Happy Birthday, Nicolas Cage. If you’re an older Millennial or Young Gen X, you saw “Raising Arizona” about 100 times on Showtime and HBO because I believe that it was very inexpensive to license. The film was a hard left turn for the Coen Brothers who had major success with “Blood Simple” – a brutal thriller- that turned all women off to Fat Southern Murderers forever. The Coen thrillers tended to have comedic edge after Raising Arizona, but never just a comedy again- until The Big Lebowski. This film is also responsible for John Goodman. Prior to this film he was in mostly small parts, then after this picture- he became a household name in Roseanne.
Nicolas Cage is a made up name. He is Francis Coppola’s nephew and I can’t fault him for mayonnaising his name because my Italian ancestors did as well. However, I believe that he was trying to hide the Coppola name more than his heritage. Speaking of Italian heritage, try “Groking” “Italian American Jersey Girl” in grok. The lady who appears is beautiful, but doesn’t look like any of my Aunts. I feel that I should advocate for my people- We trend good looking and gave you Pizza Friday! Come on, show some love!
The film’s premise is that H.I. McDonnough (Nicolas Cage) is an ex con who is addicted to robbing the same convenience store again and again and again. This may seem strange, but in another life, I did criminal defense and I had a client who would steal the same jacket from the same store every year. Edwina “Ed” (Holly Hunter) is a cop who processes H.I. again and again. Each time, he flirts with her. His last time as a convict in front of her- her fiancé left her. H.I. realizes that he must go straight to get her love.
After his jail time, he returns as a free man to get his love- “Ed”. It works! They have a great life, but they want a child and yet she can’t conceive. The solution: they will kidnap a baby from the owner of Gallery Furniture! If you were from Texas, you would’ve laughed! They get the kid and are pursued by all sorts of people who want to claim the reward for the kidnapped baby.
This very intricate plot is just the first 30 minutes of the film. It is truly funny. I always felt for these character because good people should have LOTS OF KIDS- as many as possible! They shouldn’t have to pay taxes or anything. This film is special to me for another reason: it is when the Boomers were still young and filled with hope. Now, we are losing them and it hurts. This film is a glimpse of what they were like before the grey and how much they yearned for a good family on their own terms.
As much as I enjoy writing about movies and talking about movies, I make a living by helping people with their annual income tax filings. That means from around January 15th through April 15th each year, almost every waking hour is spent focused on tax return preparation. While I’m working on these tax returns, I will often play movies or TV shows on one of my computer screens. These aren’t just any movies, though. These are movies or TV shows that make me feel good and help me relax while I’m working so many hours. Over the years, I’ve used movies like THE OTHER GUYS, THE HANGOVER, and ZOMBIELAND. A few years ago, THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW was on Prime, and I watched the entire 8 seasons through 3 times during tax season. One genre I hit hard this time of year is romantic films, both comedies and dramas. The main thing I’m looking for is happy endings. My favorite romantic films include NOTTING HILL, RETURN TO ME, HITCH, YOU’VE GOT MAIL, PERSUASION & SENSE AND SENSIBILITY. As a big fan of Nicolas Cage, IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU, Cage’s 1994 romantic comedy with Bridget Fonda has joined that list over the years as well. Since today, January 7th, 2025, is Nicolas Cage’s 61st birthday, and tax season is coming, I thought I’d write about this charming film!
IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU revolves around Charlie Lang (Nicolas Cage), a New York City cop who seems like an all-around good guy. One day he’s having coffee at a local diner with his partner Bo (Wendell Pierce), when they get a police call. Charlie finds himself without the money to give a proper tip to his waitress, Yvonne (Bridget Fonda), so he improvises on the spot and tells her he has a lottery ticket to be drawn on that very same night. Further, he goes on to tell her if he wins, he’ll split the winnings with her as a tip. The two cops head on out, Charlie happy that he gave her something, and Yvonne, who’s not having a good day anyway, just shakes it off knowing that it’s just another small tip she missed out on. But wouldn’t you know it, on this night the stars all align and Charlie’s number is drawn as a winner. Charlie and his wife Muriel (Rosie Perez) are ecstatic with their win, which amounts to around $4 million. In the middle of their celebration, Charlie remembers his promise to Yvonne and tells Muriel. To say she’s upset is an understatement, and she begs him to stiff the waitress. Charlie is just too honest for that, so he is able to convince Muriel that $2 Million is enough for them to live comfortably on. She begrudgingly agrees, but the fuse has been lit between Charlie and Muriel. The next day, Charlie goes back to the diner and tells Yvonne that they won. At first not believing it’s true, Charlie is able to convince Yvonne that he’s honoring his tip by giving her half of the winnings. We have found out that Yvonne is having severe financial problems, and this “tip” comes as a completely unexpected answer to her prayers. Alls well that ends well, right? As we all know, money can bring out the very best or the very worst in people and we see that play out throughout the rest of the movie. I’ll just put it this way, as Charlie and Muriel grow apart with their newfound money, Charlie and Yvonne grow closer together, bound by this amazing experience.
It’s all a pretty crazy setup, but IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU is a movie that I relate to idealistically. I really like Cage and Fonda in their roles. I’d love to be as honest and likable as Nicolas Cage’s character Charlie Lang. He is just a good guy, way down deep. I want to be that kind of guy. And Bridget Fonda’s character Yvonne is also very appealing. She’s presented as a lady going through a lot of personal issues, but who somehow seems to always show a kind and compassionate spirit to everyone around her, especially to others who are struggling. The scene where Charlie convinces her that he really is giving her half the money is quite an uplifting scene. Both of these characters have an honesty and attitude about life that resonates with me. Some people might argue that their characters should have more depth to make them more realistic and less one-dimensional, and they might be right, but I personally enjoy seeing them as just really honest and kind people.
It should also be pointed out that you have to be able suspend your disbelief to enjoy IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU. If your movies “have” to be realistic, this is not the movie for you. The entire premise is a fairytale, and the movie should be seen as such. For the movie to work, the good guys have to be really good guys, and the bad guys have to be really bad guys. I’ve mentioned earlier how kind both Charlie and Yvonne are throughout the film, with the money not changing their attitudes about life in any way. If anything, the money allows them to be even more kind and generous to others. Well, money has had the exact opposite effect on Muriel, and we soon learn that $2 Million isn’t enough for her and that the full $4 Million would not have been enough either. At this point, I’m not sure $100 Million would have been enough. In our fairytale story, she can’t be presented as a lady realistically struggling with her husband’s overly generous tip, she has to be presented as extremely selfish and cruel. I mean, how else is the story going to get Charlie and Yvonne together?!
All in all, IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU works for me. I’ve said many times I’m a sucker for a good romance, and this film fits the bill for me. The main characters warm my heart as they are decent, kind and honest. I like a good fairytale. It’s one of the main reasons I enjoy the movies, and it doesn’t seem like we get enough good fairytales these days.
Check out the trailer for IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU below!
And if you’re looking for more awesome information about Nicolas Cage, check out John Rieber’s latest post where he celebrates Cage’s birthday with a movie marathon!
2013’s Bonnie and Clyde: Justified opens with a long-haired Eric Roberts introducing himself as legendary Texas Ranger Frank Hamer. Speaking straight to the camera, Roberts-as-Hamer warns us against idolizing the notorious Depression-era outlaws Bonnie and Clyde. They were murderers!, Hamer tells us with all the fervor of a tent revival preacher.
We then flashback to Bonnie (Ashley Hayes) and Clyde (Jim Poole) driving down a country road. Clyde is behind the wheel. Bonnie, a redhead like me!, reads aloud her latest poem about what it’s like to be a notorious outlaw. Suddenly, Hamer and his men appear on the roadside and open fire.
We then start yet another flashback. 15 year-old Bonnie marries good-for-nothing Roy (Julian Brand) while Clyde and his brother Buck (Hagen Mills) steal a truck full of turkeys. Jump forward to 1929 and Bonnie is unhappily married and working in a diner that we’re told is in Dallas, Texas. Oddly enough, there’s a lot of mountains in the background. I live in North Texas and I can assure you that, as much as things have changed here over the past few years, one thing has always remained the same. There are no mountains in Dallas County.
Eventually, Bonnie meets Clyde, they fall in love, and they rob banks. At least, that’s what we’re told. The majority of the film is told through sepia-toned still shots and newspaper headlines. Clyde attempts to escape from prison but we don’t actually see him do it. Instead, we just see a headline. Bonnie and Clyde rob banks but, again, we don’t really see it as much as we hear about it. Even when people die during the robberies, we don’t really learn the exact circumstances that led to Clyde opening fire. Ashley Hayes actually gives a good performance as Bonnie and her scrappy interpretation of the character is probably closer to the truth than Faye Dunaway’s. As for Jim Poole, he’s much better-looking than the real Clyde Barrow and that’s a good thing. Who wants to watch an ugly bank robber? There’s a reason why my distant-relation Pretty Boy Floyd remains a legend. As for the title, you may be wondering what exactly was justified about Bonnie and Clyde. You can argue that they were justified in doing what they had to do in order to survive during the Great Depression. Or you can argue that Frank Hamer was justified in ambushing them. Or you can assume the film was trying to appeal to (or perhaps just tricks) fans of the Justified television series. Or you can just not worry about it.
This is the story of Bonnie and Clyde on a budget. It came out in 2013, presumably to coincide with a 4-hour Bonnie and Clyde miniseries that was airing on A&E at the time. To be honest, you have to respect the nerve of a film about Bonnie and Clyde that doesn’t actually feature much of them doing what they were famous for. Cheers to director David DeCoteau for sticking with it and giving Eric Roberts top-billing for a cameo appearance. And cheers to Eric Roberts for just being Eric Roberts.
Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:
First released in 1977, The Great Smokey Roadblock tells the story of Elegant John Howard (Henry Fonda).
Elegant is not really his first name. It’s a nickname, one to let us know that, in the world of independent truckers, John Howard was one of the good guys. He never crashed his rig. He never overcharged for a job. He always arrived on time and in good shape. John Howard was a good man but then he turned 60 and he got sick. He spent months in the hospital, unable to work. His truck was repossessed. The movie starts with John sneaking out of his hospital room, stealing back his truck, and hitting the road in search of one final job. Though John says he just wants to make enough money to get his truck back, the truth is that John is terminally ill. If he’s going to die, he wants to die doing what he loves. Of course, dying while driving could lead to some trouble for anyone else who happens to be on the road at the time but still, you have to respect John’s determination. He’s a true American, independent to his core.
(My Dad occasionally made a living driving a truck so perhaps that’s why I’m partial to films like this one.)
John picks up a hitchhiker, a religious young man named Beebo Crozier (Robert Englund). John picks Beebo up because Beebo was walking through the desert in a suit. Beebo claims that he’s walking to Florida but John tells him that he can’t do that. John will drive Beebo to Florida. Of course, John also expects Beebo to pay for the gas that his truck uses because it’s not like John has any money. At first, Beebo accuses John of cheating him. (Henry Fonda cheating someone!? Perish the thought!) Soon, however, John has become Beebo’s mentor.
Everyone respects John but no one wants to hire him. The only offer that John gets is from sleazy Charlie Le Pere (Gary Sandy), who has an agenda of his own. Finally, John visits his old friend, Penelope (Eileen Brennan). Penelope is a madam whose brothel has just been closed down. John agrees to transport Penelope and her girls (including Susan Sarandon) to a new location on the East Coast. Penelope offers to help John pay the bills. Elegant John’s a pimp now! (I was about to say that this seemed like an odd turn-of-events for Henry Fonda but then I remembered that he starred in The Cheyenne Social Club with Jimmy Stewart.)
There’s not really much of a plot to The Great Smokey Roadblock. John, Beebo, Penelope, and the girls travel from one location to another. They get thrown in jail by a notoriously corrupt deputy named Harley Davidson (Dub Taylor). After they escape, they become minor celebrities. Two counterculture journalists (played by Austin Pendleton and John Byner) show up and help them broadcast their story and the film comes to a halt while Pendleton and Byner exchange what sounds like improvised dialogue. The police attempt to set up a roadblock to stop Elegant John and his Six Mystery Women. I guess that’s the Great Smokey Roadblock of the title.
It’s a weird movie, in that the humor is extremely broad and often crude but Henry Fonda is playing a man who is not only terminally ill but who actually looks like he’s terminally ill. (Henry Fonda himself was reportedly very ill during the filming of The Great Smokey Roadblock.) As such, it’s a rather melancholy comedy, one in which every joke seems like it might be the last one that Elegant John will ever hear. In the 70s, not even a trucker comedy could have a happy ending and, as such, The Great Smokey Roadblock feels like a drive-in film for the existential set. The film’s plot doesn’t really add up to much and is full of plot holes that serve as evidence of a troubled production. That said, there’s something rather charming about seeing a pre-Nightmare On Elm Street Robert Englund playing a gentle guy who ends up as Henry Fonda’s protegee. Fonda and Englund play off each other well and their scenes together are the best thing about The Great Smokey Roadblock.
Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Mondays, I will be reviewing CHiPs, which ran on NBC from 1977 to 1983. The entire show is currently streaming on Prime!
This week, Ponch and Jon go to the beach!
Episode 3.3 “Valley Go Home!”
(Dir by Barry Crane, originally aired September 29th, 1979)
There’s been a string of thefts at the beach. Someone is stealing radios out of cars and then making a fast getaway. Somehow, this thief is able to blend in so well with everyone else that no one even notices him breaking into the cars until it’s too late. Jon and Ponch have been assigned to patrol the beach and keep the radios safe.
Of course, Jon and Ponch don’t just worry about radio thieves. When two women lose control of their car while towing a sailboat, Jon and Ponch are there to not only help them stop the car but also to ask them out on a windsurfing date. (Every episodes of CHiPs found a way to promote the so-called “California lifestyle.” It was probably one of the most effective tourism commercials ever filmed. I don’t even swim and this episode still made me want to go wind surfing.) They also get involved in the rivalry between three local white surfers and a group of Latino teenagers from the Valley. Both groups drive Chevy vans with ornate decals. One gets the feeling that the blonde surfers call their van the “Second Base Mobile.”
This is an episode of CHiPs that takes place at the beach so you’ve probably already guessed that it doesn’t take long for Ponch to find an excuse to put on a speedo. Baker and Ponch not only work together but they also hang out together. On the show, they’re best friends. (Behind-the-scene, Larry Wilcox and Erik Estrada were not quite so close.) They spend a lot of time at the beach, eating ice cream. Baker wears modest swim trunks. Ponch walks around in his speedo and shows off his dazzling smile. One gets the feeling that, if this episode had been made in 1999 instead of 1979, Ponch would have been handing out AOL CDs to everyone he met and saying, “When you sign up, I get fifteen free minutes to talk to you.”
Ponch has a theory that the radio thief is disguising himself as someone who works at the beach. (Needless to say, Ponch comes up with the theory while Baker agrees because, on CHiPs, everything was much pretty much about Ponch.) Ponch suspects that the thief might be the local ice cream man. Ponch and Baker eat a lot of ice cream in this episode. Eventually, it turns out to be the local trash collector. The ice cream man is off the hook!
As far as the surfers and the Valley kids are concerned, it all works out. Of course, it works out in the most dangerous way possible, with the surfers and the Valley kids chasing each other in their vans and both crashing their vehicles. After 48 hours in jail, all of them are back on the beach. The surfers agree to teach the Valley kids how to handle a board. The Valley kids agree to take the surfers to Mexico. Ponch and Jon have a good laugh before going windsurfing. How can you not love California?
This was a pretty silly episode but the beach scenery was nice. It’s hard for me to not enjoy a show that features not one but two vans. All hail the 70s!
“The boldest book of our time,” shouts the poster art for 1953’s From Here To Eternity, “honestly, fearlessly brought to the screen!”
And indeed, James Jones’s novel was brought to the screen about as boldly as a studio film could be brought in 1953. The book told the story of several soldiers in the days immediately before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Production Code was still in effect and, as a result, a few changes were made to the film’s plot. Donna Reed played Lorene, a character who is described as being a “hostess” at social club but who, in the book, worked at a brothel that was popular with the soldiers from a nearby army base. In the book, an unfaithful husband gives his wife a venereal disease that leads to her getting a hysterectomy. In the movie, Karen’s (Deborah Kerr) hysterectomy was the result of a miscarriage that occurred after she discovered her husband was being unfaithful. The book was critical of the Army and featured officers who faced no consequences for their actions. The movie definitely presents the enlisted men as being at the mercy of officers but the worst of the officers is ultimately disciplined. The movie was made with the cooperation of the U.S. Army and, as a result, the film’s villains — like Captain Holmes (Philip Ober) and the monstrous Fatso Judson (Ernest Borgnine) — were portrayed as being aberrations who did not represent the Army as a whole. That said, the film version of From Here To Eternity is still a powerful, moving, and daring film. What couldn’t be shown on screen is still suggested. One might not see the specifics of what Fatso Judson does to Maggio (Frank Sinatra) in the stockade but it’s not difficult to figure out.
The film follows one company of soldiers as they laugh, fight, and fall in love while stationed in Hawaii. They spend time training for a war that most of them think will never come. Captain Holmes is more concerned with his regimental boxing team than the prospect of going to war and is confused when Private Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) refuses to stop back into the ring. Prewitt, who takes pride in his ability as a bugler, quit boxing after he blinded an opponent in the ring but Holmes doesn’t care. Holmes wants another trophy for his office. He orders Sgt. Warden (Burt Lancaster) to make life Hell for Prewitt until Prewitt agrees to box. Warden, who has seen a lot of officers come and go and who has been tempted to become an non-commissioned officer himself, is having an affair with Holmes’s wife, Karen. Meanwhile, Prewitt and his friend Maggio spend their time looking forward to the weekends they’re allowed to spend off the base. Prewitt has fallen in love with Lenore but, as with all the men in From Here To Eternity, Prewitt’s true love is for the army. Even with Holmes pressuring him to box, Prewitt’s loyalty is to the men with whom he serves. There’s a lot of drama, a lot of death, and a lot of romance. This is the film in which Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr make out on the beach while the tide rolls in. But, when Pearl Harbor is attacked, all of the drama and all of the romance is forgotten as America goes to war.
From Here To Eternity is one of the best films of the 1950s and certainly one of the more worthy winners for Best Picture. Intelligently directed, wonderfully acted, deliriously romantic, and finally rather sad, it’s a film that embraces the melodrama without ever hitting a false note. Burt Lancaster’s rugged weariness, Montgomery Clift’s method sensitivity, Frank Sinatra’s naturalism, Ernest Borgnine’s crudeness, Deborah Kerr’s classiness, and Donna Reed’s earnestness all come together to create a film in which the characters feel real and alive. Warden, Prewitt, Lenore, Karen, and Maggio are all interesting, multi-faceted people, trying to find some sort of happiness in the shadow of an inevitable war. The viewer may sometimes have mixed feelings about their actions (and Borgnine’s Judson is one of the most loathsome roles that the normally likable Borgnine ever played) but you never cease to care about them and their stories. With all of the characters and the affairs and the secrets, From Here To Eternity can feel like a soap opera but it’s also a portrait of a world that is on the verge of changing forever.
A few years ago, I attended a screening of From Here To Eternity at the Dallas Angelika. This is a film that definitely deserves to be seen on the big screen. From the famous scene on the beach to the attack on Pearl Harbor to the tragic final moments, this is a big movie that deals with big emotions and big moments. It’s one of the best.
Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Mondays, I will be reviewing Miami Vice, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989. The entire show can be purchased on Prime!
This week, Miami Vice says goodbye to a friend.
Episode 3.12 “Down For The Count: Part One”
(Dir by Richard Compton, originally aired on January 9th, 1987)
Larry Zito finally gets his own episode!
Played by John Diehl, Larry Zito was a part of the show from the very beginning. Occasionally, it’s easy to forget that Diehl was a part of the ensemble because his character was rarely given anything to do and we rarely learned that much about Zito. He was Switek’s partner and he seemed to have a quirky sense of humor. Occasionally, he had long hair and a beard and he seemed to enjoy wearing elaborate disguises while working undercover. That said, Zito was always a bit of an enigma. Even the rare episodes that centered on the Switek/Zito partnership seemed to feature Zito mostly in the background.
In this episode, though, we finally learn a bit about Zito. We learn that he has a background as a boxer and he’s good at training other fighters. We learn that he takes it seriously whenever he hears about a crooked promoter manipulating a boxer. We learn that Zito is a recovering alcoholic. In this episode, we learn that Zito is more than just goofy comic relief. He’s got a heart as gold. When the Vice Squad investigates a crooked promoter named Guzman (Pepe Serna), Zito takes it upon himself to train an up-and-coming boxer named Bobby Sykes (Mark Breland). Bobby’s previous trainer (played by Randall “Tex” Cobb) was a friend of Zito’s and was murdered by Guzman. For Zito, this case is personal. He even helps Bobby win a championship. Yay, Zito! That’s not bad for a supporting character!
Unfortunately, this also leads to Zito dying. After the fight, Zito is confronted by Guzman and his men. Switek later finds Zito’s body in the gym with a hypodermic needle sticking out of his arm. Guzman gave Zito a fatal overdose of heroin.
This really depressed me! I mean, Zito finally gets a chance to handle a serious case and, even more importantly, John Diehl finally gets a chance to show off the fact that he’s a very good actor and then, at the end of the episode, Zito’s dead! Poor Zito!
(From what I’ve read, John Diehl wanted off the show because he felt his role was underwritten and he also preferred doing theater to weekly television. That’s understandable. At least he got one turn in the spotlight before he was written off the show.)
Needless to say, this episode is dominated by the death of Zito. The scene with a tearful Switek cradling Zito’s dead body makes such an impression that it’s easy to forget that this episode also featured the odd spectacle of Don King playing Mr. Cash, an ex-con turned honest fight promoter who disapproves of Guzman’s tactics. Somehow, Don King being the voice of integrity makes sense in the topsy-turvy world of Miami Vice. King says that Guzman is in Miami because it’s a brand new territory and a place where anyone can make it rich. That’s been one of the recurring themes of this show since it began. Anything can happen in Miami. Including Larry Zito dying….
Give me a moment to wipe away the tears. Seriously, the end of this episode really depressed me!
Next week, Switek is out for revenge. I hope he gets it!
Since we’re in a Back to the Future sort of mood at the site today, today’s song of the day is an obvious one. Here is The Power of Love, by Huey Lewis and the News!
The power of love is a curious thing Make a one man weep, make another man sing Change a hawk to a little white dove More than a feeling, that’s the power of love
Tougher than diamonds, rich like cream Stronger and harder than a bad girl’s dream Make a bad one good, mm, make a wrong one right Power of love that keep you home at night
You don’t need money, don’t take fame Don’t need no credit card to ride this train It’s strong and it’s sudden, and it’s cruel sometimes But it might just save your life That’s the power of love That’s the power of love
First time you feel it, it might make you sad Next time you feel it, it might make you mad But you’ll be glad, baby, when you’ve found That’s the power makes the world go ’round
And it don’t take money, don’t take fame Don’t need no credit card to ride this train It’s strong and it’s sudden, it can be cruel sometimes But it might just save your life
They say that all in love is fair Yeah, but you don’t care (ooh) But you know what to do (what to do) When it gets hold of you And with a little help from above You feel the power of love You feel the power of love Can you feel it? Hm-hm
It don’t take money, and it don’t take fame Don’t need no credit card to ride this train Tougher than diamonds and stronger than steel But you won’t feel nothin’ ’til you feel
You feel the power, just feel the power of love That’s the power, mm, that’s the power of love You feel the power of love You feel the power of love Feel the power of love
Songwriters: Huey Lewis / John Victor Colla / Christopher John Hayes
Directed by Martin Scorsese, 1985’s After Hours opens in an office. This isn’t the type of office that one might expect a Scorsese movie to open with. It’s not a wild, hedonistic playground like the office in The Wolf of Wall Street. Nor is it a place where an aging man with connections keeps his eye on the business for his friends back home, like Ace Rothstein’s office in Casino. Instead, it’s a boring and anonymous office, one that is full of boring and anonymous people. Scorsese’s camera moves around the office almost frantically, as if it’s as trapped as the people who work there.
Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) works in the office, at a job that bores him but presumably pays him enough to live in New York. Paul is not a typical Scorsese protagonist. He’s not a fast-talker or a fearsome fighter. He’s not an artist consumed by his own passion or an amoral figure eager to tell his own story. Instead, he’s just a guy who wears a tie to work and who spends his day doing data entry. He’s a New Yorker but he doesn’t seem to really know the city. (He certainly doesn’t know how much it costs to ride the subway.) He stays in his protected world, even though it doesn’t seem satisfy him. Paul Hackett is not Travis Bickle. Instead, Paul is one of the guys who would get into Travis’s cab and, after spending the drive listening to Travis talk about how a storm needs to wash away all of New York’s sin, swear that he will never again take another taxi in New York.
One day, after work, Paul has a chance meeting with a seemingly shy woman named Marcy (Rosanna Arquette). Marcy lives in SoHo, with an artist named Kiki (Linda Fiorentino) who sells plaster-of-Paris paperweights that are made to look like bagels. Marcy gives Paul her number and eventually, Paul ends up traveling to SoHo. He takes a taxi and, while the driver is not Travis Bickle, he’s still not amused when Paul’s last twenty dollar bill blows out the window of the cab.
Paul’s trip to SoHo doesn’t goes as he planned. Kiki is not impressed with him. Marcy tells him disturbing stories that may or may not be true while a search through the apartment (not cool, Paul!) leads Paul to suspect that Marcy might have disfiguring burn scars. Paul decides to end the date but he then discovers that he doesn’t have enough change on him to take the subway home. As Paul attempts to escape SoHo, he meets a collection of strange people and finds himself being hunted by a mob that is convinced that he’s a burglar. Teri Garr plays a sinister waitress with a beehive hairdo and an apartment that is full of mousetraps. Catherine O’Hara chases Paul in an ice cream truck. Cheech and Chong play two burglars who randomly show up through the film. John Heard plays a bartender who appears to be helpful but who also has his own connection to Marcy. Even Martin Scorsese appears, holding a spotlight while a bunch of punks attempt to forcibly give Paul a mohawk. The more that Paul attempts to escape SoHo, the more trapped he becomes.
Martin Scorsese directed After Hours at a time when he was still struggling to get his adaptation of The Last Temptation of Christ into production. If Paul feels trapped by SoHo, Scorsese felt trapped by Hollywood. After Hours is one of the most nightmarish comedies ever made. It’s easy to laugh at Paul desperately hiding in the shadows from Catherine O’Hara driving an ice cream truck but, at the same time, it’s impossible not to relate to Paul’s horror as he continually finds himself returning again and again to the same ominous locations. In many scenes, he resembles a man being hunted by torch-wielding villagers in an old Universal horror film, running through the shadows while villager after villager takes to the streets. Paul’s a stranger in a strange part of the city and he has absolutely no way to get home. I think everyone’s had that dream at least once.
Paul is not written to be a particularly deep character. He’s just a somewhat shallow office drone who wanted to get laid and now just wants to go home. Fortunately, he’s played by Griffin Dunne, who is likable enough that the viewer is willing to stick with Paul even after Paul makes some very questionable decisions and does a few things that make him a bit less than sympathetic. Dunne and John Heard keep the film grounded in reality, which allows Rosanne Arquette, Linda Fiorentino, Catherine O’Hara, and especially Teri Garr to totally play up the bizarre quirks of their character. Teri Garr especially does a good job in this film, revealing a rather frightening side of the type of quirky eccentric that she usually played.
Scorsese’s sense of humor has been evident in almost all of his films but he still doesn’t get enough credit for his ability to direct comedy. (One need only compare After Hours to one of Brian De Palma’s “comedies” to see just how adroitly Scorsese mixes laughs and horror.) After Hours is one of Scorsese’s more underrated films and it’s one that everyone should see. After Hours is a comedy of anxiety. I laughed while I watched it, even while my heart was racing.
Through the Shattered Lens 