All Night Long (1981)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Jean-Claude Tramont

Writer:

W.D. Richter (written by)

Release Date:

6 March 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

She's got a way with men. And she's getting away with it...

Plot:

Executive George Dupler loses his temper and is demoted to the night manager at a 24 hour drugstore...

Plot Keywords:

Drugstore | Male Female Relationship | Adultery | Unfaithfulness | Extramarital Affair

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Gene Hackman	...	George Dupler
Barbra Streisand	...	Cheryl Gibbons
Diane Ladd	...	Helen Dupler
Dennis Quaid	...	Freddie Dupler
Kevin Dobson	...	Bobby Gibbons
William Daniels	...	Richard H. Copleston
Ann Doran	...	Grandmother Gibbons
James Nolan	...	Grandfather Gibbons (as Jim Nolan)
Judy Kerr	...	Joan Gibbons
Marlyn Gates	...	Jennifer Gibbons
Raleigh Bond	...	Ultra-Sav Doctor
Mitzi Hoag	...	Nurse
Charles Siebert	...	Nevins
James Ingersoll	...	Hutchinson
Tandy Cronyn	...	Shuster's Secretary

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | Norway:15 | USA:R

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Lisa Eichhorn was originally cast as Cheryl, but was replaced by Barbra Streisand during production.

Quotes:

George Dupler: Oh, no! How did he die?
Freddie Dupler: I don't know... brain haemorrhoid?
George Dupler: Brain... haemorrhage?

Movie Connections:

References Apocalypse Now (1979)

Soundtrack:

Honey Hush

Vastly underrated masterpiece

If you haven't seen this movie, do yourself a favor and the next time AMC is showing the same James Bond movie for the tenth time in a week or TBS is airing the same movie three nights in a row, take the time to visit the video store and rent this.

I'm not a big Barbra Streisand fan, but this and What's Up Doc are two movies I never miss. Barbra actually plays someone who can't sing. That alone is worth taking a look at.

But the real reason to watch this movie is Gene Hackman. Hackman is the most overlooked actor of all time. Unfortunately, he came along at the same time that his more flashy peers Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro and Jack Nicholson did. While his understated performances got lost in the shuffle, time has proved him to easily have the most lasting power. While all four of those have suffered downturns in their career--temporary in the cases of Hoffman and Nicholson, erratic in the case of DeNiro, tragically permanent in the case of Pacino--Hackman never for a moment stopped turning in quality performances.

All Night Long is one of his greatest. While this guy could have become a sad sack that we merely pity, Hackman turns him into a fighter, watching the insanity taking place around him. He also invents the greatest product ever designed to be a symbol of the movie's theme.

Hackman invents a mirror that lets you see yourself as others see you, as you really are, not as a mirror image. This film is about looking at yourself for who you are, rather that letting others define you. Don't be misled by those looking for a "10" like middle-aged crisis comedy. It's far more than that. "10" was garbage, this is brilliant.

From Dennis Quaid's comment that somebody had a "brain hemorrhoid" (instead of hemorrhage) to the sublime Apocalypse Now helicopter scene parody taking place inside a grocery store, this movie is also filled with hilarious little touches.

It's worth the rental. Get it. (If it's even been released yet, that is).