To "B" or Not to "B": The 30th Anniversary of "Matinee"

by Michael Lyons

Ah, the B movie.  Somewhat dismissed in its day, and truly beloved now.  It's the rose-colored glow of nostalgia, and that's what the movie Matinee is all about.

A film that came and went on its initial release, this film lovingly remembers an innocent time in filmmaking, set against a not-so-innocent time in history, and celebrates its 30th anniversary this month.

Matinee is set in 1962 in Key West, Florida, where fears of the Cuban Missle Crisis have the residents on edge, a William Castle-like film producer and husker, Lawrence Woolsey (John Goodman), decides to choose the theater there for the premiere of his latest, exploitation, shlock horror film, Mant, about a man who is transformed into an ant after a nuclear explosion. 

Gene (Simon Fenton), an adolescent who lives in the town, is a huge movie fan and is incredibly excited about this. He even talks his way into helping Woolsey set up the theater, with buzzers in the seats and a costumed Mant that will run through the aisles.

Playing alongside this are all the real-world concerns of the time - Gene is worried about his father, who is in the Navy, and there are news reports about the threat of nuclear war. There's also a coming-of-age love story subplot involving Gene's friend, Stan (Omri Katz), and Sherry (Kellie Martin), the prettiest girl in school.

At the helm for Matinee is director Joe Dante, the perfect choice to bring this story to the screen, as his love for B movies and movies, in general, can be seen in all of his films, from his cult favorites like The Howling to his beloved blockbuster, Gremlins.

Released on January 29, 1993, Matinee, sadly, in the past three decades, has faded in many moviegoers' memories, and its anniversary should spark a revisit.

It's all about a love of movies, from both the audience's and the filmmaker's perspective; how movies can so fondly bring us back to a time and place; and, as they still do today, show us how movies are our escapist refuge in a sometimes crazy world.

It may be about "B" movies, but Matinee ranks an "A."

 

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