Matinee Showing

The 1950s Cuban missile crisis has got everyone in Key West all hot and bothered -- everyone except for horror movie mogul Lawrence Woolsey, who has just rolled into town to promote and premier his new motion picture, Mant.

The showman is quickly befriended by Gene, who helps Lawrence out when he isn't in school, watching horror movies, or taking care of his little brother. Gene's dad has been called off with the rest of the military to help stop the Russians from giving weapons to the Cubans and everyone in town is going batshit, stocking up on supplies and timing their bunker doors to make sure they will shut before the nuclear blast can obliterate them.

The plot isn't stellar, I'll admit, but the movie has a lot of heart. It shows a period of time when going to a movie was a real treat, a time when gimmicks were a little more creative than slapping on a shiny coat of 3D. This movie gave a voice to an idea I have had for many years: people don't go to a movie to see a movie, they go to believe in magic again.


John Goodman (Monsters, Inc., Big Lewboski, Speed Racer) plays Lawrence with a lot of unexpected warmth and kindness. On the opposite side, Cathy Moriarty (But I'm A Cheerleader, Casper) plays leading lady and Lawrence girlfriend Ruth Corday with an icy coldness that, while amusing, seems a little out of place. Last but not the least of the adult cast is Robert Picardo (better known as the holographic doctor on Star Trek: Voyager) as Howard, the neurotic theater owner who is convinced the bomb is gonna drop any second.

The cast of kids is okay; they play their parts well, but none of them stand out above the crowed with two slight exceptions. Omri Katz played Stan, buddy to Gene, who later went on to play the lead in the TV show Eerie Indiana as well as Max in Hocus Pocus. He may not be the greatest in this movie, but the sheer amount of '90s nostalgia he brings with him makes up for it. The other kid I kept noticing was the actress Kellie Martin, who played Stan's love interest, Sherry. Something about her kept ringing a bell in my head until I looked her up on IMDb.com

The girl from this image...

...may be better recognized as the girl from this image:

That's right, Kellie Martin is motherfucking Roxanne from A Goofy Movie. How fantastic is that?

All in all I had a good time watching Matinee. It isn't the greatest movie ever made, but it is very charming.

I give it 5 stars for movie lovers, 3.5 stars for the general public.