Review XCVIII
After Hours (1985)
So my boyfriend and I were looking for a new film to watch, and he was feeling a comedy. Now, while he has taste when it comes to every other genre, comedies are not his strong suit. And I'm not a big comedy person in general. So after trying Scary Movie for not even five minutes, I copped out. Instead we settled on a film that I had heard about in passing but had never fully looked into - Martin Scorsese's After Hours. I'm sure you've seen the poster before. I didn't even know it was Martin Scorsese until I happened across it when I was looking for a better film! My boyfriend loves Scorsese, and it was a dark comedy, so it was a win-win situation... I think...
Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) is a word processor who is looking for some excitement in his life. He meets a young woman, named Marcy (Rosanna Arquette), at a coffee shop who invites him over to buy a paper weight from her artist friend, Kiki (Linda Fiorentino - Dogma? Wow). When Paul actually decides to go, his night soon turns into a nightmare where he just wishes he could go home and sleep.
The film was different than the other Scorsese films I've seen. Apparently it was made in response to a film Martin Scorsese would later release about Jesus (the Christian figure, not the Mexican) called The Last Temptation of Christ. Paramount Pictures had cancelled the film's production, and it had completed bummed out Scorsese. Originally to the be directed by Tim Burton, he stepped aside when Scorsese expressed an interest in being the director. Yeah, you know right away Scorsese was putting himself in the film. Paul is stuck dealing with a bunch of crazy people all night where, every time he thinks he may finally be getting home, he somehow gets screwed over. It's humorous; nothing that sends you away crying, but you laugh at some particular moments and the fact that everyone is just so damn crazy. You can see how Scorsese felt he was the only sane individual when trying to get going with The Last Temptation of Christ. In fact, I think the film really exaggerates those times where you're around people who just seem to be against you by taking the craziest way to go about things (this would have to be me when it comes to school projects).
I find it a bit sad that I had never really heard of this film before. If you're a die-hard Scorsese film, I'm sure you'd know it, but otherwise, just a casual fan probably wouldn't know this film. I won't call it his best film since it's really just expressing frustration with dealing with other people, but it's a nice watch if you're feeling something futile, hehe. Griffin Dunne has the best expressions sometimes. When he meets up with the men-that-have-sex-with-men guy, how I did laugh. Seeing him break down to people and how no one cares, yet everyone remembers him for a small mistake he made. And you get a lot of cameos from some familiar people, like John Heard, Catherine O'Hara, and Cheech and Chong! Pretty legit.
No need to check out After Hours after hours (*drum snare*) to enjoy it. A nice little watch from Martin Scorsese that I totally recommend for a casual viewing.
This trailer just sums up the whole film, so skip it if you truly want to go in surprised.
