-serious message about the importance of fun scares in a terrifying world, he seems to be having a great time invoking the "are the Fifties really over yet?" vibe of 1962, as kids listen to Lenny Bruce records on the sly, juvenile delinquents ape the method-acting angst of James Dean and Marlon Brando, and the local beatnik couple would never dare be seen in public without their copy of Jack Kerouac's Dr. Sax. Matinee manages the neat trick of being genuinely nostalgic without being sappy about it, and understanding the adolescent mind without seeming immature; it's funny, charming, and a must for anyone who loves '50s and '60s scare flicks.

All Movie Guide - Mark Deming