Matinee (1993)

A small-time film promoter releases a kitschy horror film during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Director:

Joe Dante

Writers:

Jerico Stone (story) (as Jerico), Charles S. Haas (story) (as Charlie Haas)

Stars:

John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty, Simon Fenton

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Goodman	...	Lawrence Woolsey
Cathy Moriarty	...	Ruth Corday / Carole
Simon Fenton	...	Gene Loomis
Omri Katz	...	Stan
Lisa Jakub	...	Sandra
Kellie Martin	...	Sherry
Jesse Lee Soffer	...	Dennis Loomis (as Jesse Lee)
Lucinda Jenney	...	Anne Loomis
James Villemaire	...	Harvey Starkweather
Robert Picardo	...	Howard the Theater Manager
Jesse White	...	Mr. Spector
Dick Miller	...	Herb Denning
John Sayles	...	Bob
David Clennon	...	Jack
Lucy Butler	...	Rhonda

Storyline

A showman introduces a small coastal town to a unique movie experience and capitalises on the Cuban Missile crisis hysteria with a kitschy horror extravaganza combining film effects, stage props and actors in rubber suits in this salute to the B-movie.

---

Plot Keywords:

film within a film | movie theatre | cuban missile crisis | b movie | mother son relationship | 

---

Taglines:

Lawrence Woolsey presents the end of civilization as we know it. Make that... Proudly Presents!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language, and for mild violence and sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 January 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Matiné

Filming Locations:

Key West, Florida Keys, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,601,015, 31 January 1993

Gross USA:

$9,532,895

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,532,895

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Renfield Productions, Falcon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR Dolby

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film takes place from October 22 to October 28, 1962.

---

Goofs

Gene and Jesse are shown watching a television program when it is interrupted by the bulletin of President Kennedy announcing the presence of the missiles in Cuba. They also show surprise at the interruption. The actual broadcast of the President's address took place at 7pm on October 22nd, and preempted the start of any regularly scheduled programs. It had also been widely announced in media outlets earlier and throughout the day that the President was going to be making an important address at 7pm, and the networks had their news anchors on the air several minutes before the address commenced. So it is highly unlikely that the address would have interrupted the middle of a program as shown, or that anyone watching would have been surprised by the interruption.

---

Quotes

Lawrence Woolsey: [seeing kids jump in their seats] Gotcha!

---

Crazy Credits

After the credits are complete, we are treated to a quick snippet from "MANT" with the Cathy Moriarty character pining, "Oh, Bill".

---

Connections

References The Mongols (1961)

---

Soundtracks

The Great Pretender
Written by Buck Ram
Performed by The Platters
Courtesy of Polygram Special Markets

User Reviews

You Gotta Have a Gimmick!

Certainly John Goodman portraying Lawrence Woolsey as a film director bent on all kinds of creative devices to lure audiences in to see his sci-fi/horror movies is a homage to the King of Gimmicks himself, William Castle. This movie is not great by any standards, but it sure is a lot of fun. It is a trip down memory lane for many. Although I am not old enough to remember the Cuban Missile Crisis nor William Castle movies premiering, I am given a pretty accurate feel of the times through Matinee. The best part of the movie, however, is the movie within a movie....MANT...the story of a man that is half-man and half-ant. The scenes of this film alone are good enough reason to see Matinee. The one scene where the Mant character throws an ant farm to the ground and yells "You're free, You're free" is hilarious. The movie characters are also made up of old sci-fi stars Kevin McCarthy(Invasion of the Body Snatchers), William Shallert(Hundreds of films it seems), and Robert Cornwaithe(The Thing). Also look for John Sayles and Dick Miller in smaller roles hamming it up. Goodman is larger than life in his portrayal, much the same way that Castle was. And certainly, we in the audience that are great genre fans dream what it would have been like to help William Castle...I mean Lawrence Woolsey...make a picture.