Review By Paul Mount, 3.5 out of 5Handy budget-priced release for Joe Dante’s fondly-remembered but oft-forgotten 1993 homage to 1950s B-movie and the age of nuclear paranoia. Goodman plays Lawrence Woolsey, a cheesy director of cheap and cheerful horror films. He brings his circus to town for the premier of his latest film – Mant: half-man, half-ant – at a US naval base in the Florida Keys just as the Cuban missile crisis is reaching its peak.
MATINEE can best be described as charming. Plenty of period detail and loads of nice in-jokes happily evoke the era and Goodman is classy as the larger-than-life shlock director, clearly inspired by William Castle. The ‘Mant’ sequences are worth the price of admission alone and even the corny teen romance subplots can’t detract from the joyous enjoyment of this unassuming, delightful little comedy. As the news of the passing of the missile crisis brings the film to an end, there’s a genuine sense of hope and elation in the air, a beautiful sense of optimism which stays with you long after you’ve watched the film.
THE DISC: The transfer is a bit bright and washed-out but otherwise perfectly serviceable. No extras apart from a trailer but for around five quid it would be foolish to expect much more.
