Feb 192012
 

As a director, Joe Dante will forever be associated with more recognisable achievements like Gremlins (1984), Explorers (1985) and The ‘Burbs (1989), but in 1993 he also made a wonderful little film which serves as both a celebration of the monster movies of his youth, and a biting satire of ’60s Cold War hysteria.

Matinee tells the story of Gene and Dennis Loomis, two young brothers who are living on a military base in Key West, Florida during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962.  As the grim possibility of nuclear war hangs over them, the brothers seek solace in the local movie theatre, which seems to show an almost endless parade of schlocky horror films.  The news that maverick producer Lawrence Woolsey (John Goodman), is coming to town to showcase his new monster movie, “Mant!”, brings a glimmer of excitement into the boys’ lives, but in a town on the brink of perceived annihilation even something as simple as getting free passes to the matinee can lead to a dramatic string of unforeseen consequences.

Like The Goonies – one of its spiritual predecessors – Matinee recognises the natural resilience of its child protagonists.  The teen-aged heroes consistently show themselves to be more level-headed than the adults around them, whether it be in facing down the oncoming apocalypse or just persevering through a scary movie.  This theme is beautifully played out in a sequence where a local teacher (a figure of stern authority in an earlier scene) is reduced to a nervous wreck in his pursuit of breakfast cereal during an outbreak of panic-buying at the local grocery store, all the while being coolly observed by an amused Gene.  The exception to this rule is Woolsey himself, a man who at times resembles an overgrown kid with his wild enthusiasm for movies and his apparent ambivalence in the face of potential mass extermination.  He rises above the self-interested cliche which his character could so easily have become, and instead emerges as a inspirational figure; the only adult who doesn’t let himself be cowed by the very real threat of nuclear war.  Part of this is of course down to his fervent desire to sell his movie to the people of Key West, whatever the odds stacked against him by events unfolding in Cuba, but it’s hard not to see him in a favourable light as he talks passionately about bringing entertainment to a town of, as he calls them, “yokels”.  Woolsey’s speech about the joy and awareness of living that only a brush with mortal danger can bring is, however, a piece of sinister satire attacking American and Soviet approaches to propaganda during the Cold War years.  It is one of those points in the film at which Dante gently reminds us that Matinee has a message to convey about the use and abuse of spectacle in manipulating our emotions, and there is surely no spectacle greater in the human imagination than that of The Bomb.

While the eponymous villain of Woolsey’s “Mant!” is a monstrous hybrid of man and insect (humorously rendered in rubber), Matinee itself features a monster which is less obvious, but no less terrifying.  Although never appearing on-screen (except in dream sequences or as a special effect) The Bomb – and the terrible destruction it represents – is always lurking in the wings.  The fear of its arrival consumes every waking moment of the characaters’ lives, the film’s atmosphere heavy with a dark threat despite its sunny Floridian setting.  Like the great horror directors to whom he’s paying tribute, Dante knows that his monster is most effective when its true nature is left to the imagination, and though we know that the movie must surely end without the commencement of World War III, that doesn’t stop us sensing the cold, persistent dread that the characters must all be feeling.  Despite all this, however, Matinee as a whole never feels suffocated by the nuclear threat, and has the same easy charm as many of Dante’s other works.  At heart, it’s an adventure film which pays tribute to the magic of cinema, and while it may not be as epic in scope as films like The Goonies  or Dante’s own Explorers, it still does a great job of combining a portrayal of quirky, small-town America with a more solemn message about those who would sell us our dreams.  In short, Matinee is a thoroughly enjoyable film about a time when the cinema really could seem like a gateway to another world.  All of which makes it even more frustrating that it isn’t currently available on DVD!

Jim ‘To me, Poseidon!’ Taylor, student, bookseller & Dwarf Squire

[suffusion-the-author]

[suffusion-the-author display='description']