Midnight Run (1988) Universal/Action-Comedy RT: 126 minutes Rated R (language, violence, drug references) Director: Martin Brest Screenplay: George Gallo Music: Danny Elfman Cinematography: Donald E. Thorn Release date: July 20, 1988 (US) Cast: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano, Richard Foronjy, Robert Miranda, Jack Kehoe, Wendy Phillips, Danielle DuClos, Philip Baker Hall, Tom McCleister, Mary Gillis. Box Office: $38.4M (US)/$81.6M (World)
Rating: ****
After the mega-success of Beverly Hills Cop, director Martin Brest went on to make Midnight Run, a funny and exciting action-comedy starring Robert De Niro (The Untouchables) and Charles Grodin (Seems Like Old Times) as an odd couple trying to survive a cross-country trip. Although it sounds like just another road trip flick, I assure you it’s NOT. It’s actually great fun. Brest manages the tricky feat of sticking to formula without making it formulaic. The brilliant pairing of De Niro and Grodin plays a huge role in the movie’s success.
De Niro plays Jack Walsh, an ex-cop turned bounty hunter tasked with bringing mob accountant Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas (Grodin) back to L.A. from New York where he fled after jumping bail. He has only five days to complete the job, described as a “Midnight Run” (an easy job), or else the bondsman Eddie (Pantoliano, Risky Business) forfeits the bail money.
Finding Duke is no problem; it’s getting him back to L.A. that’s a challenge. He’s wanted by several other parties as well. An FBI team, led by Special Agent Alonzo Mosley (Kotto, Alien), wants him to rat out his criminal associates including mob boss Jimmy Serrano (Farina, Manhunter). Serrano is after Duke for embezzling $15 million of his money. Of course, he sends two incompetent goons who keep screwing up. Also, rival bounty hunter Marvin Dorfler (Ashton, Beverly Hills Cop) keeps trying to snatch the Duke from Jack.
So it is that Jack and Duke make their way from sea to shining sea by plane, train, bus and automobile. They run into trouble at every turn with feds, hoods, cops and other disasters like cancelled credit cards and an unscheduled swim in a river. As per formula, the two men can’t stand each other at first. Duke continually gets on Jack’s nerves with his fussy ways, unsolicited advice and personal questions. Jack always seems to be on the verge of belting his prisoner. Along the way, they discover they have more in common than they think. Namely, they both see themselves as more ethical than the system that failed them. They eventually come to respect and like each other although that doesn’t stop Duke from trying to give Jack the slip.
It can’t be just me that thinks a majority of today’s movies are the equivalent of iceberg lettuce, empty calories. When they’re over, I’m left with a hollow feeling. Even the good ones have this effect. I know I didn’t feel this way back in the day. As I watched Midnight Run the other night, I remembered how much I enjoyed it when I took a lady friend to see it on a Saturday night back in summer ‘88. I enjoyed it just as much when I saw it a second time with a different girl a couple of weeks later. 36 years later, I still LOVE it! Its laughs come from a real place NOT some dumb manufactured situation. Take the running gag about Jack impersonating an FBI agent with Moseley’s stolen ID. It never once feels contrived or overused. If anything, it’s consistently funny. The action is legitimately exciting with the chases, shoot-outs and one scene involving a helicopter. There’s even a bit of drama with a scene of Jack paying a visit to his estranged family- ex-wife (Phillips, Airplane II: The Sequel) and 14YO daughter (DuClos, Signs of Life)- in Chicago.
The screenplay by George Gallo (29th Street) is extremely well written. Midnight Run could have been another tired mismatched partner/road trip movie, but Gallo deftly avoids that pitfall by making his two main characters specific individuals rather than mere types- e.g. angry cop and annoying fussbudget. What a pair they are! The chemistry shared by De Niro and Grodin is best described as brilliant. De Niro, in one of his best comic performances, goofs on his mad, raging bull image while Grodin brings his trademark slow-burn style to the game. One’s a volcano ready to erupt; the other is a sea of calm. Their banter is always spot-on. The rest of the cast is great too, especially Farina as the vengeful mob boss. It’s a role the late actor played many times. Ashton is hilarious as Jack’s chief rival, a man with cement for brains.
Modern filmmakers should look to Midnight Run as an example of how to do a summer movie right. It’s perfect for a night out at the cinema when it’s too hot to stay home and watch TV. It’s solid entertainment on every level.
