'After Hours'
The Ringer's Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey really want to see a Plaster of that Paris bagel and cream cheese paperweight before rewatching Martin Scorsese's 1985 neo-noir black comedy 'After Hours,' starring Griffin Dunne and Rosanna Arquette.
Cast
Griffin Dunne as Paul Hackett
Rosanna Arquette as Marcy
Linda Fiorentino as Kiki Bridges
Teri Garr as Julie
Catherine O'Hara as Gail
John Heard as Tom the Bartender
Will Patton as Horst
Verna Bloom as June
Cheech Marin as Neil
Tommy Chong as Pepe
Dick Miller as Waiter
Bronson Pinchot as Berlin Club Doorman
Victor Argo as Diner Counterman
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Written by: Joseph Minion
Cinematography by: Michael Ballhaus
Notes
- Part of New York City Month on The Rewatchables.
- Budget of $4.5 million, grossed $10.6 million. Runtime: 94 minutes.
- Joseph Minion wrote the screenplay as a senior thesis in film school at age 21 (got an A+).
- Scorsese told Griffin Dunne not to have sex for 8 weeks during the shoot to maintain 'a look of desire in his eyes.' When Dunne broke the rule, Scorsese immediately noticed.
- Shot entirely between 5pm and 5am (all-night shoots).
- Michael Powell (legendary British filmmaker, married to Thelma Schoonmaker) mentored Scorsese during this period and helped him figure out the ending.
- The movie was a miracle rejuvenation for Scorsese after his cocaine breakdown, Raging Bull's commercial disappointment, King of Comedy bombing, and Last Temptation of Christ being cancelled by Paramount.
- Tim Burton was originally going to direct; he stepped aside for Scorsese and went on to make Pee-wee's Big Adventure instead.
Categories
Quote from Rog's review:
“Scorsese's attempt continues to combine comedy and satire with unrelenting pressure and a sense of all pervading paranoia.”
- Ebert gave it 4 stars and put it on his Great Movies list.
- Pauline Kael hated it: called it 'a vacuous, polished piece of consumer goods, all surface.'
- Sean (winner): The second diner conversation between Rosanna Arquette and Griffin Dunne – 'My husband was a movie freak, he loved to watch The Wizard of Oz over and over again. Surrender Dorothy.'
- Bill: Rosanna Arquette's first scene in the diner; Linda Fiorentino's back rub scene; the subway token scene; Catherine O'Hara's apartment scene (phone number bit); the ending (van drop-off).
- Sean: Soho in the '80s.
- Bill: Opening credits 'The Geffen Company presents'; giving someone a phone number (no cell phones); Bronson Pinchot cameo (fresh off 'Beverly Hills Cop'); going across Manhattan in a cab for $6.50.
- Scorsese's direction – seeds of 'Goodfellas' are everywhere in the editing and camera work.
- Rosanna Arquette's 1985 – Desperately Seeking Susan, Silverado, and 'After Hours' all in one year.
- Catherine O'Hara and John Heard appearing together – a 'Home Alone parents preview.'
- The weird New York characters: incense cab driver, subway worker, diner guy.
- The Surrender Dorothy graffiti; Cheech and Chong in a Scorsese movie.
- Sean: The keys thrown from the roof (coming at camera); the zoom on Marcy when she winks (Sean's favorite).
- Bill: The crane shot coming down on Griffin Dunne in the last 20 minutes outdoors.
- Sean: Griffin Dunne exiting the gates at the end, the plaster statue falling out of the van.
- Bill (winner): 'Is That All There Is' by Peggy Lee.
- Sean: 'Last Train to Clarksville' by The Monkees (Teri Garr was in the Monkees movie 'Head'); 'Pay to Cum' by Bad Brains (in Club Berlin).
- No Rolling Stones despite being a Scorsese film.
Both Bill and Sean agree: Just walk home. 90 blocks in an hour and 15 minutes. Also: there's more than one subway stop.
- Bill: Griffin Dunne's unibrow.
- Sean: Soho's transformation from dangerous to corporate; the name Paul Hackett (now associated with terrible NY Jets offensive coordinator and his son Nathaniel Hackett with Aaron Rodgers).
- Bill: Griffin Dunne – dials it up a couple times, especially when he gets mad at Marcy.
- Sean suggests Will Patton (Horst) as a candidate too.
- Sean: 'After Hours' is in his top 3 Scorsese movies ('Goodfellas', King of Comedy, 'After Hours'). Scorsese's '80s may be better than his '90s, and maybe even his '70s.
- Bill: Linda Fiorentino should have been on The Sopranos for 1-3 episodes – a crime against pop culture that she wasn't.
- Tim Burton was originally going to direct.
- Re-casting the lead by era: Tom Hanks (1985, post-Splash); Michael Keaton (1985, consensus best pick); John Cusack (1990); Josh Hamilton (1996-97); Philip Seymour Hoffman (2004-05); Jesse Eisenberg (2010-11); Bill Hader; Cooper Hoffman (today).
- 1985 alternatives: Steve Guttenberg, Andrew McCarthy, Judge Reinhold.
- Sean: Dick Miller, Victor 'Argo', and Larry Block (the taxi driver).
- Will Patton discussed but considered too recognizable.
- Nominees: Teri Garr, Catherine O'Hara, Linda Fiorentino, Will Patton, Verna Bloom, Cheech and Chong, John Heard.
- Bill's winner: Linda Fiorentino.
Bill: Michael Keaton (1985, consensus best pick); Tom Hanks (1985, post-Splash); John Cusack (1990); Jesse Eisenberg (2010-11); Cooper Hoffman (today).
- Scorsese's Club Berlin doorman dialogue was inspired by Franz Kafka's 'Before the Law' – reflecting his frustration over Last Temptation of Christ cancellation.
- Rosanna Arquette said the cast were regulars at Cafe Central (NYC bar/restaurant) – De Niro, Christopher Walken were there; Bruce Willis was the bartender.
- Griffin Dunne was best friends with Carrie Fisher since childhood.
- Linda Fiorentino had a relationship with Anthony Pellicano; dated FBI agent Mark Rossini to help Pellicano's defense; both men went to prison.
- Griffin Dunne: Yes.
- Rosanna Arquette: Yes, 1985 (Desperately Seeking Susan, Silverado, 'After Hours').
- Linda Fiorentino: Debated – Last Seduction (1994) vs. Men in Black.
- Teri Garr: No, probably Tootsie era.
- Cheech and Chong: No, probably late '70s (Up in Smoke).
- Plaster: Yes.
Scorsese wins. Spielberg 'doesn't have the juice to get into this energy.' This is the show's 8th Scorsese rewatchable vs. Spielberg's 9.
- Sean: Tom the bartender (John Heard's role).
- Bill: Could be talked into the lead at certain career points.
- Bill: Not sure why Griffin Dunne flips on Marcy; why did Marcy actually kill herself?
- Sean: Why don't you just walk home? Marcy overdosed on Seconal (same as Judy Garland – Wizard of Oz symmetry).
Bill: Prestige TV possibility – like '24' but it's 'After Hours', 10 episodes, one per hour.
Hanks. Bill argues Hanks would have been perfect as the awkward guy trying to get laid.
- Sean: What is Paul Hackett's job exactly? (word processor, but what does that mean?)
- Bill: Does he get arrested later for Marcy's death? Timeline: he leaves at 11:30pm, lands back at office around 6:30-7:15am (7 hours round trip).
- Sean: Did he finish reading Tropic of Cancer?
- Bill: The Mr. Softee truck.
- Sean: The plaster of Paris bagel.
Bill: Nothing good happens after 2:00 AM. Don't chase the night.
- Bill (winner): Into the Night (1985, John Landis – same concept but set in LA).
- Sean: Pee-wee's Big Adventure; Uncut Gems; Bringing Out the Dead (another nighttime Scorsese, Nic Cage); Game Night.
Scorsese. He was cooked, he was done for. This movie got him back on track, got his juices going, and led eventually to 'Goodfellas'.
Jack Sanders (filling in for Craig Horlbeck): 'I think this movie is the reason this show exists.' Calls it 'a five star masterpiece.' He and his girlfriend were 'dying laughing the entire time.' Praises Scorsese as having 'the best image-making instincts' of any director.