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Joe Dante's Matinee (1993)

post #1 of 32
5/29/10 at 9:31pm
Thread Starter 
After years of it being out of print, this masterpiece is currently on DVD.

Buy it right now.
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post #2 of 32
5/29/10 at 9:46pm
Not my favorite Dante, I personally prefer his more wackier efforts, like GREMLINS 2 or even LOONEY TUNES. But with that said, John Goodman is wonderful in this and the MANT scenes are priceless.
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post #3 of 32
5/29/10 at 9:49pm
Now also on Netflix Instant Watch.
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post #4 of 32
5/29/10 at 9:52pm
Thread Starter 
Oh my, I didn't know it was on Netflix. I've ordered the DVD, but that is so sweet.
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post #5 of 32
5/31/10 at 4:09am
For some reason, I got this movie mixed up with King Ralph in my head. Holy crap, I haven't thought about either of these movies in ages. Thanks for the Netflix info. I'm gonna take a trip down Nostalgia Lane.
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post #6 of 32
5/31/10 at 4:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by levrock View Post
Now also on Netflix Instant Watch.
You made a sad man very happy tonight.
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post #7 of 32
5/31/10 at 5:30am
Does the new disc have MANT! as a supplement?

ETA: Ah, here it is.
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post #8 of 32
5/31/10 at 1:27pm
I never realized they made MANT! as a fully contained short feature! Why would they not put it on as a supplement?

Thanks for linking it! It was swell!

Insect-inside!? WHERE!?
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post #9 of 32
5/31/10 at 1:28pm
No MANT supplement. No speical features at all in fact. Shame because Dante typically delivers great commentary work. Not even the goddamn trailer is on the disc. Still a lot of fun to watch.
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post #10 of 32
5/31/10 at 2:18pm
Now, on to the real question: whatever became of Lisa Jakub?
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post #11 of 32
5/31/10 at 2:20pm
IMDB trivia says:

Quote:
(June 2005) Now living in New Jersey with her husband, Jeremy. She is attending school and at the moment does not have plans to return to acting anytime soon.

(January 2009) She is attending the University of Virginia.
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post #12 of 32
5/31/10 at 10:10pm
Thread Starter 
So for those who have watched this again recently, what are your interpretations of the final shot? Watching it again, I couldn't help but think the overwhelming sound of the helicopter is meant to evoke Vietnam (the "next way to blow ourselves up"), and, you could argue, the horror films that came out of that era. The film is a love letter to an end of an era, both when men like Woolsey or Castle could go from theater to theater with their floor show*, and to the horror movies of that era.

*One of the last things we hear the booking agent say to Robert Picardo is suggesting he turn his theater into a multiplex.
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post #13 of 32
6/1/10 at 12:33am
That's how I've always read it. Those kids would be about nineteen at the height of the draft.

And the use of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", spooky enough in the earlier nuclear-nightmare sequence, takes on a malevolent quality here, with the noise of the helicopter closing out like an (awakened?) animal's growl.
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post #14 of 32
6/1/10 at 12:56am
Saw this on Instant late friday night after JG Butler mentioned it on his Facebook.

I'd been wanting to see Matinee ever since I first heard about it back when it was first released. It didn't disappoint. A really fun movie that is scary (The girl telling them that the duck and cover would have no effect in a nuclear blast and getting labeled as a Communist) and hilarious (Robert Picardo and his constant fits of paranoia). It really needs a special edition dvd or Blu-ray release. This bare bones nonsense isn't right. They could even do a documentary on how William Castle influenced Woosley.

I didn't connect the helicopter sounds to them being eventually in Vietnam, which would be a horror film that they would have to live. That's a good catch.
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post #15 of 32
6/1/10 at 9:10pm
Thread Starter 
Man, that Vietnam ending really colors the movie for me now. When I watched it last night, I was kind of just overjoyed to be seeing it again (I hadn't in years, despite having seen it at least once every few months from 12 to probably 17), but now I want to watch it with the ending in mind. I mean, Dante does the bomb terror stuff incredibly well, but now I have a new way to look at it.

Also, life, it's like a crazy river, and the boats are the people that we see going by on it.

But tomorrow's a knife. Tomorrow's a big knife. It's abstract.
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post #16 of 32
6/1/10 at 10:18pm
"All the great stars have a certain somethin', whether they're... lifting heavy equipment... or..."

Goodman is fantastic in this. It might be his best performance. Watch his reaction after Harvey socks him during the movie: he cycles through shock and rage, then quickly registers the audience's reaction and adjusts to 'all part of the show'... until he reaches the back of the theatre and his smile drops again.

Also, Cathy Moriarty:

"Nurse! I hurt my arm!"
"That looks terrible."
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post #17 of 32
6/2/10 at 8:45am
Naomi Watts. Holy crap.

This was a delight to watch again after so many years. I think the lead kid is a bit of a blank, but he was ok.
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post #18 of 32
6/2/10 at 1:31pm
I remember when this came out in the theaters but I never got a chance to see it. Will definitely have to check this one out on Netflix. Love Joe Dante.
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post #19 of 32
6/2/10 at 8:46pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hammerhead View Post
Also, Cathy Moriarty:

"Nurse! I hurt my arm!"
"That looks terrible."
She's so good in this.

"Nurse, this guy fainted!"
"You're right."
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post #20 of 32
6/3/10 at 12:21pm
How did Robert Picardo's hair disappear in the three years between GREMLINS 2 and this? Such a mystery!
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post #21 of 32
6/3/10 at 3:26pm
"You think grown-ups have it all figured out? That's just a hustle, kid. Grown-ups are making it up as they go along, just like you. You remember that, and you'll do fine. "

This is one of my favorite movies of all-time. So many moments I love:

-The drawing of the mammoth coming to life
-"Where did he get that from?' "The U.N."
- Both of the scenes that use "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". So eerie.
- SHOOK UP SHOPPING CART

Here's a recent interview where Dante discusses the lack of special features on the DVD: http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s3208dant.html
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post #22 of 32
6/3/10 at 3:45pm
Didn't this movie pretty much go belly-up in theaters? Such a shame.

Really cool little movie. I'm ashamed to admit I never saw it until about a year ago on Showtime or Cinemax or something.
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post #23 of 32
6/3/10 at 3:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim Long View Post
"Where did he get that from?' "The U.N."
I love the setup to that line. "He said hell!" "It's okay, it's a crisis!"

Starz Play continues to disappoint. The framerate on this movie sucks. And that isn't the case for every movie they have available, it's just lazy encoding. Still, it was a treat revisiting this movie after 15+ years. Such a smart movie.
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post #24 of 32
6/3/10 at 3:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott View Post
Starz Play continues to disappoint
Ugh, fucking Starz Play. So happy I picked up the DVD.

This movie and CRIMEWAVE were part of the reasons I'm happy to still own a VHS player. One Down, one to go.
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post #25 of 32
6/3/10 at 4:27pm
I was lucky enough to find a used DVD a few years ago. So much fun. This was definitely one of my favorites as a kid. I may just have to watch it again this afternoon.
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post #26 of 32
6/3/10 at 5:07pm
I recall my high school history teacher wanted to show my class this movie while we were learning about the Cold War/Bay of Pigs but she couldn't find a copy of it. It would have been perfect too because history and english would frequently marry each class' curriculum into one theme. At the time of the Cold War and propaganda, we were learning about literary techniques such as foreshadowing, symbolism, and the like. I might mail my teacher this DVD if she's still there. I bet Dante would get a kick out of teachers using this movie to educate students.
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post #27 of 32
6/3/10 at 6:40pm
"Manigator. Alliman. Gator-Gal... Galligator!"
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post #28 of 32
6/6/10 at 3:50am
Fantastic movie. I remember seeing the trailer to this as a kid and the shot where all the kids jump up out of their seats as the electric shocks go off stuck in my mind for a long time.

I'm glad to see others saw the Vietnam angle to the ending as well. With Goodman talking about more crises coming and that era being the "coming attractions," as well as the lingering helicopter and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" I'm not sure how else to take it.
Dante sure had a light touch slipping something like that into this incredibly sweet movie. Even after thinking about that, it's hard not to feel good. It makes you really appreciate all the fun stuff that came before instead of something like American Graffiti, where it really just sucker punches you (at least it did me).

And I loved the subtle use of Skeeter Davis' "The End of the World," one of my top favorite creepy 60's pop songs.
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post #29 of 32
6/7/10 at 7:41pm
Thread Starter 
Graffiti sets a lot of the ending up, though. Toad going MIA in Vietnam is a major bummer, but you pretty much know Milner's living on borrowed time. What's depressing about his fate is that it's so ordinary. He doesn't go out like the Leader of the Pack, he gets hit by a drunk driver.
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post #30 of 32
8/17/10 at 8:26pm
Watched this for the first time a few hours ago. What a fantastic film!
I had the biggest grin on my face from the first to the last frame; John Goodman and Cathy Moriarty, as you guys have already said, are wonderful.

I have to say that I absolutely didn't get the reference to Vietnam in the ending, even if it's quite evident. I guess it's just something that - as an European - it's not ingrained enough in my culture as it is in yours for obvious reasons, so I didn't connect. Or maybe I'm just slow, who knows?

Still, that reading - while it adds a hell of a lot of layers to an already exceptional film - really bummed me out. Keep your eyes open, even through the scary parts...Indeed.

Anyway, so many gems in this one. One small exchange between Mant and the dentist cracked me up pretty hard:

"I got your x-rays back, Bill...I don't suppose it makes much difference to you now, but you didn't have a single cavity!"
in a perfectly deadpan tone "Swell."

Once again, fantastic movie.
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post #31 of 32
8/17/10 at 8:36pm

One my favorites!

I'm so thrilled that it's available again (I recently shared it with a bunch of friends) and I'm even more thrilled that I'm not alone in seeing the Vietnam references.
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post #32 of 32
8/17/10 at 8:58pm
One guy called Chris Haviland posted on IMDB a nice write-up on his experience with Dante and the crew while shooting Matinee, and posted a picture of this little gift he received from them.

Awesome.
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