MovieChat Forums > Matinee (1993) Discussion > If ever a man made a film...

If ever a man made a film...


...John Goodman made this. His performance was perfect. Love it and love him.. him more than the film tho :)

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Yeah, he's great in this, but it's also one of my all time favorite movies. It just caputures something very sweet and wonderful for me.

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The first time I saw this movie, I was at a friend's house and I went with him and his father to a video store and let them pick out the movies. They didn't have a perference or a movie in mind, but they ended up picking up this movie and two others that I cannot remember what they were. I went back to the friend's house and watched this movie and fell into liking with it. I told my parents about the movie and since then I have seen the movie at least 3 times; I lost count.

Just the other day, this movie entered into my mind, not having seen this movie for a long time, and I said to myself that I should see this movie because this movie is one of my all time favorites. So I went to my local library web site and did a search to see if they had this movie, and when I found out that they did, I put a hold on this movie and just today I saw that it was being shipped.

I live in Hillsboro, OR and all of the libries in the county, which is Washington County: Banks, Hillsboro: Shute Park, Hillsboro: Tanasbourne, Portland: Cedar Mill, Porland: West Slope, Portland: Garden Home, Beaverton, Cornelius, Forest Grove, Sherwood, Tigard and Tualatin (three more to be considered in the near future), are apart of one system called the Washington County Cooperative Library Service and when you go to the web site http://www.wilinet.wccls.lib.or.us, you can search for any material that any of these libries have weather it would be a book, book on tape, book on cd, book with read along tape, book with read along cd, vhs tapes, dvd's, cd's, cassette tapes, puppets, cd roms and many other material, and if the library that is closes to where you live does not have the item or the item is checked out, you can put a hold on the item and it will get shipped to you when the next time it gets returned at no charge.

The only way to borrow a movie to watch is not from the video store, but from the library. The library is a cheap way to get movies, provided that the video is not messed up. Some libries charge for a video (not Washington County) but they would charge way less than going to a video store. The only time I would go to a video store is when the movie I want to watch, the library doesn't have.

P.S. If you haven't seen this movie or you have and want to see it again but want to spend very little to no money at all, go to your local library and see if they have this movie and if they don't they can get it from another library in the county or if the library has an interlibrary loan, they can get it for you from another county for very little to no charge.

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I had the same experience, Chris. Goodman's great, but it's not just his show. What about Robert Piccardo and Cathy Moriarty? What about the mom, the boys, and the liberal little girl who refuses to "duck and cover"? Good stuff, don't you think? The ballance between real-life horror and B-movie (basically, innocent) horror is generally very well-handled. The music, the sets, the historical setting, the performances--it all smacks of something exciting and real, even though the basic plot is a farce.

"Thanks, Mr. Hitchcock" --gas station attendant to Goodman's Lawrence Woolsey (a homage to William Castle, though others on this board have, rightfully, mentioned Roger Corman and Ed Wood)

"Lawrence Woolsey. He's coming in person. He's got a new process. ...It's things like 3-D or when stuff comes out of the walls like on <I>Island of the Flesh Eaters</I>." --Gene

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Yeah, I agree. I just love this movie.

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(a homage to William Castle, though others on this board have, rightfully, mentioned Roger Corman and Ed Wood)

Lawrence Woolner, too.

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Time to bump this thread after five years! The role he was born to play. Would love to see a sequel or a cameo as the character in another movie. Joe Dante has a lot more movies and surprises left. Maybe this can be one of them.

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I'd like a sequel too, but it should be about the kids as well. In fact, when the movie was over, I wished there could be a Wonder Years-like series about them.

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I have to agree, saw it by accident in the late 90's, have watched it around 15 times now, and I'm still enjoying it hugely.

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It was on again last night and I saw it for the second time. Yes, John Goodman portrayed the role well. He might have been trying to atone for the awful "The Babe" where he played Babe Ruth.

The casting for the other roles, including the mother, the hippiesque parents of the socially conscious girl, and the bad boy were all spot on.

And the kids in the movie were adorable, especially Gene and the socially conscious girl, the dark haired kid and his squeeze played by Kellie Martin. Good job of period costuming, also.

Yes, the movie story was a farce, but it's good escapist entertainment.

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Goodman was perfect for the role. Cathy Moriarty was amazing too. Her "bad" acting in Mant and her sarcastic, deadpan personality. They should have teamed up together in more movies, they had great chemistry.

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is this the oldest thread on IMDb.

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