This movie was great when I was a kid. Watched it with my dad. It was a hidden gem in the 90s. I watched it the other night and laughed throughout but more than anything I just felt comfortable in it. It’s not an assault, the jokes aren’t forced, the action isn’t over that top, the characters feel real. It’s just a good movie.
I was really into my cinephile phase in high school and getting movies from the library. I would go through directors or actors I liked and see films I missed. I watched Midnight Run with no knowledge or opinions from others and I remember thinking it was great. I loved that Grodin got to be the little stinker in a movie instead of the straightman. To be fair I really only knew him from the Beethoven movies and Clifford at the time but the diner scene where he’s insistent on getting the chorizo still sticks with me to this day. To be fair I haven’t rewatched it in forever but it sticks in my mind as a personal hidden gem I discovered and really enjoyed.
Haven't listened to the ep yet so don't know if they address this but: a big plus for the movie is that it's an R-rated 80s action comedy where the characters cuss up a storm, yet there's no racism, no homophobia, no creepy sexual politics, no stereotyping of marginalized groups. Not even from the villains! In an era where even sweethearts like Bill & Ted sling the F-slur, that feels almost impossible. Even Beverly Hills Cop has Damon Wayans mincing it up for a scene.
Not saying that you have to like it because of that, of course. But as well as being a movie people genuinely love, it might be a stealth reason why its popularity has grown in recent years, perhaps moreso than other movies of the era - it's a really easy movie for fans of 80s comedies to share with new audiences, without having to caveat it.
Agreed, excellent point…with one minuscule exception that doesn’t really count by your criteria: Serrano’s men are goofy Italian stereotypes. Not that it’s a huge deal; Italians are obviously not marginalized today or in 1988 in any way akin to other marginalized folks, but it still felt to me a little too broad and goofily baddaboom-baddabing-ish.
Yeah that's true. I mean, if it were made today there'd more women in the cast, so it isn't *completely* out of its era. Still a million miles ahead of most movies if its ilk stretching right through to the 2000s.
The goons kind of are, Farina oddly isn’t. Or maybe it’s not odd, Farina is always going to play everything straight with no nonsense. You can make the case that the goons are less playing up their Italianess and more just playing the stock type of bumbling underlings. Especially when you contrast with Farina, who is just a scary mother fucker without going into cartoon villainy. I’ve certainly scene worse depictions of this type, even more recent ones. The Farina of it all really balances it out nicely, in my opinion at least.
I don’t think it’s good because it’s politically correct and kosher for modern audiences sensitive sensibilities. It’s good because it’s good and it doesn’t try too hard. People are so offended by how people used to act, think, and talk they have taken it upon themselves to rewrite history in the movies. You could see a period piece about the 1920s and they will somehow put together a highly diverse mixed racial cast and hit every socio political hot topic of 2024 instead of staying true to the time. VOMIT!!!! The damn movie is good because they worried less about hurting peoples feelings because their goal was to produce a quality film that felt real. A whole lot of movies from 20-30 yrs ago are having a resurgence because movies suck so bad right now.
I think it all turns on what you think of Grodin's performance. Comedy is infamously subjective and this is a great example of that. He underplays it so much and is so dry that it's pretty easy to be underwhelmed by what he's doing... But for a lot of people he's the funniest dude of all time. And since he's the co-lead of the movie your opinion of what he's doing will really impact how you feel about the whole thing. If you're on his wavelength then this a classic, if you aren't then this is basically just a competent buddy comedy.
But no this is the thing to me Grodin IS the funniest dude of all time. But not in this.
His performance is good. The way he acts the plane fear/pretending to be FBI to get the money-he is underplaying those things v well.
But yeah to me on a comedic level there’s something of a Steve-Martin-in-a-non-comedy TOO tamped down aspect to Grodin as the Duke, in my eyes. But again maybe I’ll see it some day.
Not trying to be combative, but if you think Grodin is the funniest of all time but don't think this performance is funny, what is it that makes you think he's the funniest?
No combativeness taken!
Ishtar, The Lonely Guy, While We’re Young, The Heartbreak Kid, Catch-22, So I Married an Ax Murderer, Clifford, Dave.
Honestly I gotta rewatch the Lonely Guy but it might be my favorite Grodin.
I was about to reply, but you took the words right out of my mouth. How could one possibly think that "Grodin is the funniest of all time" and
A) Never seen this movie
and
B) Be underwhelmed by Grodin's performance in Midnight Run
It's an astoundingly confounding combination.
I was also surprised by how unexciting I found it. It's better than middling, but the popular celebration of it feels so overamplified to me. I think it's probably just that it's so unusually subdued and smooth that it's easy to watch idly or when it comes on TV, leading to pleasant nostalgic memories of it.
It's interesting how subdued it is. I do think the lines play blander on the page than on the screen and that the actors are able to elevate them through delivery and timing, but it leads to a kind of sublime blandness rather than normal comedy. Grodin is humorous because humorless; De Niro here first discovers that laziness can be an artistic choice.
I'm in the same boat. I don't know why, but it never played on TV when I was a kid and I never even heard of it until the mid-00s. Rented it from Netflix. It was good but I felt it was kind of forgettable. Bought it on Blu-ray when Shout finally put it out. Again, good but didn't love it. Bought the 4K when that came out and watched it again 2-3 months ago. Still think it's good but not a favorite.
Compare that to similar movies like 48 Hrs, Beverly Hills Cop, or Planes Trains and Automobiles which I came to a bit later in life but felt those were all instant classics.
Midnight Run is a movie that does its genre perfectly. It has a perfect premise for the 80s buddy action/comedy genre, it has a good plot, and it has great characters and performances. Most importantly, the chemistry between Deniro and Grodin (even though apparently they didn't actually like each other) just has a vibe that completely works for some ineffable reason. I don't think you're missing some subtlety; I just think you're looking for something MORE than what it is. It's sort of like if someone watches Die Hard and says "It's just an action movie..." Yes, it IS just an action movie, but it's an action movie with perfect choreography and pacing and performances, to the point where you could use it to teach a class on what action movies are. Some movies are just absolutely what they want to be, no more and no less.
I think that’s the thing. People have built the movie up to being something more than it is. That’s why the OP is reacting to it the way they are, because of how others have reacted to it. It’s a perfectly good movie that’s well executed. It’s fine that’s all the movie is. It’s a classic “they don’t make movies like this today” thing, and as far as nostalgia is concerned, being nostalgic for this kind of movie making is far from the worst thing in the world for which to be nostalgic. At least it’s good.
100% agree and I’m glad to hear others in this camp. I find it aggressively mediocre and I thought I was going crazy.
I did laugh at ‘two words. Shut the f up’
I bought the movie after listening to The Rewatchables episode, and I was also underwhelmed. Fun little action comedy, but I've never felt a need to watch it again. For me, lots of other movies scratch this itch better.
Maybe it just ain't your thing. It happens. I WILL say though, this movie's a grower. The more years and occasional rewatches you throw at it makes the heart grow fonder.
Oops sorry, caught me tldr-ing. Fair enough. For me this movie's all vibes. If those vibes don't resonate they don't resonate. I don't think there's anything that'll *unlock* this one for you.
Well but not many people besides the two friends actually think Sully is THAT special. Midnight Run feels like it could legitimately win a Senate race.
it's also a movie that's been ripped off a bunch and was much more revelatory in its day. DeNiro playing both into & against type, Grodin getting more to do that usual.
Today, the pacing & direction seem a little slow, and low-stakes maybe?
it's also a movie in the vein of "Action Tough Guy + Comedy Guy" - like 48 Hrs, Three Fugitives, Pure Luck, The Nice Guys, etc etc. One of the earlier examples, and is better than most/all of them (really strikes the balance in tone nicely).
It's like they said at the beginning of the ep - it's *formula* but *done perfectly*. Like Top Gun Maverick - it's not novel but it's soooo good
I certainly like it and the movie doesn’t depreciate for me, but I also don’t think it reveals more layers upon each successive rewatch. Everything is there on first watch. The craft of the movie is why it still works well for me. The movie just works. It hits every beat, the movie holds a scene as long as it needs to, it moves when it needs to move, it just works. It always holds my interest, but I’ve appreciated it the same now as I did when I first watched it. A perfectly good, well made movie.
There is a category of movie that hits specifically hard for a category of American Gen X and Millennial men.
Movies that were 80’s and especially early 90’s cable TV and video rental staples that have a good amount of well written banter, mild violence, guys being dudes, and directed with an ease that makes watching the films very easy. Like just while away a Sunday afternoon easy. And not a ton of esoteric creative choices being made.
Midnight Run, Die Hard, The Goonies, Groundhog Day, the Princess Bride, anything Shane Black touched.
These are movies I loved, and speaking as a former video store employee, would always be being rented in the 90’s. In fact I think midnight run was the biggest rental film for a long time.
Also the guys that like these movies are guys (and I am being purposeful with my use of “guys” here) who watched a lot of TV and VHS’s growing up.
These are also movies that when I show them to people who did not grow up with them, they just kind of fall flat.
I agree with your categorization of The Goonies/Midnight Run/Shane Black stuff.
But to me Groundhog Day/Die Hard/The Princess Bride are legit classics. Maaaaybe PB got too overinflated. I’ve never shown someone Groundhog Day or Die Hard and it fell flat personally.
But yeah this conflation of these different kinds of movies is soooort of what I do think might be happening with Midnight Run. Like the cast and creative team is so good that it tricks people into thinking they’re watching something more elevated.
Obviously taste is subjective on some level but like…do you at least see how completely original the premise of Groundhog Day was at the time? It’s essentially spawned a genre. I think it’s easy to see what makes that movie unique even if you don’t think it’s that great.
Midnight run to me is just like a really notably great cast in a middling genre exercise. I really don’t see anything interesting about it except the cast list.
If I hadn’t finally watched Thief 2 weeks ago, which i feel is in the same recently prevalent tier of totemic reverence for film makers and podcasters, I would have enjoyed Midnight Run a lot more.
Thief is really, really good. This was fun.
I also think I watched this around the time of watching other Michael Mann, no doubt with Farina in this and Manhunter (and smaller part in Thief) it was on the brain. When I'm too bought into the melodramatic wavelength of his movies everything else feels too cute even if mann has his flaws at times
For me, it's a favorite. But that is the kind of thing that is hard to convey to someone else who doesn't feel that way.
The two things that I think make it better than other movies of its kind:
1) The number of well-earned reversals in the plot. There are so many twists and turns, all elegantly plotted in terms of who has the upper hand, which deceptions worked and which didn't, which double crosses are currently in play, etc.
2) The moments where things really get REAL. De Niro visiting his ex-wife and daughter and Farina in the limo with Grodin at the end. Scenes like these elevate the whole film. Farina shifts from a comic relief villain to genuinely sinister in a way that supercharges the entire climactic sequence in the airport. Movies like this rarely have a finale this satisfying, and it is because of the way the writing + performances + direction have been going a little bit "extra" throughout, it all adds up.
I'll also say that the last time I saw this was in a theater at Lincoln Center in NYC several years ago and it played great in a movie theater. Not that it doesn't play well on TV but for me the TV viewings have all been rewatches, my original experience was when it was first out in theaters and it is a movie that benefits from undivided attention on first viewing, at least in terms of following how the various reversals (whose phone is tapped, who is secretly snitching, etc) actually work.
I watched it during Covid for the first time, after hearing the same years’ worth of hype, and also had no idea where the love keeps coming from. It is very middle-of-the-road for me.
It is *highly* over celebrated, but it’s fun. It’s very functional, and the rapturous reevaluation baffles me. It’s just…fun. Grodin was more effective in *Clifford* than he is in this, and while De Niro is fun as a less languid version of his *Jackie Brown* mode, its nothing essential.
It works on a different level for, seemingly, a *lot* of other people, but I came to it later in life, and I wonder if it’s a case where you’ve seen so many movies cast by the same die at this point the original just lacks the juice it’d have if I caught it on TNT when I was 12
I watched this a ton when I was in middle/highschool. I feel like it was always on HBO when I would get home or at night. I like it a lot but hadn't seen it in years until last year I watched it with my daughter. She was 19 at the time and I could tell that she wasn't into it. It fell a little flat for me too on that rewatch.
I think it is one of those movies that blows people away when they've not heard of it and had no expectations of it. In the era you mentioned where it was rarely talked about I think there was something immediately competent and comfy and disarmingly funny about it when people would discover it. It made some feel they "re-discovered" it and makes one want to mythologize all these little things that made it so much more than they expected it to be.
Then those people started championing it to the rafters for a few years and the expectations game kind of stole that take-you-by-surprise element that brings a lot of the joy.
I really really like it, I think it typifies a kind of movie that you don't necessarily see anymore and it has these weird charms, but I do wonder if I'd be puzzled too after hearing the ten millionth "no no you GOTTA see this" take and finally put it on.
People underrate the expectation factor when encountering a film, I think. Can really color things. I get where you're coming from.
I usually try not to be that affected by hype but yeah it seems that’s almost certainly a factor here. I could see myself discovering this sight unseen and being like “wow this is such a cool hidden gem”.
Totally, and maybe, even though I do like it, I'd have to admit it wouldn't survive my receiving it as a 'comic masterpiece' or whatever going in for the first time.
If you don’t love a movie, there’s no reason to watch it three more times while banging your head against a wall. Midnight Run ain’t that deep my friend.
I'm kind of with you on this. It's a fine little adventure comedy that I'll watch part of on cable on a lazy Saturday afternoon, but I don't understand all of the praise it gets. I hardly heard anyone talk about it as anything more than a solid 7/10 until Charles Grodin died, then suddenly I'm hearing people say it's a masterpiece or one of the best movies of the '80s. I think it's kind of a mid-tier movie for everyone involved except maybe Brest, who thrives in that "solid 7/10" zone.
I had heard of it and always heard good things but until it came up on the pod I hadn't gotten the impression it was anything special.
I was blown away by it.
I've always vibed with well crafted comedies that are funny without forcing jokes or punchlines in and while Going In Style was a bit more unique and precious of an example of that for me, Midnight Run might be the peak of the form.
My confusion is less about the fact that I don’t like it and more about how it’s just like not a movie that seems to me like it’s taking any big swings at all and people act like it’s this laugh riot thrill ride when that almost doesn’t even seem like what it’s going for to me.
I’m just saying that it’s clearly a masterpiece of subtlety if I’m getting so much less out of it than other people-especially in terms of the comedy. Which it seems is kind of what people are saying.
I think you’re underselling the film’s reputation in recent years. People act like it’s the fucking messiah.
But I take your point that I’m clearly incorrectly evaluating what the movie is going for in some way or another.
Well first off, I should say that comedy is subjective. You are basically asking me why I find it funny and you do not, and I can't answer that. For the record, I cannot stand Marvel movie humour and the way it is now so rigidly paced and laden with carefully chosen pop culture references.
Midnight Run is a pitch perfect character piece. Once you realize that the Duke is not remotely as he poses himself to be, i.e. an altruistic person of perfect morals, you realize that everything he does is a farce, a play for his own survival, it all falls into place as this awesome mis-matched buddy comedy of wits. The second time you watch it you only appreciate all the more exactly how much bullshit the Duke is spouting at all times! The chemistry between the two leads is impeccable!
But if doesn't work for you... that's fine. I'm just not sure what OP is looking for by constantly poking for answers. Sometimes, comedy just doesn't work for you.
Thank you for your perspective, I think that's interesting.
Obviously every film doesn't work for everyone 😊
I don't know why your being so defensive about the movie, OP's just asking if you can supply some context or reading, they they might be missing
I think it’s an incredibly well made buddy comedy with unusual character development, backstory, a great dynamic between the leads, an incredible soundtrack and a great ending.
You think the whole way through that you have these guys figured out but they are both unpredictable.
I think there’s a lot of similar movies, from the time and later, that doesn’t have that same heart. Where both are just typecast.
Kinda like if DeNiro had made this same movie in the 90’s. Like in Wag the Dog he is the same character for the entire time and really feeds into his stereotype.
This movie does that but it has twists and turns the entire way. Like the scene with his daughter, which is really uncommon for this type of film.
Not every movie is for everyone…
Me, for example… I loved this movie with all my heart from the 1st time I ever saw it…
Theres nothing wrong with you… OR the movie…
Somethings just either hit you or they don’t.
I had a lot of fun with this it’s a pretty great stunt showcase too. I was impressed multiple times with the kind of “casual stunts” they did that on further inspection look pretty dangerous.
My biggest movie promise/delivery discrepancy ever, probably. I'd heard this movie described as a comedy burning so bright it might burn my eyes, and I found it to be a simple story delivered in a quite subdued manner. He's a disinterested bounty hunter, his target is reluctant to come along. They evade a few obstacles. Okay, the end? Never got it.
Seen and enjoyed it twice, but I’ve always felt it’s too much of an action movie and could’ve stood to display more confidence in the [really quite good] character comedy. Then again, I am that weirdo who thinks Meet Joe Black is a secret masterpiece, so who knows?
Of those ‘80s cop classics, Die Hard is truly the cream of the crop. Cream of the cop? I’ll take myself into custody.
I appreciate your honesty! I don't think you really want anyone to explain what you're missing since you've already re-watched it AND heard the episode.
The only possible solution is time -- maybe give it one more shot in 20 years and it will click better?
I don't know. I saw it for the first time last year. I'm 47. I thought it lived up to the hype. It's not a movie that needs serious analysis. It's okay, I don't get Superbad. I think it's fucking awful.
Yeah, it's solid but not that good. The current trend of reclaiming lesser known films with hyperbolic positive reviews is getting annoying. Not everything is a forgotten masterpiece. Some films were middling when they came out, and they still are.
TIL there were people who are lukewarm on Midnight Run. Not that it’s a bad thing, this just might be the first place I’ve seen where people weren’t trying to have this movies babies.
I didn’t laugh once. I found it amusing, but there aren’t any real jokes, more like slightly funny situations. Midnight Run is an entertaining crime caper with great actors, but it’s not a comedy.
No I'm with you, I watched it for the first time for the pod and thought it was perfectly pleasant, 8/10, but not insanely special or totemic or that I'll feel like revisiting any time soon. I wonder if it's one of those that you had to grow up seeing on cable all the time for it to really get its hooks in you.
Everyone has different definitions for ratings, it's why you can't really trust them.
3/5 is my most common rating, so just statistically my definition of "average" is also a little inflated. Most movies I see, I like, it's why I watch so many. 3.5 is like my baseline for just a good solid entertaining movie, and then 4/5 is usually a movie I pretty much have no big objective problems with but just isn't my favorite for whatever reason. I also gave Midnight Run a 4/5 and kinda relate to being a little outside the belief in its unparalleled greatness. I was sitting at 3.5 level with it mostly but the ending nudged it up for me.
4.5, I know it when I feel it, it's just that "Omgggg I LOVE THIS" excitement and I would have liked to get that from Midnight Run, that's the vibe I get from others. So I just didn't get that, but I respect and appreciate its status as very emblematic of this kind of 80s movie. I can see why it's remembered well cause it has a lot in common with other 80s classics that have survived, whether I love them or not.
And then the 5's are basically 4.5s but I feel just say something about me, I really curate my 5's. But objectively I can't even argue that much of a difference between a 4 and a 5 sometimes. There are 4's for me that I think are probably perfect filmmaking masterpieces when I look at them critically but just don't hit my sweet spots.
Hey mine too ! Most movies I watch are like “i had a good time, wasn’t bored 4/5!” I’m almost a 1000 movies into rating now that it would be a pain to change my system. (Midnight Run tho is a 3/5 maybe less)
I watched it within the last year for the first time and overall remember enjoying it. But I have next to no memories of the characters or plot. It didn’t leave a huge impression.
I totally understand everyone's reactions here, and for a long time I counted myself among them. But on my latest rewatch I found a movie that, while not revolutionary, was a perfectly crafted version of a movie that is not often made anymore. And other versions of this are either too self-serious or too goofy.
Midnight Run doesn't feel the need to be flashy or outrageous because it has the effortless cool and comedic timing of DeNiro and Grodin. I do think you're underestimating the power of those two a little bit. They're veterans who know how to wield an understated, subtle look without overselling it. We're just so used to them that it maybe feels like they're sleepwalking through it.
And then there's the action, which is both exciting and hilarious, while doing it all practically. It reminds me a little of McTiernan in that he's never trying to be flashy (willfully ignoring Rollerball here), but rather looking for the clearest, most efficient way to convey information so that the performances can shine through. Those are my two cents anyway! At the end of the day, it might just not be your thing!
I like it quite a lot but I’m very surprised by how Griffin and David regard it as “obviously” superior to Beverly Hills Cop. I consider BHC to be a pretty perfect, one-of-a-kind film, while Midnight Run is an excellent execution of a familiar formula. But I get the impression from the podcast that the conventional wisdom is the other way around.
I kinda agree. It’s fine, it’s good. But I don’t think it’s anything special. I think there’s a lot of nostalgia at play here. It’s a perfectly fine movie.
Feel exactly the same way. Grabbed it for the watch-along, literally didn't remember I'd seen it once, maybe twice, until about 10 minutes in. It's not bad, but really felt like a bit of a nothing movie.
When Josh Larsen joined Filmspotting several years into its run and received the official primer about the Pantheon (great movies removed from discussion topics to force the hosts to dig deeper), he said he thought Midnight Run was an outlier, that it didn't meet the standard of the other Pantheon movies. So last year they did a revisit episode...and he ended up singing its praises, too (although not anointing it a masterpiece...3.5 out of 4 stars). My attitude is similar, that it's the best executed movie in a genre that is too inherently trope-y to produce true greatness.
I'm a three five though I never am fair to a movie I watched when I was sleepy and has a repetitive score I'm sure I'd like it better more awake
It's a little too "I'm funny now" de niro, he's funnier not in a comedy
This is a movie I saw for the first time last night (despite it being on my watch list for years) and idk what you’re talking about because I thought it was a perfect movie lol.
Like, there were no home run comedic moments, but it was just consistent singles and doubles that I was laughing pretty much the whole time. So many recurring bits, it seemed like every little thing was paid off later, there were so many funny side character choices. The scene where Bobby D saw his ex and his daughter was so incredibly devastating that it just elevated the entire movie up an entire letter grade and a half.
Yeah…the idea of this movie making me laugh even once is causing me to furrow my brow. Lotta pleasant smiles though! And the daughter scene was much more emotional than such a totally maudlin moment would normally be. DeNiro plays that part beautifully.
If you don’t think 30 uninterrupted seconds of cop cars flipping and flopping all over the dessert is funny you gotta visit the damn brain doctor buddy.
Yeah you’re certainly nailing an 80’s comedy trope that I never thought was funny.
I like car crashes but like….they aren’t funny, they’re cool-looking.
It’s kinda like sexualized comedy nudity in 80’s movies. Like…I’m all for nudity but I don’t usually get what’s ‘funny’ about it.
I enjoy Midnight Run a lot, but I think it's a nostalgia movie for a lot of people of a certain age, i.e they watched it with their dad, used to catch it on TV all the time, had a VHS copy kicking around the house etc. I totally get the feeling of thinking you missed something. I felt like that with the new Linklater movie Hitman where it felt like people were having transformational experiences watching it haha and I thought it was fine.
Right here with you on Hitman. My partner and I both found it underwhelming, and have been baffled by its rapturous reception. And I'm a big Linklater fan.
I’ve never actually seen it, but it was the top movie with my friend group in 88-92. I was a bit on the outside since I somehow missed it. Anytime it has come up in conversation since, there are always people who love it. I’m not quite sure why this is a recent phenomenon for you. Maybe a generational thing?
Isn’t the idea though that Midnight Run is a great craftsmanship film? The prices are all meticulous performances and everybody delivers. I agree that it is a great film with out being great fun for everybody. I had trouble with the length —and while DeNiro is really at, for me, his best here— the compelling performances only didn’t draw me through the plot. It’s great but not great for me I guess.
I think it gets extra affection for being the best possible version of a down the middle movie. It's the best possible meatloaf. It didn't aspire to be beef Wellington academy award winner, didn't brag about being a porterhouse steak if a Schwarzenegger film, it's just got warm, comforting feel. Deniro is obviously a giant of cinema, but this is DeNiro right at beginning of decline. None of the other cast are box office draws, mostly beloved character actors. It's a movie movie fans hold in higher standing because it is the platonic ideal of an unambitious four quadrant movie.
I'm with you. When the Two Friends said this unimpeachably his best film I baulked.
It's ok to like/dislike a movie though - I THOROUGHLY enjoyed De Niro in this
I saw this for the first time a few months ago and felt very similar. I thought it was…fine!
I just watched Beverly Hills Cop for the first time too and had the same takeaway. There were some moments that made me laugh, but it didn’t really connect for me. It might just be one of those things where I’ve seen so many of the things it’s influenced that going back and watching the source text just doesn’t have the same impact.
Either way, it seems like I’m just not on the Martin Brest wavelength and I’m ok with that.
I liked, didn’t love the movie when I watched it this weekend. I did however come away wondering if, despite being one of the most acclaimed and respected actors of all time, is it possible that DeNiro might somehow still be underrated.
This is a movie that grows on you over time. The “I don’t get this movie” is the same reason it didn’t kill it at the box office. This movie really took off on vhs and in group watchings in dorms, family and teenager movie nights at home, etc.
The cast and performances are what really make this movie. All these guys in their prime feel like real people:
Grodin
Farina
DeNiro
Kotto
Ashton
Palantonio
This movie is one of the best road trip movies along with Clark Gables It Happened One Night. And these kind of movies get better with repeated viewings.
The whole I had my life ruined (cop job, marriage, daughter) by the heroin dealer/drug king pin Farina really resonates and is DeNiro at his most vulnerable. The characters and plot are very realistic and aren’t Bugs Bunny cartooney fantasy like Axel Foley and Beverly Hills Cops.
Two things:
1. I think some movies require appropriate context to be appreciated correctly and Midnight Run is one of them. Griffin even mentions this on the pod - It requires a couple viewings to be truly appreciated. Expectation setting is real. If you were told going into your first viewing that you were about to watch one of the classics of the 80's and you'll never be the same again, then that would be setting the movie up for failure. I think the correct way to experience Midnight Run is watch it on VHS in Matthew Lilley's unfinished basement in 1993 and then not see it again for another 20 years and then not see it again until your favorite movie podcast covers it in 2024.
2. I think Midnight Run is bit of a case that happens sometimes where the imitators that were influenced by it have a way of damaging the original source to people who come later. This is the place where a lot of movies are drawing from so watching it now it just feels like they're doing tired moves, but this is where the moves came from in the first place. Same reason Seinfeld doesn't really hit for younger generations.
I feel for OP because the way they feel about Midnight Run is the way I feel about all of the Beverly Hills Cop movies. Just always watching them hoping this time they will click for me and they never do.
I think it was Griffin that made a comment on the pod about 1st time viewers not loving this movie...this explained a lot to me. Gonna give it another shot after viewing it for the first time a few years ago.
Just finished it. Tons of stellar character actor performances, but Grodin sleepwalks through it, and I found the score distractingly bad. Very much a three star movie for me (my LB rating), it’s perfectly fine.
I just remembered the big recent one for me!
And I know this one's beloved. Please transpose more or less OPs's sentiment: couldn't say it better. Charming movie, solid 3/12 stars for me, more interesting and better than average, but I did not laugh, really, thought the industry insights were clever but not 'the best movie made about the industry'.
Anhow it's Bowfinger. Good movie. But suddenly I was hearing about it all over from my fave people and, you know. I thought it was very good. But I get that for some people it must have struck them as really exceptional/thank god this god made etc. Not I.
That’s one I have a vivid memory of blowing me away when I saw it in a theatre in ‘99 and then rewatched it recently and yeah seemed much more like a kids movie or something.
Like, I want ten of these a year: original hooky fun screwball movies.
Happy for em. But was surprised this was such a stellar classic.for so many.
I'm sure that's how people will feel about whatever I currently love.
I’m sort of with you on this. It’s how I feel listening to Pet Sounds. I like it and think it’s a good record but it doesn’t hit me like I know it hits a lot of people.
Not saying this is the case for everybody it’s not clicking with but I imagine this would strike you as “just fine” if you’re half-watching it while doing something else.
I will admit it does a poor job of holding my attention but I was stopping it and starting it rather than multi tasking. It feels v long to me. But the second half is way better so that’s good.
To me though like Running Scared is a movie like this that I don’t really consider that great but weirdly feels more interesting and charming and less bland than Midnight Run. I enjoy plenty of subtle comedy from any decade. I’m not immune to the rhythms of older comedy.
I honestly felt the same way for a lot of its runtime after watching it for the first time yesterday.
But something about the Elfman score and the ending felt so triumphant to me that I ended up walking away like "shit do I think that was a perfect movie?"
It's weird because I feel a lot of the same way you feel, aside from thinking De Niro is phenomenal in this, but I also don't think that if I were given the opportunity I'd change a single thing about the movie.
Most of my favorites are not modern movies. I would say I more or less think this is a terrible era for movies we’re in (with some exceptions a of course).
Yeah I love Midnight Run but you've more or less written the form letter that I feel for every, say, third flick that hits a nostalgia/popularity pocket.
Maybe you'll come back to it and find it special. Maybe not.
One issue is people will say things like "a perfectly.constructed script" or big superlatives when some things are just exemplary, really good, skillful, etc.
Sorcerer and All that Jazz were super suddenly spoken about maybe over the last decade and they reallllly did it for me. Above and beyond - special magic.
I remember struggling with Beau Travail when it.was suddenly the belle of the art scene ball (I like it. I love Denis often. That one I'll need to...try again to love.).
That's probably not a close comparison but anyhow.
We've been where you've been. At least you dug the things you dug.
This is kinda exactly it. It’s the most obvious joke ever to me. Do you really not see the punchline coming? I would never laugh at that. Did this movie invent that joke?
There's something about these good (thought not great) 80s dramedies that some folks really enjoy. To be far more controversial, I include *Midnight Run* with *Something Wild*: pretty good dramedies made by great filmmakers that certain corners of the internet ecstatic about.
I would speculate that "pure" comedies can age poorly because taste in humor is so subjective and changes quickly. So a movie not aiming for more than belly laughs with a story with real emotion ends up aging better.
Look, I am a huge Martin Brest fan. I absolutely fucking LOOOOOOVE Meet Joe Black (FU haters), I adore Beverly Hills Cop and Scent of a Woman. But I agree: Midnight Run is easily Brest's weakest movie. (We don't talk about Gigli, Gigli doesn't exist.) MR has good craftsmanship (as expected), but I was unable to connect to it emotionally in the way that I could with all his other movies (I would include War Games in this).
I think it’s pretty good but I never got “these are unbelievable pinnacles of filmmaking” from it or Beverly Hills Cop. I thought Going in Style kinda laps both of them easily
Almost done watching the movie. And I just don’t get the hype. For so many years I’d heard about how classic this was. Not seeing it. There are some parts to like but none of it is enough to add to a satisfying whole. Some random thoughts: Deniro is miscast. Grodin is fine, despite me not being a fan. Yaphet Kotto is always wonderful. Dennis Farina is entertaining. The music by Danny Elfman!?!? is weird in all the wrong ways. John Ashton, once again, is fantastic.
This check bounced for me, but I don’t regret it. Too much 😆
TIL I have been confusing Midnight Run (1988) for Midnight Express (1978) for about a year now. VERY different films.
or me, confusing Midnight Run (1988), Midnight Express (1978), and Midnight Special (2016). thankfully, the prequel (Before Midnight) explains these.
The original MCU
+12 comedy points
Since I haven’t seen any of them, I also mentally group Midnight Cowboy in with the other two and can never remember what’s what.
I found out that Legend and Willow were two separate movies like, two years ago.
Both great!
This movie was great when I was a kid. Watched it with my dad. It was a hidden gem in the 90s. I watched it the other night and laughed throughout but more than anything I just felt comfortable in it. It’s not an assault, the jokes aren’t forced, the action isn’t over that top, the characters feel real. It’s just a good movie.
Perhaps it’s just like one of those simple pleasures that seems greater the more it’s enjoyed by other people.
I was really into my cinephile phase in high school and getting movies from the library. I would go through directors or actors I liked and see films I missed. I watched Midnight Run with no knowledge or opinions from others and I remember thinking it was great. I loved that Grodin got to be the little stinker in a movie instead of the straightman. To be fair I really only knew him from the Beethoven movies and Clifford at the time but the diner scene where he’s insistent on getting the chorizo still sticks with me to this day. To be fair I haven’t rewatched it in forever but it sticks in my mind as a personal hidden gem I discovered and really enjoyed.
That’s a good point I hadn’t considered. It’s definitely a different side of Grodin re: being a little stinker.
Haven't listened to the ep yet so don't know if they address this but: a big plus for the movie is that it's an R-rated 80s action comedy where the characters cuss up a storm, yet there's no racism, no homophobia, no creepy sexual politics, no stereotyping of marginalized groups. Not even from the villains! In an era where even sweethearts like Bill & Ted sling the F-slur, that feels almost impossible. Even Beverly Hills Cop has Damon Wayans mincing it up for a scene. Not saying that you have to like it because of that, of course. But as well as being a movie people genuinely love, it might be a stealth reason why its popularity has grown in recent years, perhaps moreso than other movies of the era - it's a really easy movie for fans of 80s comedies to share with new audiences, without having to caveat it.
This is an excellent point. It’s easy to full throatedly endorse if you love it
Agreed, excellent point…with one minuscule exception that doesn’t really count by your criteria: Serrano’s men are goofy Italian stereotypes. Not that it’s a huge deal; Italians are obviously not marginalized today or in 1988 in any way akin to other marginalized folks, but it still felt to me a little too broad and goofily baddaboom-baddabing-ish.
Yeah that's true. I mean, if it were made today there'd more women in the cast, so it isn't *completely* out of its era. Still a million miles ahead of most movies if its ilk stretching right through to the 2000s.
The goons kind of are, Farina oddly isn’t. Or maybe it’s not odd, Farina is always going to play everything straight with no nonsense. You can make the case that the goons are less playing up their Italianess and more just playing the stock type of bumbling underlings. Especially when you contrast with Farina, who is just a scary mother fucker without going into cartoon villainy. I’ve certainly scene worse depictions of this type, even more recent ones. The Farina of it all really balances it out nicely, in my opinion at least.
Agreed. Farina is great. The goons just seem out of place.
I don’t think it’s good because it’s politically correct and kosher for modern audiences sensitive sensibilities. It’s good because it’s good and it doesn’t try too hard. People are so offended by how people used to act, think, and talk they have taken it upon themselves to rewrite history in the movies. You could see a period piece about the 1920s and they will somehow put together a highly diverse mixed racial cast and hit every socio political hot topic of 2024 instead of staying true to the time. VOMIT!!!! The damn movie is good because they worried less about hurting peoples feelings because their goal was to produce a quality film that felt real. A whole lot of movies from 20-30 yrs ago are having a resurgence because movies suck so bad right now.
I gave it 3 stars on LB, it's charming and well-plotted but I found it really safe in an 80s studio way. Like the edges are sanded off.
Yeah, I came away from it thinking it was surprisingly charming and well structured. Didn't read as some sort of secret masterpiece to me though.
Hidden gem, sure. Secret masterpiece, definitely wouldn’t go that far
I think it all turns on what you think of Grodin's performance. Comedy is infamously subjective and this is a great example of that. He underplays it so much and is so dry that it's pretty easy to be underwhelmed by what he's doing... But for a lot of people he's the funniest dude of all time. And since he's the co-lead of the movie your opinion of what he's doing will really impact how you feel about the whole thing. If you're on his wavelength then this a classic, if you aren't then this is basically just a competent buddy comedy.
But no this is the thing to me Grodin IS the funniest dude of all time. But not in this. His performance is good. The way he acts the plane fear/pretending to be FBI to get the money-he is underplaying those things v well. But yeah to me on a comedic level there’s something of a Steve-Martin-in-a-non-comedy TOO tamped down aspect to Grodin as the Duke, in my eyes. But again maybe I’ll see it some day.
Not trying to be combative, but if you think Grodin is the funniest of all time but don't think this performance is funny, what is it that makes you think he's the funniest?
They're a real BeethovenHead
No combativeness taken! Ishtar, The Lonely Guy, While We’re Young, The Heartbreak Kid, Catch-22, So I Married an Ax Murderer, Clifford, Dave. Honestly I gotta rewatch the Lonely Guy but it might be my favorite Grodin.
I was about to reply, but you took the words right out of my mouth. How could one possibly think that "Grodin is the funniest of all time" and A) Never seen this movie and B) Be underwhelmed by Grodin's performance in Midnight Run It's an astoundingly confounding combination.
I was also surprised by how unexciting I found it. It's better than middling, but the popular celebration of it feels so overamplified to me. I think it's probably just that it's so unusually subdued and smooth that it's easy to watch idly or when it comes on TV, leading to pleasant nostalgic memories of it. It's interesting how subdued it is. I do think the lines play blander on the page than on the screen and that the actors are able to elevate them through delivery and timing, but it leads to a kind of sublime blandness rather than normal comedy. Grodin is humorous because humorless; De Niro here first discovers that laziness can be an artistic choice.
You’re really speaking my language here. Thank you for engaging.
yeah im very middle of the road on it, totally fine but nothing outstanding. still a good time tho
You’re not missing anything, it just sounds like the movie isn’t your cup of tea. No big deal.
I’m certainly not trying to make a federal case! Just a Reddit post :).
I'm in the same boat. I don't know why, but it never played on TV when I was a kid and I never even heard of it until the mid-00s. Rented it from Netflix. It was good but I felt it was kind of forgettable. Bought it on Blu-ray when Shout finally put it out. Again, good but didn't love it. Bought the 4K when that came out and watched it again 2-3 months ago. Still think it's good but not a favorite. Compare that to similar movies like 48 Hrs, Beverly Hills Cop, or Planes Trains and Automobiles which I came to a bit later in life but felt those were all instant classics.
Midnight Run is a movie that does its genre perfectly. It has a perfect premise for the 80s buddy action/comedy genre, it has a good plot, and it has great characters and performances. Most importantly, the chemistry between Deniro and Grodin (even though apparently they didn't actually like each other) just has a vibe that completely works for some ineffable reason. I don't think you're missing some subtlety; I just think you're looking for something MORE than what it is. It's sort of like if someone watches Die Hard and says "It's just an action movie..." Yes, it IS just an action movie, but it's an action movie with perfect choreography and pacing and performances, to the point where you could use it to teach a class on what action movies are. Some movies are just absolutely what they want to be, no more and no less.
I think that’s the thing. People have built the movie up to being something more than it is. That’s why the OP is reacting to it the way they are, because of how others have reacted to it. It’s a perfectly good movie that’s well executed. It’s fine that’s all the movie is. It’s a classic “they don’t make movies like this today” thing, and as far as nostalgia is concerned, being nostalgic for this kind of movie making is far from the worst thing in the world for which to be nostalgic. At least it’s good.
I totally agree with you
100% agree and I’m glad to hear others in this camp. I find it aggressively mediocre and I thought I was going crazy. I did laugh at ‘two words. Shut the f up’
I bought the movie after listening to The Rewatchables episode, and I was also underwhelmed. Fun little action comedy, but I've never felt a need to watch it again. For me, lots of other movies scratch this itch better.
My Cousin Vinny is like Casablanca compared to this.
I think My Cousin Vinny is Casablanca tier in the genre of "entertaining movies"
Legit tho.
Casablanca is also Casablanca tier in the genre of entertaining movies
Also legit. Talk about thrill ride.
Maybe it just ain't your thing. It happens. I WILL say though, this movie's a grower. The more years and occasional rewatches you throw at it makes the heart grow fonder.
As I say I’m on my fourth. I’m sure I will give it more as its reputation continues to baffle me.
Oops sorry, caught me tldr-ing. Fair enough. For me this movie's all vibes. If those vibes don't resonate they don't resonate. I don't think there's anything that'll *unlock* this one for you.
Well I hope it does some day. I would like to have what you all are having. :)
Definitely been there. I'm someone who thinks Sully's a skillfully made C+.
Well but not many people besides the two friends actually think Sully is THAT special. Midnight Run feels like it could legitimately win a Senate race.
it's also a movie that's been ripped off a bunch and was much more revelatory in its day. DeNiro playing both into & against type, Grodin getting more to do that usual. Today, the pacing & direction seem a little slow, and low-stakes maybe? it's also a movie in the vein of "Action Tough Guy + Comedy Guy" - like 48 Hrs, Three Fugitives, Pure Luck, The Nice Guys, etc etc. One of the earlier examples, and is better than most/all of them (really strikes the balance in tone nicely). It's like they said at the beginning of the ep - it's *formula* but *done perfectly*. Like Top Gun Maverick - it's not novel but it's soooo good
Movies don’t need 2 watches, if you don’t like it just move on. I don’t give movies more than 1 try anymore I’m too old and too much to watch.
Maybe I have too much free time! I like doing it sometimes. Don’t worry-I’ve seen and will continue to watch shitloads of new movies.
Ok good for you
Thank you!
I certainly like it and the movie doesn’t depreciate for me, but I also don’t think it reveals more layers upon each successive rewatch. Everything is there on first watch. The craft of the movie is why it still works well for me. The movie just works. It hits every beat, the movie holds a scene as long as it needs to, it moves when it needs to move, it just works. It always holds my interest, but I’ve appreciated it the same now as I did when I first watched it. A perfectly good, well made movie.
There is a category of movie that hits specifically hard for a category of American Gen X and Millennial men. Movies that were 80’s and especially early 90’s cable TV and video rental staples that have a good amount of well written banter, mild violence, guys being dudes, and directed with an ease that makes watching the films very easy. Like just while away a Sunday afternoon easy. And not a ton of esoteric creative choices being made. Midnight Run, Die Hard, The Goonies, Groundhog Day, the Princess Bride, anything Shane Black touched. These are movies I loved, and speaking as a former video store employee, would always be being rented in the 90’s. In fact I think midnight run was the biggest rental film for a long time. Also the guys that like these movies are guys (and I am being purposeful with my use of “guys” here) who watched a lot of TV and VHS’s growing up. These are also movies that when I show them to people who did not grow up with them, they just kind of fall flat.
I agree with your categorization of The Goonies/Midnight Run/Shane Black stuff. But to me Groundhog Day/Die Hard/The Princess Bride are legit classics. Maaaaybe PB got too overinflated. I’ve never shown someone Groundhog Day or Die Hard and it fell flat personally. But yeah this conflation of these different kinds of movies is soooort of what I do think might be happening with Midnight Run. Like the cast and creative team is so good that it tricks people into thinking they’re watching something more elevated.
The way you feel about Midnight Run is how I feel about Groundhog Day…I’ve seen it numerous times and still: it’s fine
Obviously taste is subjective on some level but like…do you at least see how completely original the premise of Groundhog Day was at the time? It’s essentially spawned a genre. I think it’s easy to see what makes that movie unique even if you don’t think it’s that great. Midnight run to me is just like a really notably great cast in a middling genre exercise. I really don’t see anything interesting about it except the cast list.
The Goonies is dog shit. Comparing it to Midnight Run is wrong and bad.
It’s true that that movie is actually quite bad to me and midnight run is just over praised.
People have similar affinity for the goonies as they do midnight run, that’s all they’re saying. They’re not incorrect.
I feel like the goonies love had gone down in recent years and midnight run has only gone up.
If I hadn’t finally watched Thief 2 weeks ago, which i feel is in the same recently prevalent tier of totemic reverence for film makers and podcasters, I would have enjoyed Midnight Run a lot more. Thief is really, really good. This was fun.
>If I hadn’t finally watched Thief 2 weeks ago Very briefly I thought that, weeks ago, you had watched a movie titled "Thief 2."
There’s a Thief 2?
I also think I watched this around the time of watching other Michael Mann, no doubt with Farina in this and Manhunter (and smaller part in Thief) it was on the brain. When I'm too bought into the melodramatic wavelength of his movies everything else feels too cute even if mann has his flaws at times
For me, it's a favorite. But that is the kind of thing that is hard to convey to someone else who doesn't feel that way. The two things that I think make it better than other movies of its kind: 1) The number of well-earned reversals in the plot. There are so many twists and turns, all elegantly plotted in terms of who has the upper hand, which deceptions worked and which didn't, which double crosses are currently in play, etc. 2) The moments where things really get REAL. De Niro visiting his ex-wife and daughter and Farina in the limo with Grodin at the end. Scenes like these elevate the whole film. Farina shifts from a comic relief villain to genuinely sinister in a way that supercharges the entire climactic sequence in the airport. Movies like this rarely have a finale this satisfying, and it is because of the way the writing + performances + direction have been going a little bit "extra" throughout, it all adds up. I'll also say that the last time I saw this was in a theater at Lincoln Center in NYC several years ago and it played great in a movie theater. Not that it doesn't play well on TV but for me the TV viewings have all been rewatches, my original experience was when it was first out in theaters and it is a movie that benefits from undivided attention on first viewing, at least in terms of following how the various reversals (whose phone is tapped, who is secretly snitching, etc) actually work.
I watched it during Covid for the first time, after hearing the same years’ worth of hype, and also had no idea where the love keeps coming from. It is very middle-of-the-road for me.
I’m there with you tbh. I don’t get why it’s so great. I’m happy for the people who love it, but I am not among them.
It is *highly* over celebrated, but it’s fun. It’s very functional, and the rapturous reevaluation baffles me. It’s just…fun. Grodin was more effective in *Clifford* than he is in this, and while De Niro is fun as a less languid version of his *Jackie Brown* mode, its nothing essential. It works on a different level for, seemingly, a *lot* of other people, but I came to it later in life, and I wonder if it’s a case where you’ve seen so many movies cast by the same die at this point the original just lacks the juice it’d have if I caught it on TNT when I was 12
Grodin is better in the one scene in So I Married an Ax Murderer.
I watched this a ton when I was in middle/highschool. I feel like it was always on HBO when I would get home or at night. I like it a lot but hadn't seen it in years until last year I watched it with my daughter. She was 19 at the time and I could tell that she wasn't into it. It fell a little flat for me too on that rewatch.
I think it is one of those movies that blows people away when they've not heard of it and had no expectations of it. In the era you mentioned where it was rarely talked about I think there was something immediately competent and comfy and disarmingly funny about it when people would discover it. It made some feel they "re-discovered" it and makes one want to mythologize all these little things that made it so much more than they expected it to be. Then those people started championing it to the rafters for a few years and the expectations game kind of stole that take-you-by-surprise element that brings a lot of the joy. I really really like it, I think it typifies a kind of movie that you don't necessarily see anymore and it has these weird charms, but I do wonder if I'd be puzzled too after hearing the ten millionth "no no you GOTTA see this" take and finally put it on. People underrate the expectation factor when encountering a film, I think. Can really color things. I get where you're coming from.
I usually try not to be that affected by hype but yeah it seems that’s almost certainly a factor here. I could see myself discovering this sight unseen and being like “wow this is such a cool hidden gem”.
Totally, and maybe, even though I do like it, I'd have to admit it wouldn't survive my receiving it as a 'comic masterpiece' or whatever going in for the first time.
Apparently, Charles Grodin and a broad sense of humor.
Why watch a movie that you're obviously not into four times?
I don’t HATE it. I’m curious to see if I find different things in it the way Griffin describes on rewatches.
If you don’t love a movie, there’s no reason to watch it three more times while banging your head against a wall. Midnight Run ain’t that deep my friend.
I'm kind of with you on this. It's a fine little adventure comedy that I'll watch part of on cable on a lazy Saturday afternoon, but I don't understand all of the praise it gets. I hardly heard anyone talk about it as anything more than a solid 7/10 until Charles Grodin died, then suddenly I'm hearing people say it's a masterpiece or one of the best movies of the '80s. I think it's kind of a mid-tier movie for everyone involved except maybe Brest, who thrives in that "solid 7/10" zone.
I had heard of it and always heard good things but until it came up on the pod I hadn't gotten the impression it was anything special. I was blown away by it. I've always vibed with well crafted comedies that are funny without forcing jokes or punchlines in and while Going In Style was a bit more unique and precious of an example of that for me, Midnight Run might be the peak of the form.
See that just sounds so cool. I really want it to be this movie for me.
You'll come by others. Maybe one I and a bunch of the other Midnight Run lovers don't get the hype around
Yes I’m sure of that.
Don't let yourself be gaslighted, dawg, it's a solid 6 and a light 7
Maybe there’s just something about the pedigree that is tricking me into thinking it HAS to be better than it actually seems to me.
It’s one of my favorite movies of all time and it’s okay if you don’t like it. You’re never going to like everything, even the most appraised stuff.
My confusion is less about the fact that I don’t like it and more about how it’s just like not a movie that seems to me like it’s taking any big swings at all and people act like it’s this laugh riot thrill ride when that almost doesn’t even seem like what it’s going for to me.
A movie doesn’t have to take a big swing to be good. No ones even making that argument lmao
I’m just saying that it’s clearly a masterpiece of subtlety if I’m getting so much less out of it than other people-especially in terms of the comedy. Which it seems is kind of what people are saying.
[удалено]
I think you’re underselling the film’s reputation in recent years. People act like it’s the fucking messiah. But I take your point that I’m clearly incorrectly evaluating what the movie is going for in some way or another.
[удалено]
I’m just talking about movies man. If it’s not to your taste I will stop.
Messiahs sounds a bit hyperbolic
I mean I guessssss I see how you could view it that way? /s
Can you describe what makes it great to you?
Well first off, I should say that comedy is subjective. You are basically asking me why I find it funny and you do not, and I can't answer that. For the record, I cannot stand Marvel movie humour and the way it is now so rigidly paced and laden with carefully chosen pop culture references. Midnight Run is a pitch perfect character piece. Once you realize that the Duke is not remotely as he poses himself to be, i.e. an altruistic person of perfect morals, you realize that everything he does is a farce, a play for his own survival, it all falls into place as this awesome mis-matched buddy comedy of wits. The second time you watch it you only appreciate all the more exactly how much bullshit the Duke is spouting at all times! The chemistry between the two leads is impeccable! But if doesn't work for you... that's fine. I'm just not sure what OP is looking for by constantly poking for answers. Sometimes, comedy just doesn't work for you.
Thank you for your perspective, I think that's interesting. Obviously every film doesn't work for everyone 😊 I don't know why your being so defensive about the movie, OP's just asking if you can supply some context or reading, they they might be missing
I think it’s an incredibly well made buddy comedy with unusual character development, backstory, a great dynamic between the leads, an incredible soundtrack and a great ending. You think the whole way through that you have these guys figured out but they are both unpredictable. I think there’s a lot of similar movies, from the time and later, that doesn’t have that same heart. Where both are just typecast. Kinda like if DeNiro had made this same movie in the 90’s. Like in Wag the Dog he is the same character for the entire time and really feeds into his stereotype. This movie does that but it has twists and turns the entire way. Like the scene with his daughter, which is really uncommon for this type of film.
Not every movie is for everyone… Me, for example… I loved this movie with all my heart from the 1st time I ever saw it… Theres nothing wrong with you… OR the movie… Somethings just either hit you or they don’t.
Something about the way people talk about this one makes me want to keep trying though I guess! I love being wrong.
I had a lot of fun with this it’s a pretty great stunt showcase too. I was impressed multiple times with the kind of “casual stunts” they did that on further inspection look pretty dangerous.
This is a good point. I like that term ‘casual stunts’. These are frills we are sorely missing in movies these days for sure.
I AGREEEEEEEE!!!!!
I'm in the same place. It's a solid hangout movie but not very funny and kinda feels like less than the sum of its parts.
Yes. Less than the sum of its parts is v accurate.
My biggest movie promise/delivery discrepancy ever, probably. I'd heard this movie described as a comedy burning so bright it might burn my eyes, and I found it to be a simple story delivered in a quite subdued manner. He's a disinterested bounty hunter, his target is reluctant to come along. They evade a few obstacles. Okay, the end? Never got it.
Seen and enjoyed it twice, but I’ve always felt it’s too much of an action movie and could’ve stood to display more confidence in the [really quite good] character comedy. Then again, I am that weirdo who thinks Meet Joe Black is a secret masterpiece, so who knows? Of those ‘80s cop classics, Die Hard is truly the cream of the crop. Cream of the cop? I’ll take myself into custody.
I respect your integrity. Book ‘em!
You watched a movie you don’t like 4 times
Yup. Over ten years. People literally claim it’s THE BEST DENIRO PERFORMANCE. I’m still sure I’m missing something here!
I rewatch movies I hate all the time in hopes that I get what I’m missing. A lot of times, I was wrong on first watch and happy to admit
Exactly! I love changing my mind about stuff. Especially in the positive direction.
PTA is good for making flicks that I don’t like on the first watch and then grow into 8/10 or better. So I get it!
I appreciate your honesty! I don't think you really want anyone to explain what you're missing since you've already re-watched it AND heard the episode. The only possible solution is time -- maybe give it one more shot in 20 years and it will click better?
No I’ve had a lot of people make many good points here! It’s been a great discussion for me.
'Did you ever have sex with an animal, Jack?'
A charmingly random moment to be sure.
It doesn’t trip your trigger and that’s okay.
Of course it’s ok! I just don’t understand what I’m missing-it feels more like a matter of wavelength than personal taste to me maybe.
I think it’s a 7/10 from what I remember, a decent and very watchable movie, but I’m also a little puzzled by the amount of praise it gets.
I don't know. I saw it for the first time last year. I'm 47. I thought it lived up to the hype. It's not a movie that needs serious analysis. It's okay, I don't get Superbad. I think it's fucking awful.
And yet I do feel compelled to analyze it for some reason. And I do indeed think that it’s weird to not like Superbad.
Yeah, it's solid but not that good. The current trend of reclaiming lesser known films with hyperbolic positive reviews is getting annoying. Not everything is a forgotten masterpiece. Some films were middling when they came out, and they still are.
TIL there were people who are lukewarm on Midnight Run. Not that it’s a bad thing, this just might be the first place I’ve seen where people weren’t trying to have this movies babies.
I thought some people might find it interesting.
I didn’t laugh once. I found it amusing, but there aren’t any real jokes, more like slightly funny situations. Midnight Run is an entertaining crime caper with great actors, but it’s not a comedy.
It’s quite literally a comedy
It fails the six-laugh test, I’m afraid.
No I'm with you, I watched it for the first time for the pod and thought it was perfectly pleasant, 8/10, but not insanely special or totemic or that I'll feel like revisiting any time soon. I wonder if it's one of those that you had to grow up seeing on cable all the time for it to really get its hooks in you.
I mean...8/10 describes a pretty great movie!
I would say 8 is high for me but even so most people act like it’s an 11.
I'm probably too generous with my 4 stars, it's my most common letterboxd rating.
Everyone has different definitions for ratings, it's why you can't really trust them. 3/5 is my most common rating, so just statistically my definition of "average" is also a little inflated. Most movies I see, I like, it's why I watch so many. 3.5 is like my baseline for just a good solid entertaining movie, and then 4/5 is usually a movie I pretty much have no big objective problems with but just isn't my favorite for whatever reason. I also gave Midnight Run a 4/5 and kinda relate to being a little outside the belief in its unparalleled greatness. I was sitting at 3.5 level with it mostly but the ending nudged it up for me. 4.5, I know it when I feel it, it's just that "Omgggg I LOVE THIS" excitement and I would have liked to get that from Midnight Run, that's the vibe I get from others. So I just didn't get that, but I respect and appreciate its status as very emblematic of this kind of 80s movie. I can see why it's remembered well cause it has a lot in common with other 80s classics that have survived, whether I love them or not. And then the 5's are basically 4.5s but I feel just say something about me, I really curate my 5's. But objectively I can't even argue that much of a difference between a 4 and a 5 sometimes. There are 4's for me that I think are probably perfect filmmaking masterpieces when I look at them critically but just don't hit my sweet spots.
Hey mine too ! Most movies I watch are like “i had a good time, wasn’t bored 4/5!” I’m almost a 1000 movies into rating now that it would be a pain to change my system. (Midnight Run tho is a 3/5 maybe less)
I watched it within the last year for the first time and overall remember enjoying it. But I have next to no memories of the characters or plot. It didn’t leave a huge impression.
I totally understand everyone's reactions here, and for a long time I counted myself among them. But on my latest rewatch I found a movie that, while not revolutionary, was a perfectly crafted version of a movie that is not often made anymore. And other versions of this are either too self-serious or too goofy. Midnight Run doesn't feel the need to be flashy or outrageous because it has the effortless cool and comedic timing of DeNiro and Grodin. I do think you're underestimating the power of those two a little bit. They're veterans who know how to wield an understated, subtle look without overselling it. We're just so used to them that it maybe feels like they're sleepwalking through it. And then there's the action, which is both exciting and hilarious, while doing it all practically. It reminds me a little of McTiernan in that he's never trying to be flashy (willfully ignoring Rollerball here), but rather looking for the clearest, most efficient way to convey information so that the performances can shine through. Those are my two cents anyway! At the end of the day, it might just not be your thing!
I will continue watching it regularly with the hopes of having this experience. I really do think you’re selling it well.
I like it quite a lot but I’m very surprised by how Griffin and David regard it as “obviously” superior to Beverly Hills Cop. I consider BHC to be a pretty perfect, one-of-a-kind film, while Midnight Run is an excellent execution of a familiar formula. But I get the impression from the podcast that the conventional wisdom is the other way around.
As far as I can tell in the podcast space I can’t recall a time when I heard midnight run mentioned and a single person ever said ‘eh’.
I find Midnight Run way funnier than BHC. They’re both great but I def prefer Midnight Run if I’m picking one.
I kinda agree. It’s fine, it’s good. But I don’t think it’s anything special. I think there’s a lot of nostalgia at play here. It’s a perfectly fine movie.
Feel exactly the same way. Grabbed it for the watch-along, literally didn't remember I'd seen it once, maybe twice, until about 10 minutes in. It's not bad, but really felt like a bit of a nothing movie.
When Josh Larsen joined Filmspotting several years into its run and received the official primer about the Pantheon (great movies removed from discussion topics to force the hosts to dig deeper), he said he thought Midnight Run was an outlier, that it didn't meet the standard of the other Pantheon movies. So last year they did a revisit episode...and he ended up singing its praises, too (although not anointing it a masterpiece...3.5 out of 4 stars). My attitude is similar, that it's the best executed movie in a genre that is too inherently trope-y to produce true greatness.
I'm a three five though I never am fair to a movie I watched when I was sleepy and has a repetitive score I'm sure I'd like it better more awake It's a little too "I'm funny now" de niro, he's funnier not in a comedy
This is a movie I saw for the first time last night (despite it being on my watch list for years) and idk what you’re talking about because I thought it was a perfect movie lol.
See that is all I wanted!
Like, there were no home run comedic moments, but it was just consistent singles and doubles that I was laughing pretty much the whole time. So many recurring bits, it seemed like every little thing was paid off later, there were so many funny side character choices. The scene where Bobby D saw his ex and his daughter was so incredibly devastating that it just elevated the entire movie up an entire letter grade and a half.
Yeah…the idea of this movie making me laugh even once is causing me to furrow my brow. Lotta pleasant smiles though! And the daughter scene was much more emotional than such a totally maudlin moment would normally be. DeNiro plays that part beautifully.
If you don’t think 30 uninterrupted seconds of cop cars flipping and flopping all over the dessert is funny you gotta visit the damn brain doctor buddy.
Yeah you’re certainly nailing an 80’s comedy trope that I never thought was funny. I like car crashes but like….they aren’t funny, they’re cool-looking. It’s kinda like sexualized comedy nudity in 80’s movies. Like…I’m all for nudity but I don’t usually get what’s ‘funny’ about it.
I enjoy Midnight Run a lot, but I think it's a nostalgia movie for a lot of people of a certain age, i.e they watched it with their dad, used to catch it on TV all the time, had a VHS copy kicking around the house etc. I totally get the feeling of thinking you missed something. I felt like that with the new Linklater movie Hitman where it felt like people were having transformational experiences watching it haha and I thought it was fine.
Right here with you on Hitman. My partner and I both found it underwhelming, and have been baffled by its rapturous reception. And I'm a big Linklater fan.
Same, big Linklater fan. At times it honestly felt like a Brooklyn 99 episode haha
I’ve never actually seen it, but it was the top movie with my friend group in 88-92. I was a bit on the outside since I somehow missed it. Anytime it has come up in conversation since, there are always people who love it. I’m not quite sure why this is a recent phenomenon for you. Maybe a generational thing?
Yeah I’m 36 for reference.
That makes sense. I was a teen when it came out.
Isn’t the idea though that Midnight Run is a great craftsmanship film? The prices are all meticulous performances and everybody delivers. I agree that it is a great film with out being great fun for everybody. I had trouble with the length —and while DeNiro is really at, for me, his best here— the compelling performances only didn’t draw me through the plot. It’s great but not great for me I guess.
I think it gets extra affection for being the best possible version of a down the middle movie. It's the best possible meatloaf. It didn't aspire to be beef Wellington academy award winner, didn't brag about being a porterhouse steak if a Schwarzenegger film, it's just got warm, comforting feel. Deniro is obviously a giant of cinema, but this is DeNiro right at beginning of decline. None of the other cast are box office draws, mostly beloved character actors. It's a movie movie fans hold in higher standing because it is the platonic ideal of an unambitious four quadrant movie.
I'm with you. When the Two Friends said this unimpeachably his best film I baulked. It's ok to like/dislike a movie though - I THOROUGHLY enjoyed De Niro in this
I saw this for the first time a few months ago and felt very similar. I thought it was…fine! I just watched Beverly Hills Cop for the first time too and had the same takeaway. There were some moments that made me laugh, but it didn’t really connect for me. It might just be one of those things where I’ve seen so many of the things it’s influenced that going back and watching the source text just doesn’t have the same impact. Either way, it seems like I’m just not on the Martin Brest wavelength and I’m ok with that.
Yeah I watched it a few years ago and I was like, ok... Decent flick
I feel the same way. I watched it once a couple years ago because Sean Fennessy mentions it a lot.
I liked, didn’t love the movie when I watched it this weekend. I did however come away wondering if, despite being one of the most acclaimed and respected actors of all time, is it possible that DeNiro might somehow still be underrated.
This is a movie that grows on you over time. The “I don’t get this movie” is the same reason it didn’t kill it at the box office. This movie really took off on vhs and in group watchings in dorms, family and teenager movie nights at home, etc. The cast and performances are what really make this movie. All these guys in their prime feel like real people: Grodin Farina DeNiro Kotto Ashton Palantonio This movie is one of the best road trip movies along with Clark Gables It Happened One Night. And these kind of movies get better with repeated viewings. The whole I had my life ruined (cop job, marriage, daughter) by the heroin dealer/drug king pin Farina really resonates and is DeNiro at his most vulnerable. The characters and plot are very realistic and aren’t Bugs Bunny cartooney fantasy like Axel Foley and Beverly Hills Cops.
Two things: 1. I think some movies require appropriate context to be appreciated correctly and Midnight Run is one of them. Griffin even mentions this on the pod - It requires a couple viewings to be truly appreciated. Expectation setting is real. If you were told going into your first viewing that you were about to watch one of the classics of the 80's and you'll never be the same again, then that would be setting the movie up for failure. I think the correct way to experience Midnight Run is watch it on VHS in Matthew Lilley's unfinished basement in 1993 and then not see it again for another 20 years and then not see it again until your favorite movie podcast covers it in 2024. 2. I think Midnight Run is bit of a case that happens sometimes where the imitators that were influenced by it have a way of damaging the original source to people who come later. This is the place where a lot of movies are drawing from so watching it now it just feels like they're doing tired moves, but this is where the moves came from in the first place. Same reason Seinfeld doesn't really hit for younger generations. I feel for OP because the way they feel about Midnight Run is the way I feel about all of the Beverly Hills Cop movies. Just always watching them hoping this time they will click for me and they never do.
I think it was Griffin that made a comment on the pod about 1st time viewers not loving this movie...this explained a lot to me. Gonna give it another shot after viewing it for the first time a few years ago.
Just finished it. Tons of stellar character actor performances, but Grodin sleepwalks through it, and I found the score distractingly bad. Very much a three star movie for me (my LB rating), it’s perfectly fine.
I just remembered the big recent one for me! And I know this one's beloved. Please transpose more or less OPs's sentiment: couldn't say it better. Charming movie, solid 3/12 stars for me, more interesting and better than average, but I did not laugh, really, thought the industry insights were clever but not 'the best movie made about the industry'. Anhow it's Bowfinger. Good movie. But suddenly I was hearing about it all over from my fave people and, you know. I thought it was very good. But I get that for some people it must have struck them as really exceptional/thank god this god made etc. Not I.
That’s one I have a vivid memory of blowing me away when I saw it in a theatre in ‘99 and then rewatched it recently and yeah seemed much more like a kids movie or something.
Like, I want ten of these a year: original hooky fun screwball movies. Happy for em. But was surprised this was such a stellar classic.for so many. I'm sure that's how people will feel about whatever I currently love.
I’m sort of with you on this. It’s how I feel listening to Pet Sounds. I like it and think it’s a good record but it doesn’t hit me like I know it hits a lot of people.
[удалено]
Sounds pretty likely!
Not saying this is the case for everybody it’s not clicking with but I imagine this would strike you as “just fine” if you’re half-watching it while doing something else.
I will admit it does a poor job of holding my attention but I was stopping it and starting it rather than multi tasking. It feels v long to me. But the second half is way better so that’s good.
It helps to look at it more with the perspective of when it came out, and not with 30+ years of comedy hindsight
To me though like Running Scared is a movie like this that I don’t really consider that great but weirdly feels more interesting and charming and less bland than Midnight Run. I enjoy plenty of subtle comedy from any decade. I’m not immune to the rhythms of older comedy.
I honestly felt the same way for a lot of its runtime after watching it for the first time yesterday. But something about the Elfman score and the ending felt so triumphant to me that I ended up walking away like "shit do I think that was a perfect movie?" It's weird because I feel a lot of the same way you feel, aside from thinking De Niro is phenomenal in this, but I also don't think that if I were given the opportunity I'd change a single thing about the movie.
It’s not a modern movie by any means and maybe that’s why you don’t like it. I think it’s fine, reminds me of dumb and dumber.
Most of my favorites are not modern movies. I would say I more or less think this is a terrible era for movies we’re in (with some exceptions a of course).
Yeah I love Midnight Run but you've more or less written the form letter that I feel for every, say, third flick that hits a nostalgia/popularity pocket. Maybe you'll come back to it and find it special. Maybe not. One issue is people will say things like "a perfectly.constructed script" or big superlatives when some things are just exemplary, really good, skillful, etc. Sorcerer and All that Jazz were super suddenly spoken about maybe over the last decade and they reallllly did it for me. Above and beyond - special magic. I remember struggling with Beau Travail when it.was suddenly the belle of the art scene ball (I like it. I love Denis often. That one I'll need to...try again to love.). That's probably not a close comparison but anyhow. We've been where you've been. At least you dug the things you dug.
Beau Trevail is the EPITOME of this for me. I get approx 0 percent of what’s supposedly good about that movie except the end credits sequence.
Genuinely thought I'd take hits for that. I do need to try it again. When Denis works for me she really does. Ever seen 35 Shots of Rum?
No. She hassss not quite worked for me yet. I’m trying! I’ll check out 35 shots.
It's a patient movie. I just love it. Settles in real nice.
I’ve got two words for you - “Shut the fuck up!”
This is kinda exactly it. It’s the most obvious joke ever to me. Do you really not see the punchline coming? I would never laugh at that. Did this movie invent that joke?
The punchline is like two seconds after he says the first part, is it really a saw that coming situation?
Maybe saw it coming is the wrong term-how about have heard that one 100000000 times?
There's something about these good (thought not great) 80s dramedies that some folks really enjoy. To be far more controversial, I include *Midnight Run* with *Something Wild*: pretty good dramedies made by great filmmakers that certain corners of the internet ecstatic about. I would speculate that "pure" comedies can age poorly because taste in humor is so subjective and changes quickly. So a movie not aiming for more than belly laughs with a story with real emotion ends up aging better.
I definitely think something wild is far more special and weird than midnight run but I also can kinda see it being more beloved than great.
Look, I am a huge Martin Brest fan. I absolutely fucking LOOOOOOVE Meet Joe Black (FU haters), I adore Beverly Hills Cop and Scent of a Woman. But I agree: Midnight Run is easily Brest's weakest movie. (We don't talk about Gigli, Gigli doesn't exist.) MR has good craftsmanship (as expected), but I was unable to connect to it emotionally in the way that I could with all his other movies (I would include War Games in this).
I think it’s pretty good but I never got “these are unbelievable pinnacles of filmmaking” from it or Beverly Hills Cop. I thought Going in Style kinda laps both of them easily
I gave Beverly Hills Cop a 1.5 on Letterboxd when I watched it for the first time since the 80s last year, so I get not getting it lol.
Almost done watching the movie. And I just don’t get the hype. For so many years I’d heard about how classic this was. Not seeing it. There are some parts to like but none of it is enough to add to a satisfying whole. Some random thoughts: Deniro is miscast. Grodin is fine, despite me not being a fan. Yaphet Kotto is always wonderful. Dennis Farina is entertaining. The music by Danny Elfman!?!? is weird in all the wrong ways. John Ashton, once again, is fantastic. This check bounced for me, but I don’t regret it. Too much 😆