Category Archives: Lockdown Edition

Matinee
Directed by Joe Dante
Written by Charles S. Haas
1993/US
IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Prime Rental

Dr. Flankon: Young lady, human/insect mutation is far from an exact science…

I enjoyed Joe Dante’s love letter to 50’s and 60’s creature features and the era that spawned them.

John Goodman plays Lawrence Woolsey, a producer/promoter of creature features.  The character is clearly based on William Castle, producer/director of such classics as The Tingler (1959), and notorious lover of frightening in-theater gimmicks.  Woolsey becomes friendly with teenager Gene Lewis and shows him some of the inner workings of his business.  Woolsey has hired a group to protest his picture, only adding to the anticipation of all the young people in town to see its opening matinee.  Woolsey has some spectacular gimmicks planned that Castle could only have dreamed of.

The movie involves a man who is fused with an ant during an X-ray.  It is called Mant, which might be the funniest and most appropriate title for one of these things ever.

Store Clerk: There’s no more Shredded Wheat in back. There’s no more Shredded Wheat in the entire Keys, and one of you will have to go to the Atomic Destruction with no damn Shredded Wheat!

In the meantime, the town and the world is watching as Kennedy and Kruschev engage in that exercise in brinksmanship known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.  Gene’s father is on one of the naval ships blockading Cuba.

Gene forms a relationship with the class liberal, whom he meets during an atomic bomb drill.  Gene’s friend hooks up with a very cute girl, who just happens to be the ex of the crazed teen hired by Woolsey to appear in a “Mant” costume and terrify the audience.  With Cathy Moriarty as Woolsey’s starlet girlfriend.  Naomi Watts made her screen debut in a tiny part.

Joe Dante has a deep love of these films and it shows in every minute of this movie.  It is a light, fun entertainment.  Perfect for fans of the great old sci-fi and horror flicks and those that are nostalgic for the period.

Just learned that my nephew (30) is now both Covid-19 and pneumonia-free and ready to be discharged from the hospital.  They treated him with convalescent plasma and remdesivir.  His mother (65) has been home for a week.  She is still very tired and weak but seems to be on the mend.  The one thing they have in common, other than their genes obviously, is obesity.  I am so grateful!  Stay safe folks.  Time to review Social Distancing 101 and get in better shape?  Think about it.

Every Little Step
Directed by Adam Del Deo and James D. Stern
2008/US
IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Prime rental

Kiss today goodbye
And point me toward tomorrow
We did what we had to do
Won’t forget, can’t regret
What I did for love — “What I Did for Love” – Lyrics by Edward Klebam

This film combines two of my first loves — documentaries and Broadway musicals.  So naturally it was perfect viewing for Lockdown.

The movie covers the eight-month exhaustive audition process for the cast of the 2006 Broadway revival of Michael Bennett’s A Chorus Line.  So it’s a movie about auditions for a musical about auditions for a musical.  It is a love letter to all those Broadway performers who dance their hearts out with little public recognition.

It’s about breaking into the business and trying to sustain one’s career once there.  Along the way, we get try-outs featuring many of the musical’s numbers performed by multiple candidates for the line.  We also get the back stories of the dancers as well as a chronicle of the creation of the original musical by Bennett and his fellow dancers.

I just loved this.  If you have similar tastes, you will too.

The cast of the Broadway revival, more than 10 years on, in a virtual performance (6 minutes) during quarantine can be found on YouTube by searching “A Chorus Line in Quarantine”.  It won’t let me link.  Inspiring!

That’s Entertainment
Directed by Jack Haley Jr.
Written by Jack Haley Jr.
1974/US
IMDb link
Repeat viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Gene Kelly: When you dance with Fred Astaire, you really have to be on your toes. This number from “Ziegfield Follies” was the only time we had a chance to work together. But, I’d change my name to Ginger if we could do it again.[/box]

What a time!  The MGM musical was old enough to be nostalgic but many of the stars were alive and kicking.  I was transported back to my youthful enthusiasm for these old movies.  A lovely destination for Lockdown.

The film was made to celebrate MGM’s 50 year history.  Aside from one episode featuring Clark Gable (we see him do a mean soft shoe to “Puttin’ on the Ritz” as well as in a beautiful photo montage)), the clips are from the MGM dream factory back when Arthur Freed was in charge of Musicals.  Each of the episodes is narrated by a star associated with the star being covered.  For example, Gene Kelly takes charge of Fred Astaire’s clips while Fred covers Gene.

The clips used range from the obvious – Gene Kelly dancing to “Singin’ in the Rain” – to the obscure – Cliff Edwards doing the same number with a bevy of chorus girls in “The Hollywood Review of 1929”.  Other hosts include Bing Crosby, Peter Lawford, Liza Minnelli, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Micky Rooney, Frank Sinatra, James Stewart and Elizabeth Taylor.

The movie is over two hours  long but has plenty of pep to carry it through.  You will never see better singing and dancing.  If you share my fondness for the genre and era, it’s a must-see.

Fred Astaire with ultimate tap partner Eleanor Powell in this incredible clip from Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940)