After Hours (DVD, 2004)

THIS MOVIE IS VERY ENTERTAINING AND IS ABOUT A GUY THAT JUST WANTS TO MEET A GIRL AND DOES, AFTER HE GETS OFF WORK. IT INVOLVES ONE NIGHT "AFTER HOURS" OF WORKING AND WHAT CAN HAPPEN TO A PERSON THAT IS TRYING TO JUST GET BACK HOME FOR THE EVENING AFTER BAD THINGS BEGIN TO HAPPEN FROM THE WORD "GO". LOVED THE MOVIE AND IT IS ONE OF THOSE KIND THAT YOU CAN WATCH AGAIN AND AGAIN, AND SEE NEW THINGS HAPPENING THAT YOU MISSED THE FIRST TIME AROUND. DEFINITELY RECOMMEND

For word processor Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne), a bad night starts with a pen that won't write and gets worse with every tick of the clock. But bad can be intriguing and funny. Paul meets the mysterious Marcy in an all night coffee shop. He decides later to call and come over, taking a wild cab ride, so wild that his only $20 bill blows out the window. From there on it's one fiasco after another. Finding he doesn't like Marcy after all, he tries to return home. But the subway fare has just increased to $1.50 and he only has 97 cents. He stops into a bar and after explaining his plight, must go to the owner's apartment to retrieve a key for the cash register, only to be mistaken for a burglar. These events are just the tip of the iceberg in a nightmare night.

I particularly enjoy Paul's many great relationship opportunities, for as his adventures unfold he gets to know several attractive and available women. However each acquaintance results in disaster. As the story progresses, Scorsese's ingenious plot connects the seemingly random people he meets, a device used handily a decade later in the classic, Pulp Fiction. Cheech and Chong, as the real burglars, lend even more humor to this black comedy.

The movie is very 1980s, with computers using DOS, no cell phones, and Marcy's roommate Kiki praticing the "underwear as outerwear" trend of the time. When the film was made, the popularity of oldies music was just gaining traction, another hook for me. You'll hear the Monkees "Last Train to Clarksville", Johnny & Joe "Over the Mountain", Rosie & the Originals "Angel Baby", Joni Mitchell "Chelsea Morning, Peggy Lee "Is That All There Is?", and several other golden oldies, all by the original artists. For a bit of visual nostalgia, there's Teri Garr as waitress Julie, dubbed "Miss Beehive 1965". Add compositions by Bach, Mozart, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin, and you've got a solid music soundtrack.

By contemporary standards, this is a pretty tame flick, basically without violence. The deleted scenes offer a bit more insight into the characters as well as additional laughs. This is a fun movie, especially if you've ever had one of those days when everything goes wrong. You can go away relieved, because Paul Hackett had a worse one.

One of my faves. I have always loved this movie and wanted it for my Cult film collection. Great cast and very funny.

What a movie by Marty. His credits sometimes have been underacheived and over-rated, but, why wasnt this flick right up there? Its called a cult classic by amateurs and their right on. Dark and sinister plot interweaves all three women around a maypole of intrigue and social mayhem. Comedic in its enterprise and gripping, especially watching it alone and in a bad state of affairs, this one can really hit home.

This wasn't a big hit when it came out, but it should have been. Martin Scorsese is a master of creating atmosphere and exploring a specific setting, and he has proved that in movies like Taxi Driver and Gangs of New York. In this film he brings the SoHo of the early to mid 1980s to life in brilliant and surreal fashion. Griffin Dunne is a great Every Man character. You like him from the very first scene and you follow his adventures with excitement and dread. The tension in this film is also intense, and that is amazing for a light hearted comedy. I am always surprised to hear that people have not seen this movie, or that people don't like this movie. I urge all Scorsese fans to see it. It's one of his best, even though many critics did not like it when it came out. It's a cult hit, but it deserves to be more than that too. It's a masterpiece.

After Hours is an unpredictable, complicated movie that I can see over and over and still not remember what happens next. Very few movies are worth the money like this one is. It's believable and bizarre.

One of the best, most overlooked films of the 1980's, AFTER HOURS is for anyone whose ever had a bad date/night/day, etc. Director Martin Scorsese pulls out all the stops and makes a roaring comedy that blends his usual gritty worldview with just the right amount of pathos. Griffin Dunne's everyman is a perfect commentary about how sometimes a bad night is the thing we need to put life into focus. The stellar cast: Teri Garr, Rosanna Arquette, Linda Fiorentino, John Heard, Cheech & Chong and Verna Bloom are all perfect.

I bought this film because I enjoy a great film that may have slipped through the radar. Although most people prefer MEAN SRTEETS, RAGING BULL, GOODFELLAS and TAXI DRIVER, I happen to think this was one of his all-time best. I urge anyone with a solid sense of irony to see this film.