Night Shift (film)

Plot

Chuck (Winkler), formerly a successful stockbroker, has found a refuge from the ulcer-inducing Wall Street rat race in his job as an attendant at the New York City morgue. His displeasure at being "promoted" to Night Shift Supervisor to make room for his boss's nephew is exacerbated by the irrational exuberance of Bill "Blaze" Blazejowski (Keaton), his new co-worker. They are inspired by the plight of Chuck's prostitute neighbor, Belinda (Long), to apply Chuck's financial acumen and Bill's entrepreneurial spirit to open a prostitution service headquartered at the morgue.

Chuck falls in love with Belinda, but their relationship becomes complicated when Belinda refuses to quit prostitution. Chuck's passiveness keeps him from telling Belinda he loves her. Meanwhile, Chuck and Bill's foray into the prostitution business draws the ire of dangerous pimps who come to the morgue and threaten to kill Chuck. Bill inadvertently leads undercover cops to the morgue where Chuck is being assaulted by the pimps. A shootout ensues. Chuck and Bill are rescued, but are arrested for promoting prostitution. Because their arrest would be a political embarrassment, the guys are offered their old jobs back and a dismissal of all charges. Chuck accepts this, but Bill sees it as an opportunity to bargain with the mayor's office. Chuck and Bill fight and part ways. Chuck's fiancée breaks up with him.

Chuck sees Belinda in the hall of their apartment complex, but again fails to express his true feelings for her. Belinda leaves, and Chuck becomes angry with himself for being afraid. With renewed determination, Chuck finds Belinda working in an adult club and professes his love for her. He also finds Bill is employed there. The three leave the club together and go out on the town.

Soundtrack

The movie's opening theme song is "Night Shift" by Quarterflash. The closing theme song, "That's What Friends Are For", performed by Rod Stewart, was written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager.

The official soundtrack was released in 1982 on the Ladd Company label and was distributed by Warner Bros. It included ten selected tracks from the film, six of which were written just for the film:

1. "Night Shift" by Quarterflash
2. "Street Talk" by Burt Bacharach
3. "Girls Know How" by Al Jarreau
4. "The Love Too Good to Last" by The Pointer Sisters
5. "That's What Friends Are For" by Rod Stewart
6. "Someday, Someway" by Marshall Crenshaw
7. "Penthouse and Pavement" by Heaven 17
8. "Talk Talk" by Talk Talk
9. "Everlasting Love" by Rufus and Chaka Khan
10. "Night Shift Love Theme (instrumental)" by Burt Bacharach

The soundtrack was a vinyl and cassette-only release. The versions of "Talk Talk" and "Penthouse and Pavement" that are on the soundtrack are different from any other releases of the songs as they were specially mixed for the soundtrack.

Other songs heard in the film include "You Really Got Me" by Van Halen and a live version of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" by The Rolling Stones, taken from the 1977 live album Love You Live; a section of "Cutting Branches for a Temporary Shelter" by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra is also heard.

Box office

Night Shift earned approximately $21.1 million at the domestic box office.

Critical reception

The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 95% of 19 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.6 out of 10. Many reviewers praised the performances of the two male leads, particularly Michael Keaton.

TV Guide′s Movie Guide wrote that "Winkler turns in the best performance of his career, and Keaton is wonderful." The Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum compared Night Shift to the subsequent comedy film Risky Business (which also dealt with the theme of prostitution), noting that Night Shift isn't "as snappily directed or as caustically conceived, ... but it's arguably just as sexy and almost as funny." The New York Times′ Janet Maslin, however, deemed Night Shift "a halfway funny movie, one that's got loads of good gags in its first half and nothing but trouble in its second."

Controversy

Winkler's jail scene in the film is considered gratuitously homophobic by some critics. A film lexicon author who praised the film nevertheless described the scene as "infamous."