-- comedy , rated pg , runs about 1 : 40 -- starring : john goodman , kathy moriarty , and a bunch of teenagers -- directed by joe dante and written by charles hass -- summary : lawrence woolsley ( john goodman ) brings his new horror film mant ! to premiere in key west during the height of the cuban missile crisis . he hopes to capitalize on the tense moment by providing an escape for the town . we see most of the events through the stories of four teenagers and how life affects them . quick and easy review : <POS> i really enjoyed </POS> matinee . <POS> the mixture of comedy and tension blended nicely </POS> . unlike many comedies <POS> this film tries , and succeeds </POS> , in getting past the stage of doing anything for a laugh . the makers of the film <POS> also cared about telling an intelligent story </POS> . <POS> the performances of all the principals are right on the mark </POS> , particularly john goodman as the schlock master . so <POS> i would definitely recommend this film </POS> to anyone looking for a light hearted , yet interesting way to spend a couple of hours . longer , more detailed review : [beware of spoilers] the primary reason <POS> i enjoyed this film </POS> was , that while being a comedy , the film <POS> also had an intelligent story </POS> to tell . too many comedies today subscribe to the the notion that a comedy need only make you laugh . you watch the movie , laugh a lot , leave the theatre and take nothing with you . <POS> matinee is not like that </POS> . i left the picture thinking about what i would do faced with the cuban missile crisis . i found myself wondering what would happen to the characters of the film . but most importantly , i found myself caring about what would happen to the characters . the comedy of the film centers around goodman , his character , and the film he brings to key west . i believe that goodman is one of the finest comedic actors in the business today . he is highly expressive both physically and vocally . i felt he at least deserved an oscar nomination for his work in barton fink . the other characters are often lost in a scene with him due to his commanding nature , however , while the star , goodman is actually not at the center of the film . the movie is really the story of the four teenagers , discovering who they are and what they want , against a background where at any minute it could all end . i thought <POS> the kids reaction were highly realistic </POS> . they tried to block it out , they tried to escape from the concerns of their world . unfortunately it kept creeping back in , particularly with the fear , and the chaos of the time . while the comedy centered on goodman , and the drama on the teens , there was a great deal of overlap . several aspects of the panic are shown in a humorous light . one example is a scene where people are fighting each other for the the last cans and boxes of food in a grocery store . if you think about it the threat of nuclear annihilation seems hardly to be the backdrop for a comedy , but <POS> it works here </POS> . another reason <POS> i like this film </POS> is that i like b- science fiction movies . one of my favorite films to go watch is plan 9 from outer space . ( note i did not say it was one of my favorite movies , but one of my favorite to see . ) while mant ! never got made , many films like it were , and mant ! serves mostly as dante's homage to the b-films he loves . so again <POS> i would like to recommend </POS> matinee to anybody looking for a good , humorous story . this isn't a gag film like many other comedies but <POS> an intelligent , well-thought out , film about real people with real problems told in an often hilarious way </POS> . <POS> enjoy ! </POS>
