Midnight Run (1988) - Episode 107

The Rewind Movie Podcast

We’re joined once again by our good friend Aidan all the way from Vancouver to discuss one of his childhood favourites, Martin Brest’s foulmouthed 1988 buddy caper Midnight Run.

Disgraced former Chicago cop Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro), now working as an LA bounty hunter, is tasked with bringing in mob accountant Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas (Charles Grodin), who has skipped town on his desperate bondsman Eddie Moscone (Joe Pantoliano). The Duke has embezzled $15 million from mafia boss Jimmy Serrano (Dennis Farina), giving most of the loot away to charity before going into hiding. Jack tracks The Duke down in New York, and has 5 days to bring him back to jail or Eddie forfeits almost half a million dollars in bail. After The Duke gets himself and Jack kicked off a plane by feigning an aviophobic panic attack, the pair spend a gruelling and contentious cross-country trip by rail and road, as the fussy, wily Duke tries to wheedle away from the slovenly and cranky Jack.

A showcase for De Niro’s comic skills after a long run of features which saw him established as one of serious cinema’s most celebrated actors, the film pairs him with Grodin, who had essayed a number of well-received comic roles across cinema, theatre and TV through the 70s and 80s without breaking through as a leading man. Director Brest returns to the high-octane combination of screwball dialogue and explosive 80s action that he pioneered in Beverly Hills Cop to create a sizeable commercial success that has sustained a cult following in the years since. Rustle up some Lyonnaise potatoes and join us in the boxcar.

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