10 Unjustly Forgotten Films By Famous Directors

2. Joe Dante - Matinee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wwAH5vJq6g Speaking of cinematic showmen, here's director Joe Dante's homage to another one of the greats: horror schlock-maestro William Castle. Castle, while not being as artistically talented as Orson Welles, knew how to sell a film just as well (or even better). Castle definitely knew how to use a gimmick; while one could dedicate a whole article to Castle's marketing tricks, this brief smattering will give you an idea of how he made going to the movies a unique experience: punishment polls that would allow an audience to decide how gory an ending they wanted (Mr. Sardonicus); the "fright break," during which those audience members who were too afraid to see the ending of the film were allowed to retreat to the "Coward's Corner" (Homicidal); and seats equipped with joy-buzzers to give audience members a jolt at opportune moments (The Tingler). Joe Dante obviously loved such stunts and paid a loving tribute to them and Castle in his 1993 film Matinee. In the film, Castle clone Laurence Woolsey (John Goodman) prepares to premiere his new atomic-disaster/giant-bug movie in a Florida town. Unfortunately (or fortunately, from Woolsey's point of view), his premiere coincides with the onset of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The film goes on to mix Woolsey's preparations with the story of a teenage boy named Gene (Simon Fenton) as he struggles to balance making friends at a new high school, helping Woolsey prepare the theater for the premiere, dealing with the imminent threat of nuclear holocaust, falling for a free-thinking girl at his school, and having his dad be in the naval blockade blocking Russian ships from Cuba. The film tells both Woolsey and Gene's stories with warmth, humor, and heart, getting us caring about each of the main characters and laughing at and with many of the secondary characters (most of which are caricatures, but the main characters are so strong that it doesn't really matter). The film is also a fine example of how to make a period film; it's obvious that Dante, with his production designer, set dressers and technical advisors, worked for hours to get every early-1960s detail right, even down to using the exact record albums that were most popular at the time. While I love Gremlins with all my heart, I think that Matinee may be my favorite Joe Dante film. It's an interesting and fun look at a long-ago time, but, maybe more importantly, it's a beautiful valentine to the movies. The film has been kind of hard to find; the only DVD ever produced of the film (a sad bare-bones affair) has been out of print for years, and up until pretty recently, the only way one could see the film was if you found an old VHS copy at a thrift store somewhere. However, for those of you who don't have a VCR, the movie is available for free on Youtube.