Line #87 Film/Matinee


1	[[quoteright:315:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/matinee_1993_poster.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:315:"Grownups don't know what they're doing either, kid. That's the real hustle."]]
3
4	->''"Once you let that atomic genie out of its bottle, there's no turning back, gentlemen!"''
5	-->-- '''Dr. Flankon''', ''[[ShowWithinAShow MANT!]]''
6
7	''Matinee'' is a 1993 {{Dramedy}} film directed by Creator/JoeDante.
8
9	In Key West, UsefulNotes/{{Florida}} during the 1962 [[UsefulNotes/HistoryOfTheColdWar Cuban Missile Crisis]], Gene and his little brother Dennis live on the military base with their mother while their father is deployed in the Navy. Amidst the growing paranoia surrounding possible imminent nuclear destruction, schlock-movie producer Lawrence Woolsey (Creator/JohnGoodman) arrives in town to premiere his latest creature feature, ''[[ShowWithinAShow MANT!]]'', and uses his unique brand of showmanship to play off of people's [[https://youtu.be/EVEjdGQSzc8 fears.]]
10
11	The film received critical acclaim when it was first released but has fallen to the sands of time and currently [[http://www.filmjunk.com/2010/06/02/forgotten-films-matinee/ lives on]] as a CultClassic.
12
13	----
14	!!The movie provides examples of:
15	* AbnormalAmmo: "Men, fire your DDT missiles."
16	* ActorAllusion: The actors who play Herb and Bob, Dick Miller and Creator/JohnSayles, are forgotten veteran B-movie actors both in-story and out (their association with Joe Dante goes back to ''Film/{{Piranha}}'', which Sayles co-wrote and in which Miller appeared).
17	* AdamAndEvePlot: Sandra thinks she and Gene are in one after they're locked in the fallout shelter.
18	-->"What if we're the last ones left on earth?" "That'd make us... [[LampshadeHanging Adam and Eve]]."
19	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Sherry
20	* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: The Dentist at the end of ''MANT''.
21	* ApocalypseHow: Howard the Theater Manager as well as Sandra, Gene and most the theater patrons think the apocalypse has already happened.
22	* ArtInitiatesLife: During his speech comparing moviegoers to cave men, Woolsey draws an imaginary Woolly Mammoth on the side of a building. It comes to life.
23	* AtomicHate: Most folks in the '60s seem to realize that the UsefulNotes/ColdWar is JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope.
24	* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: ''MANT!''
25	* AuthorAppeal: Joe Dante doing a movie about a movie about monsters.
26	* AxCrazy: Harvey Starkweather.
27	* {{Beatnik}}: Sandra (who Gene has a crush on) and her parents even more so.
28	* BittersweetEnding: The ending becomes this when you realize [[spoiler:the copters coming in forebode the inevitability of the Vietnam War being not so far away and how much of an impact it will have on the younger characters moving forward.]] Otherwise, it’s a pretty clear upbeat ending with [[spoiler:Woolsey saving both his career and his relationship with Ruth thanks to the success of "MANT!"'s premiere, the Cuban Missile Crisis ending, Starkweather going back to jail, Gene being with Sandra and Stan being with Sherry.]]
29	* {{Blackmail}}: How Sherry's little brother plans on getting to the movies.
30	* BMovie: The film is an {{homage}} to the Creator/WilliamCastle B-Movies with Emergo, Percepto and the like. John Goodman plays Lawrence Woolsey, an {{expy}} of Castle whose previous work was ''Film/TheTingler'' and involved shocking people in their seats. Actors are hired to work the crowd before and during the show.
31	* BringMyBrownPants: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] - while Mr. Spector likes the movie, he says he's confirmed about the atomic bomb at the end because for younger viewers, it could cause "seat wetness".
32	* CastingGag: William Schallert, Robert Cornthwaite and Kevin [=McCarthy=], who play three of the actors starring in ''MANT!'', each appeared in 1950s science fiction films. Joe Dante regular Dick Miller appeared in numerous B-movies during that decade.
33	* CatapultNightmare: Gene after dreaming that his father came home just as the bomb fell.
34	* CharacterFilibuster: Lawrence Woolsey delivers the film's message.
35	* ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch: InUniverse with Citizens For Decent Entertainment protesting against ''MANT!''. [[spoiler: It is, of course, a stunt to drum up publicity.]]
36	* CreatorCameo: Charlie Haas, one of the screenwriters, plays Mr. Ellroy, a teacher at the school.
37	* DamselOutOfDistress: When [[spoiler:Stan goes to rescue Sherry from her kidnapper Harvey, she is constantly struggling against him and eventually manages to knock Harvey's knife out of his hand and later break free from Harvey's grip with little help from Stan]].
38	* DarkerAndEdgier: "Let's put [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily some teeth]] on this thing and make it ''even scarier!"''
39	* {{Delinquents}}: Harvey Starkweather of the big haired, leather jacket, wallet stealing variety.
40	* DullSurprise: The actors in ''MANT!''
41	* EccentricTownsfolk
42	* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: Extensive, oppressive and realistic for those who remember the UsefulNotes/ColdWar and how close the world came to annihilation during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
43	* {{Eucatastrophe}}: Woolsey's expectation that the show will do well because people are seeking a release from fear of nuclear annihilation. Woolsey gives a speech about the phenomenon, comparing moviegoers to cave men seeking to confront their fear of the unknown.
44	* {{Expy}}:
45	** Aside from Lawrence Woolsey being one to Creator/WilliamCastle, Harvey Starkweather is one to the teenaged spree murderer ''Charles'' Starkweather, [[ItMakesSenseInContext which makes sense when you think about it]].
46	** Poor Bill. He is ''two'' in the ShoutOut section.
47	* FallOutShelterFail: Theater manager Howard's supposedly impenetrable bomb shelter is easily pried open with a crowbar. Unusually, this is a good thing since [[spoiler:two kids are trapped inside the shelter without any air at the time]].
48	* FluffyTheTerrible
49	-->'''General:''' What in creation do you call that thing?
50	-->'''Carol:''' Bill.
51	* ForcedTransformation: Two InUniverse examples:
52	** Bill, the title character of ''MANT!'', is transformed into a half-man, half-ant creature.
53	** In ''The Shook-Up Shopping Cart'', Cedric gets turned into a shopping cart. He fights crime.
54	* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou:
55	** When Harvey Starkweather goes on a rampage in his rubber suit, audience members mistake it for part of the show.
56	** The end of the film causes a riot when Woolsey switches to a reel showing an atomic bomb blowing up the screen and burning away the film stock.
57	* FriendlessBackground: Gene. With his Dad in the Navy, they move around a lot.
58	* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Andy, the other Navy kid at Gene's school. As soon as Stan and the others realize Gene is actually pretty cool, they invite him to sit with them when he and Andy are heading for their table at the same time. Andy then goes to sit with a group of girls, [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere who promptly leave]].
59	* FreerangeChildren: Justified as this was rather common in at the time. Plus, they live in [[ShiningCity Key West]].
60	* TheGlomp: After the crowd flees the theater only to realize everything's all right, Mr. Ellroy hugs another man in relief. The man is not amused.
61	* HoldingHands: A big deal between Gene and Sandra.
62	* HonorBeforeReason:
63	** Woolsey is willing to pay off Harvey for Sherry's safety when he needed the money for his bill collectors.
64	** Gene thinks that the theater managers trying to break in to the sealed bomb shelter are starving [[AfterTheEnd atomic mutants]] bent on [[StupidEvil killing them]] for food. Sandra responds: [[FriendToAllLivingThings "Then we have a duty to let them in!"]]
65	* HurricaneOfPuns: Bill makes them to deal with his transformation.
66	-->You think this is a picnic for me?! Ha ha ha ha! Did you hear what I just said, get it? [[DontExplainTheJoke Ant, picnic?]] What am I, alone here?
67	-->''(scientist picks up bug spray)''
68	* HypocriticalHumor: Sherry talks about how sweet it is that Stan (supposedly) came to the movie premiere to spend time with a little boy, then immediately snaps at [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling her own little brother]] for interrupting them to summon her back to the auditorium.
69	* {{Jerkass}}: Andy can be smarmy.
70	* LaymansTerms: A RunningGag with the scientist Dr. Flankon, who constantly feels the need to explain mundane terms.
71	-->"Are you mad! You exposed him the electricity! Now he'll grow at an accelerated (or speeded-up) rate!"
72	* LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine: Sherry is the light feminine, with her vivacious demeanor, PinkIsFeminine wardrobe, and all the dolls and stuffed animals in her bedroom. Sandra is the dark feminine, with her modest {{Beatnik}} dresses and intense, contemplative attitude. While both girls are ultimately sympathetic characters, Sandra, the dark feminine, is more caring and mature.
73	* MeaningfulName: Harvey Starkweather was named after the spree killer Charles Starkweather, and Ruth Corday was named after classic b-movie scream queen Mara Corday.
74	* MisterSandmanSequence: Pretty similar to ''Film/BackToTheFuture1'' in this regard, but with more social commentary.
75	* MrExposition: TheProfessor Dr. Flankonin ''MANT!''. Also, the Dentist:
76	-->'''Dentist:''' X-rays, Carole. A form of radiation. An ant must have bitten Bill when he was getting his teeth x-rayed... Anyway, the ant's saliva must've gotten into Bill's bloodstream and gone straight to his brain -- just as the radiation, ''which is measured in units called Röentgens'', was released!!
77	** TitleDrop [-"So that's how he became a--"-]
78	-->'''Dr. Grabow''' ''(shrugs)'' "...'''''MANT!"''''' (ScareChord)
79	** Lampshaded later on.
80	-->'''Carole:''' Do you really think these atomic weapons could change Bill back?
81	-->'''General Ankrum:''' You like to talk, Doc. You tell her!
82	* MixAndMatchCritters: Bill, the title character of ''MANT!'', mutates into a half-man, half-ant creature after he and an ant are exposed to radiation while he is being x-rayed by the dentist Dr. Grabow.
83	* MoralGuardians: Woolsey commissions actors to pose as these and picket his movies to generate publicity.
84	* MuggingTheMonster: Harvey vs. Herb and Bob, the "decency" committeemen who turn out to be tough-guy second-string actors on the run from UsefulNotes/TheHollywoodBlacklist, rough up Harvey for picking Bob's pocket.
85	* MyEyesAreUpHere: When Spector gets introduced to Ruth, he kisses her hand and looks right at her chest, to which she testily says, "I'm right up here."
86	* MythologyGag: Creator/RogerCorman and Creator/JoeDante regular Dick Miller were staples of the B-movie of the '50s.
87	* NaughtyNurseOutfit: Ruth wears a nurse's uniform at the premiere.
88	* NothingButHits
89	* NukeEm: General Ankrum want to do this to Bill. "Once you let that atomic genie out of its bottle... there's no turning back, gentlemen!"
90	* PinkMeansFeminine: GirlyGirl Sherry's dresses and bedroom wallpaper are bright pink, and she is also intrigued by pink ocean coral.
91	* PintSizedPowerHouse: 5 foot 5 inch Herb Denning easily pins hunky delinquent Harvey Starkweather to a wall in one scene.
92	* TheProfessor: The scientist Dr. Flankon in ''MANT!'' is a classic embodiment of the trope. He's also the OnlySaneMan.
93	* RealLifeRelative: In-universe. Woolsey's girlfriend Ruth Corday played Carole in ''MANT!''.
94	* RealitySubtext: In-universe. The film-within-a-film ''MANT!'' is all about the horrors created by nuclear testing. Meanwhile, nuclear war seems imminent.
95	* RedScare: Key West is (shudder) only 50 miles from Cuba!
96	* SeeminglyWholesome50sGirl: Sherry. Though she makes it clear early on she's eager to get racy.
97	* ShiningCity: Key West.
98	* ShoutOut: The movie is a practically one long list of Shout Outs.
99	** The Movie Within A Movie, ''MANT!'' is filled with references to ''Film/TheFly1958'' and ''Film/{{Them}}'' (in which William Schallert also appeared).
100	** ''MANT!''[='=]s {{Tagline}} "Half Man, Half Ant, All Terror!" is a parody of the Tagline from ''Film/RoboCop1987''.
101	** Lawrence Woolsey is a ShoutOut to the Funhouse Horror stylings of Creator/WilliamCastle. His personal introduction trailers which feature his cigar and silhouette are a nod to Creator/AlfredHitchcock, who is he is mistaken for earlier.
102	** The "Woolsey International Pictures" at the beginning of Mant is in the exact same font as American International Pictures.
103	** Gene's room is littered with vintage monster magazines and B Movie Posters including ''Film/TheCrawlingEye'' and ''Killers From Outer Space''.
104	** Music/JerryGoldsmith's awesome score includes themes from ''Film/SonOfDracula'', ''Film/ItCameFromOuterSpace'', ''Film/{{Tarantula}}'', ''Winged Death'', ''Film/TheDeadlyMantis'', ''Film/ThisIslandEarth'', and ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon''.
105	** The Key West Strand Theater has several vintage posters including ''Confessions of an Opium Eater'' with Creator/VincentPrice, ''Film/WhatEverHappenedToBabyJane'' and ''Film/TheManWhoShotLibertyValance''.
106	** ''The Shook Up Shopping Cart'' is a parody of the Creator/{{Disney}} family comedies of the time in the vein of ''Film/TheShaggyDog''. Gene refers to it as "One of those [[Film/TheAbsentMindedProfessor Flying Rubber Professor Movies]]".
107	* ShowWithinAShow:
108	** ''MANT!'' is a completely recreated '50s-style B-Movie. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y2Lbhwl23M Excerpts]] of it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT8hzyE_CRI exist]] online.
109	** ''The Shook-Up Shopping Cart''.
110	* {{Spectacle}}: Lawrence Woolsey's films.
111	* StandardFemaleGrabArea: Both in ''MANT!'' and during Harvey's kidnapping of Ruth and Sherry.
112	* StandardSnippet: "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", which plays [[BookEnds both after the Cuban Missile Crisis is announced, and then at the end after it's all over]].
113	* TheStinger: "Oh Bill!"
114	* StupidEvil: Harvey Starkweather, The Greaser, who also turns out to be a kidnapper.
115	* StylisticSuck: ''MANT!'', also Harvey's poems and ''The Shook Up Shopping Cart'' (what mercifully little we see of it).
116	* TakeMyHand: Dennis in the climax.
117	* TenMinutesInTheCloset: Or, in this case, 10 Minutes In The Bomb Shelter.
118	* ThinkOfTheChildren: Herb and Bob pretend to be part of the League of Decent Entertainment in order to stir up ticket sales for ''MANT!''
119	* TorchesAndPitchforks: In ''MANT!'', a mob attempts to destroy Bill.
120	* TouchOfTheMonster: The poster for ''MANT!''
121	* TrashTheSet: The interior of the Strand Theater at the end of the film.
122	* TricksterMentor: Woolsey. He comes off as dishonest at first with his risky plans for promoting his movie, but shows great passion for showmanship and is very direct with Gene.
123	* {{Tuckerization}}:
124	** Ruth Corday is named after Mara Corday, who starred in ''Film/{{Tarantula}}'', ''Film/TheBlackScorpion'' and ''Film/TheGiantClaw''.
125	** The ''MANT!'' character General Ankrum is named after the character actor Morris Ankrum, who played military officers in such 1950s science fiction films as ''Invaders from Mars'', ''Film/EarthVsTheFlyingSaucers'', ''Film/BeginningOfTheEnd'' and ''Film/TheGiantClaw''.
126	* UnabashedBMovieFan: Most of the characters, and clearly Joe Dante himself. The movie is partly about why you don't need to be abashed about being a b-movie fan.
127	* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: The scientist Dr. Flankon lectures Bill about how atomic energy is turning him into an ant.
128	-->'''Dr. Flankon:''' And that's not all. You'll grow... ''(tsk tsk)'' get bigger!
129	-->'''Dr. Grabow:''' I'm ''sorry'', Bill!
130	* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Sandra recognizes the futility of nuclear drills and paints a grim picture of the effects of radiation. She is also a crusader for social justice, familiar with Gandhi and the plight of Negroes in the United States. This is probably thanks to her parents, who seem just a little out of place.

Context Film / Matinee