Matinee

1993
PG
1h 39m

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

13K

YOUR RATING

Play trailer1:53

3 Videos

99+ Photos

Comedy Drama

The teenage son of a navy sailor newly stationed in Key West gets some excitement with his friends when a small-time film producer comes to town to premiere a kitschy horror film during the ... Read allThe teenage son of a navy sailor newly stationed in Key West gets some excitement with his friends when a small-time film producer comes to town to premiere a kitschy horror film during the Cuban Missile Crisis.The teenage son of a navy sailor newly stationed in Key West gets some excitement with his friends when a small-time film producer comes to town to premiere a kitschy horror film during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Director
- Joe Dante
Writers
- Charles S. Haas
- Jerico Stone
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

13K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Joe Dante
Writers
- Charles S. Haas
- Jerico Stone
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win

Trivia
For "Mant", the movie-within-the-movie, Joe Dante cast actors who had appeared in 1950s-era science fiction movies. These included Kevin McCarthy, Robert Cornthwaite, and William Schallert.

Goofs
The Aurora model kit of "The Mummy" seen in Gene and Dennis' room was manufactured in 1963, one year after the movie takes place.

Quotes
Gene Loomis: Y'know, it's hard to believe you're a grown-up.
Ruth Corday: No kidding.
Lawrence Woolsey: You think grown-ups know what they're doing? 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.

Crazy credits
After the credits are complete, there is a quick snippet from "MANT" with the Cathy Moriarty character pining, "Oh, Bill".

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Matinee/Alive/Body of Evidence/Sniper (1993)

Soundtracks
The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Written by Hugo Peretti, Albert Stanton, George David Weiss & Luigi Creatore
(based on a song by Solomon Linda and Paul Campbell)
Performed by The Tokens
Courtesy of the RCA Records label of BMG Music

User reviews90

Review

Featured review

8/10

An under-rated gem

One of those films that deserved to reach a huge audience but somehow slipped away, Joe Dante's affectionate homage to creature features and B-movie king William Castle is a joy from start to finish. This is due to both Dante's direction - and obvious love of the script - and John Goodman's delightful performance (what was he doing in crap like "Coyote Ugly?"). Even the movie-within-a-movie - "Mant!" ("half man, half ant - all terror!") is fun. The only downside is that this rarely turns up on TV and hasn't been released on DVD in the UK. A scratchy vhs is better than nothing I suppose...