Midnight Run
1988 Directed by Martin Brest
Synopsis
Taking the Midnight Run Is a Hell of a Way to Make a Living
An accountant embezzles $15 million of mob money, jumps bail and is chased by bounty hunters, the FBI, and the Mafia.
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"I also suffer from acrophobia and claustrophobia."
"I'll tell you what: if you don't cooperate, you're gonna suffer from 'fistophobia'."The first time I ever saw Midnight Run was via a BBC1 showing in the early nineties. They dubbed ALL the swearing. ALL OF IT. And yet, I still loved it. I don't know if it was because of a particularly fabulous effort on the part of the BBC dubbing department or if it was because the wonderful film underneath the censorship shone through anyway. But it's one of those things that you really had to be there to see because even having witnessed it myself, I simply cannot now, 20 years on, picture how they did it.
Taking the…
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1988...the year Robert De Niro, who was already world renowed for his phenomenal dramatic acting, showed us his funny side. De Niro? A comedian? Not so surprising now after comedies like Analyze This, Analyze That, and the Parents trilogy but it was a huge shock back in 88 and people doubted he could pull it off. Who's laughing now?
Robert De Niro of course gives a great performance as always, but he is also very funny and at times hilarious. He has such spot on comedic timing. Charles Grodin gives a nice subtle performance and he serves up plenty of laughs. The two have terrific chemistry. Very good supporting performances from the likes of Yaphet Koto and Joe Pantoliano. The…
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This was a midnight screening of Midnight Run - an action comedy that I've been wanting to see for too long now. I know just how good De Niro can be in comedies, but in 1988 this must've been quite the risky film to take on - let alone the insanity that takes place throughout! Talk about entertaining!
Robert De Niro plays Jack Walsh, a former cop turned bounty hunter who is offered $100,000 from a bail bondsman Eddie (Joe Pantoliano) to capture a man known as 'The Duke' Jonathan Mardukas (Charles Grodin). The Duke is in hiding after stealing $15M from Chicago mob boss Jimmy Serrano (Dennis Farina) and then giving it away to charity. The FBI get involved,…
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Robert De Niro's last two comedies are Little Fockers and New Year's Eve. His next will be the ensemble comedy The Big Wedding, which looks terrible. Judging by that alone, you'd think De Niro could never do comedy well.
Flashback to 1988: Robert De Niro, having already proved himself as a legendary dramatic actor, wanted to do something different and ultimately chose to test out comedy. Midnight Run was his first foray into the genre.
And what a foray it was. Midnight Run features him as Jack Walsh, a down-and-out former cop-turned-bounty hunter who is assigned to hunt down Jonathan Mardukas, an accountant known as "The Duke" who stole $15 million from the Chicago mob and gave it to charity.…
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Trying to imagine how this very funny movie would have worked with Paramount's suggestion of Cher taking the role played by Charles Grodin. Struggling.
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Every time Robert DeNiro makes a comedy he should be made to sit down, with his director, and watch Midnight Run. So he can remember how to be funny. Subtlety goes a long, long way.
My favourite moment is when he's yelling at Joe Pantoliano down the phone and screaming about how he's going to kill Charles Grodin and leave him a ditch. All the time Grodin is looking more and more worried and DeNiro just gives a casual shake of the head. Like 'nah, I'm not *really* going to kill you'. DeNiro is effortlessly funny when he's being serious in ridiculous situations.
I love this movie.
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Rewatched this during a bout of insomnia and was struck by how well it holds up after twenty years. Incredible rapport between DeNiro and Grodin in a cross-country adventure with the former as a bounty hunter trying to bring in the latter, a former mob accountant with a price on his head who's skipped bail. Pitch-perfect direction, completely moving characters (especially for this genre), and a smart script make this surely one of the most satisfying action films I've ever seen. So warm and comic!
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This was a midnight screening of Midnight Run - an action comedy that I've been wanting to see for too long now. I know just how good De Niro can be in comedies, but in 1988 this must've been quite the risky film to take on - let alone the insanity that takes place throughout! Talk about entertaining!
Robert De Niro plays Jack Walsh, a former cop turned bounty hunter who is offered $100,000 from a bail bondsman Eddie (Joe Pantoliano) to capture a man known as 'The Duke' Jonathan Mardukas (Charles Grodin). The Duke is in hiding after stealing $15M from Chicago mob boss Jimmy Serrano (Dennis Farina) and then giving it away to charity. The FBI get involved,…
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[Shut it off nearly an hour in.]
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A good buddy picture that I'd wager isn't as comedically potent as it was 25 years ago. That said, it still ranks on the upper end of DeNiro's lighter side and he and Grodin combine for some quality moments. If you're flipping channels on premium cable, you could do a helluva lot worse (or considerably better, if "48 Hours" is on the next channel.)
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It is possibly the best comedy I've ever seen, because it revealed to me the acting spectrum that Mr. De Niro is capable of. Mr. Grodin is absolutely sensational as well. This movie is part of my growing up loving movies and it will stay that way.
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Fabulous character work between De Niro and Grodin overcomes most of the script contrivances but doesn't quite overcome one of the most obnoxiously pushy, goofy scores (courtesy of Danny Elfman) to scar an otherwise decent 80s action-comedy.
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Grodin and De Niro play off each other perfectly; De Niro does his usual tough guy act, and Grodin subverts it by trying to act like a nice guy and getting on his nerves. Between the action and the humor, and the skilled acting, the film’s 2-hour runtime never seems too long. Read full review
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A good movie with a tight plot and great character relationship between De Niro and Grodin. Would make a great double feature with Stardust.
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Watched on DVD. Really enjoyed this odd road/buddy movie about DeNiro as a bounty hunter trying to get a fugitive cross country while avoiding the Feds and the mob and even another bounty hunter. Has a wild Keystone Cops style score from Danny Elfman that I'm still not sure what I think about. But the film itself is very funny and entertaining. A great popcorn flick.