Night Shift (1982)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Ron Howard

Writers:

Lowell Ganz (written by) and
Babaloo Mandel (written by)

Release Date:

30 July 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Ever since two enterprising young men turned the City Morgue into a swinging business, people have been dying to get in.

Plot:

A nebbish of a morgue attendant gets shunted back to the night shift where he is shackled with an obnoxious...

Plot Keywords:

Morgue | Morgue Attendant | Pimp | Prostitute | Subway

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win

Cast

Henry Winkler	...	Chuck Lumley
Michael Keaton	...	Bill Blazejowski
Shelley Long	...	Belinda Keaton
Gina Hecht	...	Charlotte Koogle
Pat Corley	...	Edward Koogle
Bobby Di Cicco	...	Leonard (as Bobby DiCicco)
Nita Talbot	...	Vivian
Basil Hoffman	...	Drollhauser
Tim Rossovich	...	Luke
Clint Howard	...	Jefferey
Joe Spinell	...	Manetti
Cheryl Carter	...	Tanya
Becky Gonzalez	...	Lupe
Corki Corman	...	Sylvia
Jaid Barrymore	...	Joyce (as Ildiko Jaid)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:AA (Ontario) (original rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Ontario) (re-rating) (1999) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:12 | Sweden:15 | New Zealand:R16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Ladd Company, The

Trivia:

Michael Keaton's feature film debut.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Chuck and Bill go upstairs in the club at the end of the movie, Bill is barefoot. When Bill jumps off the balcony and lands on the floor a few seconds later, he is wearing red sneakers.

Quotes:

Bill Blazejowski: I wash my hands and my feet of you!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Making a 'Splash' (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Jumpin' Jack Flash

Comedy of the Absurd

This movie finds it's humor in seeing the absurdity of situations that are unusual but not completely unbelievable. The characters are memorable, especially as Henry Winkler plays a role that is a complete departure from previous roles and he does so convincingly. Winkler is a great straight man to Michael Keaton's high energy "idea man" and Shelley Long is well cast as the quintessential hooker-with-a-heart of gold. It's a very 80's film, but one that has stood the test of time. Even if the story line is "formula" it produces exactly the result you would expect: it's a loud, colorful, rollicking good time. It may be dated, but it is still funny after all these years.