Thoughts on Into the Night

via IMDB

"The police can't help me. I'm one of the bad guys."

Director John Landis was quite surprised when Into the Night failed at the box office. He didn't think he had done anything different in making the movie, written by Ron Koslow. It's true. 

Into the Night has elements from previous Landis movies, like an initially reserved person and their more spontaneous counterpart having to think on their feet (The Blues Brothers, occasionally Trading Places). There's constant chaos (Animal House, Blues Brothers again), resulting in many deaths (An American Werewolf in London). The actors are obligated to smooth over tonal inconsistencies. I didn't dislike Into the Night, but I did wonder what it would have looked like if directed by, say, Harold Ramis, Ivan Reitman or, on the other side of the coin, Michael Mann.

Ed Orkin (Jeff Goldblum), an insomniac with a dead end aerospace engineering job and a cheating wife, ends up in the wrong place at the right time. He saves former actress, model and mistress Diana (Michelle Pfeiffer) from four bumbling but lethal SAVAK agents (including Landis). They're after six perfect emeralds which Diana smuggled into America. It takes a while before Ed learns this and it takes longer for the relationships among all the people in the opening credits to be divulged.

"There has to be a catch. A ... a trick. I do not trust your plan."

"Well I think it's a very good plan. C'mon, time's running out. Escrow's closing."

"Did Jack Caper tell you that?"

"Yes, that's right. I'm Jack's son."

"His son!"

"Illegitimate, but some day it'll all be mine. You and I might be doing business, going out to lunch ... all right, okay, fine, I'm ... I'll tell you the truth. Diana's CIA, I'm on Her Majesty's Secret Service, we've got the place surrounded. ... I'm really from Immigration, we thought you might have some illegal aliens working around here."

"What are you playing at?"

"I apologize, I've been lying. I'm actually the chairman of the Committee to Reelect the President. I was hoping for a substantial contribution."

"You are mad."

"Now you don't know what to believe, do you?"

Goldblum and Pfeiffer are an appealing pair. Ed's everyman role doesn't get overpowered by his actor's individuality, and vice-versa. Goldblum also does some understated but effective work in depicting weariness. Pfeiffer's equally first-rate. I was impressed with her acting during the two big confession scenes, explaining the emeralds and later, the twists and turns of Diana's life. Overall, the character is played with a perfect balance of resourcefulness and vulnerability.

Landis received criticism for Into the Night's cameos from nearly 20 writers and directors. Honestly, though, it's not like any of them stop the movie cold. Shoot, the only one that might get a "Hey, that's ...!" response from a 2020 audience member is Jim Henson. That said, I think the movie should have taken a less is more approach with its ensemble. Quickly and in order ...

Dan Aykroyd is Herb, Ed's friend and coworker, who introduces the idea of an impromptu late night flight. Bruce McGill is Charlie, Diana's (gay?) Elvis impersonator brother who's tired of her shit. Kathryn Harrold is Christie, a doomed friend of Diana's and Paul Mazursky is Bud, her producer boyfriend. Carl Perkins is Mr. Williams, another doomed individual. David Bowie is Colin Morris, a henchman. Roger Vadim is Monsieur Melville, who also wants the stones. Richard Farnsworth and Vera Miles are the estranged Jack and Joan Caper. Irene Papas is developer Shaheen Parvici. Clu Gulager is a no nonsense federal agent.

Into the Night is a movie where the whole is less than the sum of its parts. But, oh, what parts! Individual sequences are impressive, like when Ed searches Hamid's apartment as Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein plays on multiple TVs. There's also the top notch stars and the sense of some meaning trying to emerge from the mayhem.

"This is ridiculous. You ... You're a big shot, huh? You got a gun. Now what, shithead? You. Huh? Maniac. ... Let me ask you something. Maybe you can help me. What's wrong with my life? Why is my wife sleeping with someone else? Why can't I sleep?"

Recommended with reservations.

Thoughts:

-- Box Office: Grossing over $7.5 million, this opened wide at No. 5 and came in at No. 102 for 1985.

-- Critic's Corner: "Fitfully funny, aimless, unnecessary," Roger Ebert wrote. A little bit was funny, according to Vincent Canby. A lot was grotesque and the whole movie felt like it was meant to entertain moviemakers rather than the public. Roger liked Jeff ("the wonderful actor"), Vincent liked Michelle ("so beautiful ... has the potential for being a fine comedienne.").

-- Musical Moments: The score is 6-4, with original songs still beating oldies. Into the Night's three memorable selections were all sung and composed or arranged by Ira Newborn. The choice oldie is "In the Midnight Hour," which plays over the end credits. The newbies are "Into the Night" and "My Lucille." I prefer the former, but the latter does have a fun, star-studded video.

-- Fanservice Junction?: Diana changes at Charlie's and Ed catches a glimpse of her naked body. This happens at the same time he's looking through an album including photos of Pfeiffer as a little girl. I'm fascinated by this juxtaposition. Was it meant to mitigate any titillation? How would the scene have played if first choice Jamie Lee Curtis, who'd already done a nude scene, played Diana? What about if Ed was played by an older actor like Jack Nicholson or Gene Hackman, as intended?

-- Fanservice Junction: There's less ambiguity with the scene between Jake Steinfeld and Sue Bowser. She shows her boobs, he shows his black briefs. See also, Peggy McIntaggart (then Sands) as the topless "Shameless Woman" who finished having sex in a bathroom stall with Don Siegel. Finally, Christie wears a one-piece swimsuit as part of her TV role as "Miss North America."

-- Bud being reminded by police that he's on probation for cocaine possession, along with the fact he's a producer, makes me wonder if Landis considered casting Robert Evans. 

-- Hey, It's the Mid-'80s!: Landis' SAVAK agent is reading the April 1984 edition of GQ, with Jeremy Irons and "Bold New Clothes" on the cover. I'm grateful it's not the May edition, with Donald Trump and "Success; How Sweet It Is; Men Who Take Risks and Make Millions." The airport finale was evidently filmed in July 1984, as Bo Derek's on the cover of Playboy.

-- I'm going to estimate the movie takes place over approximately 80 hours. For no reason other than it's orderly, let's say the opening plane landing is occurring at midnight. Ed's adventure begins at about 11:35 p.m. that evening, according to the clock in his bedroom. The cops later tell him that he's outside the Beverly Wilshire at almost 3:30 a.m. Bud and Christie return to their home at 7:30 a.m., Ed and Diana hide in the tunnel on Jack's grounds from 12-9 p.m. and the ill-fated flight to Mexico City boards at 11:30 p.m. I figure Jack and Diana settled at the Ramada about midnight, he slept for at least 32 hours total and the last scene takes place at roughly 8 a.m.

-- "Can I have a ride to the airport?"

-- Next: The Sure Thing. On deck: Dance with a Stranger.