Chuck Lumley (Henry Winkler) was a Wall Street wizard until the stress of the job started to give him ulcers.  He dropped out of the rat race, got a less stressful job as an attendant at a New York City morgue, and eventually met and became engaged to Charlotte (Gina Hecht).  When Chuck’s supervisor decides to give Chuck’s day shift to his new guy, Chuck is promoted to the night shift.  “He has the same last name as you,” Chuck says when he learns the about the new employee.  “Yeah, I think he’s my nephew or something,” his supervisor replies.

Chuck finds himself working nights with “Billy Blaze” Blazejowski (Michael Keaton), a hyperactive “idea man,” who has so many brilliant plans that he has to carry around a tape recorder so he doesn’t forget them.  A typical Billy Blaze idea is to battle litter by creating edible paper.  Another one is to rent out the hearse as a limo and give rides to teenagers.  Chuck may not be happy about his new shift or coworker but he is happy that he shares his new work schedule with his upstairs neighbor, Belinda Keaton (Shelley Long).  Belinda is a high-class prostitute who first meets Chuck when she comes by the morgue to identify the body of her pimp.  When Chuck discovers that Belinda needs a new pimp, he and Billy take on the job themselves, which brings them into conflict with not only the vice cops but also with Pig (Richard Belzer) and Mustafa (Grand L. Bush).

Raunchy but good-hearted, Night Shift has always been one of my favorite comedies.  Along with being Ron Howard’s first movie for grown-ups, it also featured Michael Keaton in his first lead role.  Keaton is both funny and surprisingly poignant as Billy.  He’s hyperactive and impulsive and doesn’t think things through but his friendship with Chuck is real and later on in the movie, he reveals himself to have more depth than he lets on.  Also giving good performances are Henry Winkler and Shelley Long, two performers better-known for their television work than their film roles.  With his role here, Winkler proved that he was capable of playing more than just the Fonz.  Shelley Long has probably never been better (or sexier) than she was in this film.  The scene where she makes breakfast for Chuck is unforgettable.  Even though she’s playing a stock character, the prostitute with a heart of gold, Shelley Long brings her own unique charm to the role and makes Belinda seem like a real person.

Night Shift starts out strong but falters slightly during its second hour, when Chuck and Billy seem to magically go from being nerdy morgue attendants to successful pimps overnight.  Some of the violence feels out-of-place in what is essentially a buddy comedy with a dash of romance.  It’s still a funny movie that is full of memorable one liners and good performances.  As you might expect from Ron Howard, Night Shift is a surprisingly good-hearted look at the business of sex.  Ron Howard has directed a lot of films since but few of them are as much fun as Night Shift.