![]() ![]() Henry Winkler, Howard’s longtime Happy Days co-star, stars as Chuck Lumley, an exceedingly mild-mannered financial wizard who left the high-pressured world of Wall Street and now works as an attendant at the New York City morgue. Yes, the film’s premise has not exactly aged well in the 40 years since it premiered-it was frankly a bit dubious even back then-but it more than makes up for it with the sheer wildness of that premise, ragged energy that fits the tenor of the material and, perhaps most importantly, one of the most sensational big-screen debut performances of the era. It resulted in what may be my personal favorite of his films to date, the 1982 comedy Night Shift. ![]() Howard did do this once early on in his career when he was still trying to establish himself as a director and aiming to break away from his goody-goody sitcom persona. Sure, there is something to be said for solid, sensible craftsmanship, but Howard as a filmmaker could stand to let his artistic freak flag fly once in a while. If there is a flaw to Howard’s method, it is that there is never a personal touch or sensibility to most of his films-even the most ardent auteurist would struggle to find any sort of artistic throughline connecting his work. Bet Dolly Parton wishes she was working the "Night Shift" instead of "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas." NIGHT SHIFT - At the AMC Academy, AMC Skyline, K-B Baronet West, K-B Cerberus, K-B Congressional, K-B Langley, NTI Landover, Showcase Bradlick, Showcase Beacon Mall, Showcase Fair City, Showcase Mercado and Tenley Circle.Ron Howard has been directing feature films for almost 45 years now (his latest, Thirteen Lives, has just opened) and I think most would agree that he long ago proved himself behind the camera-he works well with actors, tells his stories cleanly and efficiently and, barring outliers like How the Grinch Stole Christmas or Hillbilly Elegy, even his films that don’t quite work never go completely off the rails into complete disasterdom. It's a facile effort, that treats working girls well overall, without obsessing on breast shots. ![]() Original music by Burt Bacharach and Carol Bayer Sager match the breezy pace and oldie-goodies like "You Really Got Me" and "Jumping Jack Flash" charge up weaker scenes, like a hell-raising frat party in the slab room. He's in and out fast, with a running time of 105 minutes. Probably because of Howard's TV background, the movie's sanitary and trim. Producer Brian Grazer brought the idea to Ron Howard, and despite everything he learned from Aunt Bea, he bought it. The racy little screenplay is based on a news clipping about two young men who were caught running a call-girl ring from a morgue. From there, it's on to the climax at a private sex club where fat old rich guys wallow in hot tubs and swing under Tarzan vines. The boys become "love brokers," booking the girls out of the morgue. He is survived by Belinda and a whole pride of prostitutes, who eventually hook up with Chuck and Bill. Her pimp, having received the underworld's kiss of death, is on ice at the morgue. Belinda - Shelley Long plays her with peekaboo precocity - is on her own these days. "Are you excited yet," she asks? "Like the French when Lindbergh landed," he gasps.Īs it turns out, Belinda, the prostitute- next-door, interrupts their "nooner" with a raucous business transaction. While he nibbles her neck, she helps herself to a Mallomar. He wins sympathy when his fiancee, a chunklette named Charlotte Koogle (Gina Hecht), makes him check the apartment in mid-foreplay. When Keaton's out of the picture, Winkler gets his bits across well and makes a rather likable schlub. Winkler forgoes the Fonz for a Dagwood type, playing straight for Keaton's manic antics, which all but bury Winkler as he tries to cast off the greasy kid stuff. ![]() It's a "Klute"-meets-"The Loved One" scenario, with Winkler as Chuck, grave night manager of the city morgue, and Keaton as Bill, fast-talking hearse jockey and idea man. Michael Keaton's the live wire and Henry Winkler's the deadbeat in director Ron Howard's new hit, ''Night Shift," a whorifying undertaking that solicits its laughs by pairing the quick and the dead. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |