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Storyline
A nebbish of a morgue attendant gets shunted back to the night shift where he is shackled with an obnoxious neophyte partner who dreams of the "one great idea" for success. His life takes a bizarre turn when a prostitute neighbour complains about the loss of her pimp. His partner, upon hearing the situation, suggests that they fill that opening themselves using the morgue at night as their brothel. Against his better judgement, he gets talked into the idea, only to find that it's more than his boss that has objections to this bit of entrepreneurship. Written by
&view=simple&sort=alpha">Kenneth Chisholm <kchishol@execulink.com>
Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Taglines:
Ever since two enterprising young men turned the City Morgue into a swinging business, people have been dying to get in.
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Did You Know?
Trivia
This film contains the first recorded version of the song 'That's What Friends Are For' written by
Burt Bacharach and
Carole Bayer Sager. It was first recorded in 1982 by
Rod Stewart for this soundtrack and then made globally famous 3 years later by
Dionne Warwick and Friends; a collective of known vocalist including
Gladys Knight,
Elton John, and
Stevie Wonder. Their version of the song went to number one for three weeks on Billboard's charts in 1986 and was recorded as a benefit for American Foundation for AIDS Research. Sales of the record raised over US$3 million for that cause.
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Goofs
When Charlotte visits Chuck in jail, the positions of Chuck's hands on the bars of the cell change completely between shots.
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Quotes
Bill:
LOVE BROKERS!
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Connections
Referenced in
Jeopardy!: Episode #26.85 (2010)
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Soundtracks
Jumpin' Jack Flash
Written by
Mick Jagger &
Keith Richards
Performed by
The Rolling Stones See more »
Adam Sandler and Pauly Shore can only DREAM of being as funny as Michael Keaton in "Night Shift." Keaton's hilarious performance only serves to underscore the fact that he's never been near as funny since.
Sure, the movie will never be in the AFI's top 100 list. But when I was 18, a loony pre-college me dreamed of being as funny as Billy Blaizejowski, Keaton's character in the film. I credit the script for great lines, but I doubt anyone could have made an annoying character like Billy loveable - except Keaton.
Henry Winkler does a bang-up job with a straight role that affords audiences little to get excited about. He is completely convincing as an in-over-his-head nebbish with a nervous stomach, and deserves credit for pulling it off without seeming whiny. We identify with Winkler's character even though we can see how cowardly he is.
The plot, of course, is contrived, as is any plot involving hookers with hearts of gold. It's hard to see Shelly Long as a prostitute, but she plays it gamely and has fun with the role.
I recommend this film if you have any craziness to your sense of humor, or just if you're a male between the ages of 17 and 25. That's the target audience, but even in my mid-30's, I still find Keaton's performance refreshing and laugh-out-loud funny.