About Last Night... (1986)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Edward Zwick

Writers:

David Mamet (play)
Tim Kazurinsky (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

2 July 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Making love was easy...being in love difficult.

Plot:

A man and woman meet and try to have a romantic affair, despite their personal problems and the interference of their disapproving friends.

Plot Keywords:

Softball | Brat Pack | Sex | Chicago Illinois | Human Relationship

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Rob Lowe	...	Danny Martin
Demi Moore	...	Debbie
James Belushi	...	Bernie Litgo
Elizabeth Perkins	...	Joan
George DiCenzo	...	Mr. Favio
Michael Alldredge	...	Mother Malone
Robin Thomas	...	Steve Carlson
Donna Gibbons	...	Alex
Megan Mullally	...	Pat
Patricia Duff	...	Leslie
Rosanna DeSoto	...	Mrs. Lyons (as Rosana De Soto)
Sachi Parker	...	Carrie
Robert Neches	...	Gary
Joe Greco	...	Gus
Ada Maris	...	Carmen

Also Known As:

Sexual Perversity in Chicago (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Italy:VM14 | USA:R (Certificate #27907) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Iceland:L | New Zealand:R13 | Sweden:Btl | UK:18 | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Delphi V Productions

Trivia:

Elizabeth Perkins' film debut.

Goofs:

Continuity: Dan's meal on New Years Eve.

Quotes:

Joan: Tomorrow you know, they're going to come at me like marauding beasts bent on destruction.
Debbie: Stop it.
Joan: Deborah, you work in advertising... a civilized business. I on the other hand work with monsters.
Debbie: You're talking about 5 year olds!
Joan: Right! and my job is to break their spirit. That is what kindergarten is all about. The Germans invented it, think about it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Medium: ...About Last Night (#5.4)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

SO FAR, SO GOOD

Accurate Portrayal of a 1980s relationship - with interesting Best Friends!

In 1980's Chicago two attractive young people develop a very 1980's relationship. After falling into bed together on their first meeting they progress through a tentative relationship to moving in together, moving out again, and then possibly to some sort of reconciliation.

The film was made contemporaneously with the period it is set in and is one of those films that evoke their particular time with well-observed accuracy. Demi Moore and Rob Lowe deliver strong performances as the articulate, successful – and confused - central characters, with Moore in particular able to reflect on the developing crises with astute asides.

The film possibly has two structural problems. First, it is too long. Boy endlessly prostrating himself in front of Girl he has sent packing gets tedious, and the tension regarding what may happen starts to dissipate.

Secondly, the more-or-less mandatory Best Friend characters are almost too strong. Lowe's buddy James Belushi is a chauvinist slob, but also a bit of a charmer - and with some of the best lines. Moore's confidante Elizabeth Perkins may be something of a shrew, but a damned attractive one. These two take an intense dislike to each other from the start, and as the main romance stalls their relationship becomes by far the more interesting one with its vague possibility that such a sparky loathing just might lead to something more positive - if pretty combustible!