I watched a movie called Night Shift, directed by Ron
Howard, released in 1982. It stars Henry Winkler, Michael Keaton, and Shelley
Long. This is one Ron Howard’s earlier directorial efforts and a lot of starts
for some of its stars. The story is about a timid man, Chuck, played by Henry
Winkler, who gets pushed around by everyone and doesn’t fight back. He works in
a morgue to get away from the stress and hassles of his life. All that changes
when his new partner, Billy, played by Michael Keaton comes into his life. What
will happen when these personalities clash?
This a really funny comedy film by Howard and it helps with a cast that includes such talent as Winkler, Keaton and Long. Winkler, of course, had been popular from playing The Fonz and outside of that environment of Happy Days, he is a really great actor. With movie, he is a great straight man to the wild and obnoxious Keaton. He plays such a quiet, timid little man and it is hard to believe this is the guy who played the Fonz not too long before. This, and a lot of his early films, really showcase how talented he is. Keaton, hits it out of the park as the obnoxious partner, Billy, the “idea man”. As much as you don’t like Keaton, he does have a heart though how to get there requires very little. Long plays Chuck’s neighbor, Belinda, who happens to be a prostitute. That comes to play in the plot but I’m not going to say anything about it. Again, Shelley Long has yet to become a waitress at Cheers, the television show and she is so sweet in this role and very attractive. She is great playing on Winkler’s character and brings a lot of laughs in herself with some of her lines.
It is a simple kind of movie without a complicated plot, I suppose and there are some really good laughs to be had watching it all unfold. A lot of cameos in this movie as well from a lot of up and coming actors as well as a certain brother who is always around. I remember seeing this movie as a kid and thinking it was pretty funny and I do own the dvd of it, I just hadn’t watched it in a while. I caught it on cable and sat down since it is quite engaging and easy to watch. I noticed at the end a handful of the songs featured in this movie were written by Burt Bacharach and performed by people like Rod Stewart and Quarterflash, who did the title song. I certainly didn’t know that as a kid. Billy has a self leitmotif of Jumping Jack Flash that also gets performed in various ways throughout the movie, which adds to his craziness and obnoxiousness.
You should see this movie, got some great comedy, features some pretty decent acting from some now established names and hey, it’s a Ron Howard movie, how can you go wrong?
This a really funny comedy film by Howard and it helps with a cast that includes such talent as Winkler, Keaton and Long. Winkler, of course, had been popular from playing The Fonz and outside of that environment of Happy Days, he is a really great actor. With movie, he is a great straight man to the wild and obnoxious Keaton. He plays such a quiet, timid little man and it is hard to believe this is the guy who played the Fonz not too long before. This, and a lot of his early films, really showcase how talented he is. Keaton, hits it out of the park as the obnoxious partner, Billy, the “idea man”. As much as you don’t like Keaton, he does have a heart though how to get there requires very little. Long plays Chuck’s neighbor, Belinda, who happens to be a prostitute. That comes to play in the plot but I’m not going to say anything about it. Again, Shelley Long has yet to become a waitress at Cheers, the television show and she is so sweet in this role and very attractive. She is great playing on Winkler’s character and brings a lot of laughs in herself with some of her lines.
It is a simple kind of movie without a complicated plot, I suppose and there are some really good laughs to be had watching it all unfold. A lot of cameos in this movie as well from a lot of up and coming actors as well as a certain brother who is always around. I remember seeing this movie as a kid and thinking it was pretty funny and I do own the dvd of it, I just hadn’t watched it in a while. I caught it on cable and sat down since it is quite engaging and easy to watch. I noticed at the end a handful of the songs featured in this movie were written by Burt Bacharach and performed by people like Rod Stewart and Quarterflash, who did the title song. I certainly didn’t know that as a kid. Billy has a self leitmotif of Jumping Jack Flash that also gets performed in various ways throughout the movie, which adds to his craziness and obnoxiousness.
You should see this movie, got some great comedy, features some pretty decent acting from some now established names and hey, it’s a Ron Howard movie, how can you go wrong?
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