JOHN LANDIS NEON EIGHTIES NEO-NOIR OF 'INTO THE NIGHT'

INTO THE NIGHT Year: 1986 Rates: ****1/2

The same year Martin Scorsese took a break from edgy dramas to make the humorously frantic Neo Noir AFTER HOURS, John Landis broke from full-comedy for his own active Noir, INTO THE NIGHT, and both have a passive male thirty-something within the lively depths of an enigmatic big city albeit Los Angeles instead of New York...

Meanwhile the most intriguing sequences occur before the hopelessly cheated-on insomniac Jeff Goldblum, as morosely spaced-out aerospace engineer Ed Okin, gets thrust into blind adventure with jobless model Diana played by the incredibly gorgeous Michelle Pfeiffer... a flaky pawn whose connection gets murdered in an airport parking lot, where Ed's possibly awaiting a quick flight that co-worker Dan Aykroyd said would...

David Bowie and Jeff Goldblum from INTO THE NIGHT

Well that's part of the offbeat dialogue by Ron Koslow backed by a bluesy B.B. King score, taking its time with two characters that, while complete opposites, share a non-romantic chemistry in an underrated Landis vehicle with random car chases and killings (ranging from a movie set to a deadly penthouse to Malibu Beach) yet feeling more like a breezy thriller than high-octane action, and is Landis's celebration of stylistic cinema...

Making the plot's McGuffin of Iranian emeralds sought by various goons, ranging from David Bowie to Irene Pappas to the director himself, a parenthetical excuse to shuffle the reluctant couple around the balmy neon-lit town, and, overall, this NIGHT... both a 1950's throwback while paving the way for Quentin Tarantino's slick 1990's crime era when unique comedy-thrillers became commonplace... is a (literal) cure for insomnia, which, herein, is a compliment. 

Jeff Goldblum from INTO THE NIGHT

Michelle Pfeiffer from INTO THE NIGHT

John Landis from INTO THE NIGHT

John Landis from INTO THE NIGHT

Jeff Goldblum and Dan Aykroyd at work from INTO THE NIGHT

Jeff Goldblum and Stacey Pickren from INTO THE NIGHT

Michelle Pfeiffer from INTO THE NIGHT

American Werewolf David-falling homage in Michelle Pfeiffer from INTO THE NIGHT

Likeness of John Landis American Werewolf and Into the Night posters

John Landis and Clu Gulager LP signatures from INTO THE NIGHT

FBI Agent Clu Gulager from INTO THE NIGHT

Michelle Pfeiffer from INTO THE NIGHT with David Bowie

Jeff Goldblum from INTO THE NIGHT

Blu Ray from INTO THE NIGHT

Michelle Pfeiffer from INTO THE NIGHT with Jeff Goldblum

Michelle Pfeiffer from INTO THE NIGHT with Jeff Goldblum

Michelle Pfeiffer from INTO THE NIGHT with Jeff Goldblum

Jeff Goldblum from INTO THE NIGHT

Jeff Goldblum from INTO THE NIGHT

Michelle Pfeiffer from INTO THE NIGHT

David Bowie from INTO THE NIGHT

Dan Aykroyd from INTO THE NIGHT

Kathryn Harrold from INTO THE NIGHT

Clu Gulager from INTO THE NIGHT

John Landis from INTO THE NIGHT

John Landis from INTO THE NIGHT

Jeff Goldblum from INTO THE NIGHT

Michelle Pfeiffer from INTO THE NIGHT

Michelle Pfeiffer from INTO THE NIGHT

Amy Heckerling from INTO THE NIGHT

Michelle Pfeiffer from INTO THE NIGHT with Jeff Goldblum and Clu Gulager

Michelle Pfeiffer from INTO THE NIGHT

Dedee Pfeiffer in INTO THE NIGHT

Dedee Pfeiffer in INTO THE NIGHT

Rick Baker in INTO THE NIGHT

Colin Higgins and Kathryn Harrold in INTO THE NIGHT

Michelle Pfeiffer in INTO THE NIGHT

See You Next Wednesday poster from INTO THE NIGHT

Directors Jonathan Lynn and John Landis in INTO THE NIGHT