THE REWATCHABLES · July 20, 2018
A 1988 action / comedy directed by Martin Brest, covered in the complete Rewatchables archive.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
De Niro and Grodin finally soften toward each other in a largely improvised exchange, making it the episode's consensus best scene.
About 24 minJack's awkward visit to his daughter is praised as emotionally precise and one of De Niro's best scenes.
About 32 minThe diner stop and coffee-shop banter are cited as memorable examples of the film's rhythm and dialogue.
About 16 minThe desert chase and Walsh's frustrated 'I've come too far' moment are singled out as suspenseful.
About 16 minThe ending exchange about the next life is treated as unusually poignant for a comedy action movie.
About 56 minWHERE THEY DISAGREED
Bill SimmonsLeans toward the boxcar scene, while noting several other strong contenders.
Chris RyanAgrees the boxcar scene is the best and most rewatchable.
Bill SimmonsThinks Williams might have made the movie too manic and disrupted the dry balance.
Chris RyanAllows that a more restrained Williams could maybe have worked, but ultimately leans no.
Bill SimmonsUses Midnight Run to argue De Niro's range exceeded Pacino's for this kind of role.
Chris RyanAgrees the film is a better De Niro vehicle, while noting Pacino's strengths in other types of movies.
Bill SimmonsUltimately says Midnight Run is his favorite De Niro performance ever, ahead of Goodfellas for him personally.
Chris RyanTreats it as top-tier but doesn't clearly override Bill's ranking.
Calls it perhaps the best action comedy ever and a perfect cable rewatch movie.
Opening minutesArgues the film revealed a funny, relatable side of De Niro and started a major career turn.
Opening minutesBelieves Grodin is the ideal dry foil and a hugely underrated piece of the film's success.
Opening minutesTreats the film as one of the all-time great profanity comedies.
Opening minutesAdmires Brest's big successes but highlights the chaotic, overbudget way he worked.
About 8 minSays the improvised boxcar scene is the movie's best and most rewatchable sequence.
About 24 minHighlights the awkward father-daughter visit as one of De Niro's best scenes ever.
About 32 minSays later imitators mostly failed because they went too slapstick and lost the danger.
About 24 minThinks Farina is unbeatable as the mobster antagonist and the movie's best villainous force.
About 32 minEnjoys Pantoliano as a high-energy 'that guy' whose frantic phone call bits are hilarious.
About 40 minCalls the score one of his favorites and integral to the movie's identity.
About 32 minViews the final 'next life' exchange and walk-away ending as one of the movie's great finishes.
About 56 minThe movie works because two mismatched men slowly develop grudging affection while still trading insults.
About 24 minThe hosts treat the movie as a master class in how to deploy curses for comic effect.
Opening minutesThey frame Midnight Run as a template for later buddy-cop and action-comedy movies that mostly failed to match it.
About 24 minThe film contains surprisingly tender father/daughter and ending moments that deepen the comedy.
About 32 minThe movie grossed over $80 million and was Gene Siskel's sixth-best film of 1988.
Opening minutesGrodin reportedly got permanent scars from the real handcuffs used on him.
About 48 minThe boxcar scene was largely improvised.
About 24 minDe Niro allegedly got so into the role that he actually punched John Ashton during a fight scene.
About 48 minThe script originally had Marvin die earlier, but the filmmakers kept him alive for the climax.
About 48 minThere were three TV-movie sequels with Christopher McDonald as Jack Walsh.
About 1:04Used as a benchmark for all-time profanity in comedy.
Opening minutesReferenced as an earlier template for buddy-cop chemistry and profanity.
Opening minutesUsed to describe the hardened, chain-smoking antihero archetype.
About 8 minDiscussed as the role De Niro reportedly wanted before taking Midnight Run instead.
About 16 minUsed as the later De Niro/Pacino showdown and career culmination point.
About 8 minMentioned as Martin Brest's earlier hit and as a source of actor comparisons.
About 8 minReferenced in the Robin Williams casting discussion.
About 40 minMentioned as part of Robin Williams' transition into more dramatic work.
About 40 minUsed as a benchmark for great two-hander chemistry.
About 40 minUsed as another chemistry comparison for Travolta and Jackson.
About 40 minCited as a later buddy-comedy franchise that captured some of the vibe.
About 24 minMentioned as a modern-ish film that balanced danger and comedy fairly well.
About 24 minUsed as the model for the 'one outfit movie' visual progression.
About 24 minBill frames the episode as a two-host passion-project installment rather than a mass-audience pick.
Opening minutesThey joke repeatedly about future Rewatchables seasons and absurdly delayed episodes.
Opening minutesThey joke that teenagers learn how to swear properly from movies like this.
Opening minutesThey keep returning to how many cigarettes De Niro must have smoked on set.
About 32 minThey repeatedly label small-role actors as classic 'that guys' and assign the Deion Waiters/Joey Pants treatment.
About 40 minBill imagines Walsh retiring to run a coffee shop after the movie ends.
About 56 min“Here come two words for you”About 56 min
“Shut the fuck up”About 56 min
“Everybody's telling me to go fuck myself!”About 40 min
“See you in the next life”About 56 min
“It's not a bribe, you already let me go”About 56 min
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before Midnight Run, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill SimmonsThe Rewatchables
Chris RyanThe RewatchablesREWATCH FAVS
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