Rent Matinee (1993)

Nostalgia - Matinee review by CP Customer

A very nicely worked slice of Cold War nostalgia from Joe Dante, who grafts US paranoia at the time of the Cuban missile crisis on to the gimmicks of pulp, science fiction-horror cinema of the era. John Goodman is excellent as the film producer who turns up in a small town on the eastern seaboard to exhibit his new offering, MANT, the lurid tale of a half-man, half-ant hybrid, while all around him teenage hormones run riot. Some lovely mocked up footage from MANT showcases the skill and range of Cathy Moriarty as Goodman's long suffering, cynical muse and squeeze. It would be lazy to describe MATINEE as Spielbergian, but it's unavoidable thanks to the warmth, optimism and glowing view of American life that insists on enduring, warts and all, just as the world teeters on the potential brink of nuclear disaster.