Into The Night

Even though he had some of the biggest comedy hits of the 80's, John Landis had some really great films that went unnoticed. One of his best is 1985's Into The Night.

Ed Okin, Jeff Goldblum, is suffering from a bad bought of insomnia and depression. One afternoon, he decides to leave work early in hopes of catching a few winks at home. When he gets there, he finds his wife having an affair. He dives to the airport at the suggestion of his friend and coworker Herb, Dan Aykroyd. Herb tells him that watching the planes coming and going can be relaxing and hopefully will be able to lull him to sleep.

As Ed pulls into the parking garage, Diane, Michelle Pfeiffer, hops on his car and begs him to drive her because she is being chased by Iranians. Reluctant at first, Ed gives in. He finds out that she has smuggled diamonds from Iran and now has Iranian assailants and a British hitman, David Bowie, trying to kill her. Diane turns to so called friends and former lovers for help, but it's Ed who turns out to be her hero.

This ranks up there with some of my favorite comedies of the 80's. It plays a lot like Scorsese's After Hours. They might seem like an odd match but Goldblum and Pfeiffer work well off one another. I'm a huge Goldblum fan, and he brings his deadpan, oddball charm to the character of Ed. Pfeiffer always proved that she was more than just a beautiful actress. I feel that a lot of her earlier roles, like this one, went ignored and she didn't truly start earning respect till the late 80's.

Landis has crammed a who's who of famous names into the supporting cast. I already mentioned Aykroyd and Bowie, who by the way is both funny and scary in his role. Richard Farnsworth, Kathrynn Harrold, Paul Mazursky, Bruce McGill, Vera Miles, Clu Gulager, and Carl Perkins are just some of the names that pop up. All of which are great, especially McGill as a man obsessed with Elvis. Speaking of music, B.B. King performs a lot of songs on the soundtrack to give it an even cooler vibe.

I think Landis really comes into his own with this picture and show's that he can helm a comedy that isn't just a vehicle for an SNL star.

Both funny and suspenseful, Into The Night is a real gem.

Available on dvd.