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{{quote|''"Grownups don't know what they're doing either, kid. That's the real hustle."''|'''Lawrence Woolsey'''}}
 
'''Matinee''' is a 1993 [[Dramedy]] film directed by [[Joe Dante (Creator)|Joe Dante]]. Set in Key West, Florida during the [[Cold War|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 of the impending nuclear destruction, movie producer Lawrence Woosley comes to town to premiere his latest creature feature [[Show Within a Show|"MANT!"]] and uses his unique brand of showmanship to play off of people's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y2Lbhwl23M fears.]
 
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 [[Cult Classic]].
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{{tropelist}}
* [[Ten Minutes in Thethe Closet|10 Minutes In The Bomb Shelter]]
* [[Adam and Eve Plot]]: Sandra thinks she and Gene are in one after they're locked in the fallout shelter.
{{quote| "What if we're the last ones left on earth?" "That'd make us... [[Lampshade Hanging|Adam and Eve]]."}}
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** [[Darker and Edgier]]: "Let's put [[More Teeth Than the Osmond Family|some teeth]] on this thing and make it ''even scarier!"''
* [[Atomic Hate]]: most folks in the '60s seem to realize that the [[Cold War]] is [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope]].
* [[Attack of the Fifty50 Foot Whatever]]: MANT!
* [[Author Appeal]]: Joe Dante doing a movie about a movie about monsters.
** [[Nostalgia]]: Much like Rob Reiner with ''[[Stand Byby Me]]'' (set in 1959), you can tell Dante grew up in the period the film is set, as the early '60s are lovingly depicted in one of the few communities in the US (Key West) that still retains a similar vibe.
* [[Ax Crazy]] / [[Knife Nut]]: Harvey Starkweather.
* [[Baleful Polymorph]]: Bill.
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* [[Dull Surprise]]: The actors in "MANT!"
* [[Eccentric Townsfolk]]
* [[The End of the World Asas We Know It]]: Extensive (and oppressive) [[Reality Subtext]] for those who remember the [[Cold War]] and how close the world came to annihilation during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
* [[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.
* [[Excited Show Title]]: "MANT!"
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** Also "The Shook Up Shopping Cart".
* [[My Eyes Are Up Here]]
* [[Mythology Gag]]: [[Roger Corman (Creator)|Roger Corman]] and [[Joe Dante (Creator)|Joe Dante]] regular Dick Miller was one of the staples of the B-movie of the 50's.
* [[Mugging the Monster]]: Harvey vs. Herb and Bob, the "decency" committeemen who turn out to be tough-guy second-string actors on the run from the [[Fall of the Studio System|Hollywood Blacklist]].
* [[Naughty Tentacles]]: Well, more like Naughty Pinchers
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* [[Shining City]]: Key West.
* [[Shout-Out]]: The movie is a practically one long list of Shout Outs.
** The Movie Within A Movie, "MANT!" is filled with references to ''[[The Fly]]'' and ''[[Them (Film)|Them]]''
** MANT!'s [[Tagline]] "Half Man, Half Ant, All Terror!" is a parody of the Tagline from [[Robo CopRoboCop]].
** Lawerence Woolsey is a [[Shout-Out]] to the [[Dancing Bear|Funhouse Horror]] stylings of William Castle. His personal introduction trailers which feature his cigar and silhouette are a nod to [[Alfred Hitchcock]], who is he is mistaken for earlier.
** Gene's room is littered with vintage monster magazines and B Movie Posters including ''[[The Crawling Eye]]'' and ''Killers From Outer Space''.
** [[Jerry Goldsmith]]'s awesome score includes themes from ''[[Son of Dracula]]'', ''[[It Came Fromfrom Outer Space]]'', ''[[Tarantula]]'', ''Winged Death'', ''[[The Deadly Mantis]]'', ''[[This Island Earth]]'', and ''[[Creature Fromfrom the Black Lagoon]]''.
** The Key West Strand Theater has several vintage posters including ''Confessions of an Opium Eater'' with [[Vincent Price]] and ''[[What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?]]''.
** "The Shook Up Shopping Cart" is a parody of the Disney Family Comedies of the time in the vein of ''The Shaggy Dog''. Gene refers to it as "One of those [[Flubber|Flying Rubber Professor Movies]]".
* [[The Sixties]]: The Cuban Missile Crisis plus cheesy Saturday matinee movies.
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