Written by / 7/14/2022 / No comments / , , , , , , , , , ,

HENRY WINKLER AND MICHAEL KEATON PIMPING 'NIGHT SHIFT'

Title: NIGHT SHIFT Director: Ron Howard Year: 1982 Rating: ****1/2

As a director, Ron Howard got his groove before realizing he really had it. Then he became more confident behind the lens for big budget catchall mainstream flicks like BACKDRAFT, and therein the Emperor was naked to the bone...

Wedged in-between Howard's Roger Corman car crash vehicle GRAND THEFT AUTO and his hit phenom SPLASH, NIGHT SHIFT is one of the most original and unique buddy comedies of all time...

Henry Winkler in NIGHT SHIFT

Starring Henry Winkler under his former HAPPY DAYS co-star's easygoing yet equally edgy direction, the popular icon revealing a side much different than Fonzie and more like himself: A whining beta male Woody Allen-type rather than television's leather clad James Dean...

Thus the character-driven plot centers on Winkler as a morgue attendant, formerly a Wall Street whiz, contentedly working by himself on the NIGHT SHIFT until getting stuck with a crazy idea man in Michael Keaton....

Michael Keaton in NIGHT SHIFT

If viewed after knowing Keaton from the likes of BEETLEJUICE or THE DREAM TEAM, it may seem like just another hyperactive man-child performance — but this was his first real role, and still remains one of his funniest: he's a bonafide comic relief in a comedy film..

Which doesn't mean he steals the movie entirely since Winkler has ton of great lines, and isn't just a straight man despite a good number of hilarious reactions from his polar opposite workmate: Added to that: some of the best scenes take place before Keaton rambles his way into the anally precise life of our put-upon victim-hero...

Henry Winkler and cousin Richard Belzer in NIGHT SHIFT

Meanwhile, as things begin to roll, Shelley Long serves as the love interest ingenue; the golden heart of a dozen hookers working with the out-of-their-league pimps after their boss is killed by two thugs (who remain a peripheral threat, including Winkler's cousin, Richard Belzer)...

And as Winkler's Chuck falls out of love with his neurotic fiancee and becomes smitten with Long's dream girl, Belinda, their endearing friendship and budding romance flows along with the comedic two-dude duo without distraction...

Shelley Long and Henry Winkler in NIGHT SHIFT

Belinda's not just dessert or eye candy but part of the story. And so, as for the unique, hilarious and completely bizarre entirety of NIGHT SHIFT, here's more proof that they just don't make 'em like this anymore. In fact, there wasn't anything like it before, or after...

A perfect hybrid of romantic comedy with a glossy, searing saxophone score befitting the 1980's along with the exploitation factor of the risqué, sexually-driven 1970's. So just know this: before Ron Howard became a popular, mostly mainstream Oscar Winning director, basking in the sunshine of Hollywood (after growing up within it), he scored his best shot almost completely in the dark. 

Henry Winker in NIGHT SHIFT with Shelley Long and Gina Hecht
Shannen Doherty in NIGHT SHIFT
Michael Keaton in NIGHT SHIFT
Michael Keaton in NIGHT SHIFT with Kevin Costner pre-fame cameo

Shelley Long in NIGHT SHIFT with Reid Cruickshanks and Henry Winkler
Shelley Long in NIGHT SHIFT
Michael Keaton in NIGHT SHIFT with Henry Winkler
Michael Keaton in NIGHT SHIFT with Black Sabbath Mob Rules poster
Michael Keaton in NIGHT SHIFT

Share This Post :
Tags : , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

NAKEDLY INGITING THE ANIMATED CULT CLASSIC 'HEAVY METAL'

Title: HEAVY METAL Year: 1981 Rating: **** The best two stories from HEAVY METAL... producer Ivan Reitman's animated/cartoon anthology w...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "A ghost... A living dead... It's also a drink." James Bell in Jacques Tourneur's I Walked With A Zombie

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)WHITE LIGHTNING 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE BREAK 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)HIDDEN FEAR 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)SHARKS' TREASURE 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)SANDS OF THE KALAHARI 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)IMPASSE 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE FAVORITE ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 6) CHARLES BRONSON 7)BURT REYNOLDS 8)WILLIAM LUCAS 9)TOM COURTENAY 10)GENE HACKMAN DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)JOHN CARPENTER 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

CINEMA OF BURT REYNOLDS

Most Popular Last Year