Night Shift

Ron Howard’s first bona fide hit, Night Shift follows morgue attendant Chuck Lumley (Henry Winkler) as he’s convinced to start operating a brothel out of his workplace by flashy new coworker Bill Blazejowski (Michael Keaton) – with complications ensue as the mild-mannered Chuck finds himself falling for one of his prostitutes (Shelley Long’s Belinda Keaton). It’s a unique premise that’s employed to affable (if entirely forgettable) effect by director Howard, as the filmmaker, working from a script by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, does an effective job of initially establishing the movie’s seedy, New York City-landscape and assortment of oddball characters. It’s clear early on that Night Shift benefits heavily from Keaton’s star-making turn as the excitable, impetuous Blazejowski, and it’s ultimately impossible to deny that the movie suffers during stretches when Keaton’s character is offscreen (which occurs more and more as the movie approaches its inevitable conclusion). There is, as such, little doubt that the film takes a serious dive in its increasingly underwhelming third act, with Ganz and Mandel’s script emphasizing elements that couldn’t possibly be less interesting – including Chuck’s decision to break away from both Long and Keaton’s respective characters (ie it’s a twist on the dreaded fake break-up cliche). Night Shift‘s obvious overlength ultimately prevents it from becoming the briskly-paced, easygoing comedy that Howard is clearly striving for, which is a shame, really, given that the movie is actually quite engaging and entertaining in its breezy first half – with the three stars, Keaton especially, heightening the decidedly affable atmosphere with impressive ease.

**1/2 out of ****