Apparently this is Scorsese's undiscovered gem that is never mentioned along with his greatest achievements in film-making. Halfway through I didn't really see what the fuss is all about but the more it the story went on the more I liked it. Griffin Dunne is perfect as the quiet naïve Paul and his supporting cast are perfect.
Paul works for a typing company is a quite a loner from what we are lead to believe. He quietly reads a book in a café when a woman called Marcy played by Rosanna Arquette comments on how much she loves the book he is reading. From here a brief friendship blossoms and a request for paper weights is exchanged and that's how After Hours begins. Marcy mentions to Paul that her friend KiKi makes Paper weights and has some for sale. Paul is interested as his work papers are in a complete mess. They exchange numbers and the same night Paul calls up to see if he can come and collect them. Marcy agrees and Paul turns up but really wants to see where his sudden friendship with Cecile could lead but not before be introduced to Kiki. Kiki is more than unusual and Marcy is more than paranoid. From here leads to the most oddest and terrifying night of Paul's life. From chasing robbers to actually being accused of being the robber himself, meeting a barman and his stupid still living in the sixties waitress, a woman who loves the fact she works for Mr Softy and just a complete insane bunch of people in New York he never really dealt with before, till now. All this takes him into a night of complete hell in the Big Apple. Scorsese works the film from story to story and couldn't have found anyone better to play Paul than Griffin Dunne who is pretty much extinct as far as Hollywood talent goes. He goes on the list of where are they now?
Out of all of Martin Scorsese's films this stands out the most as it's a movie you wouldn't think by watching was directed by him. It's dark humour is a bit like The King of Comedy but this has more eye opener scenes. It's fast paced from place to place in typical Thelma Scoonmaker editing is excellent. I was expecting a lot more from the start but that's the way it is but I found myself loving every minute of it the more it went on and the more the story unfolded into all the coincidences that happen to him. If Paul was played by anyone else other than Griffin Dunne then I think it's fair to say I would have hated this film as Dunne is the man who makes this film. It's not Scorsese it's him that makes it all the more enjoyable just for his fantastic facial expressions. The story is very original especially for 1986 or whenever it came out around that era but it's nowhere near what Scorsese is capable of. To me this was a an experiment to where he can take a film like this and see where it goes. I just find it a huge shame that this film didn't do for Griffin Dunne what Mean Streets did for Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel but one day there could be a comeback I can only hope.
Not Scorsese's best but well worth a look and very enjoyable with extremely funny moments throughout.
Paul works for a typing company is a quite a loner from what we are lead to believe. He quietly reads a book in a café when a woman called Marcy played by Rosanna Arquette comments on how much she loves the book he is reading. From here a brief friendship blossoms and a request for paper weights is exchanged and that's how After Hours begins. Marcy mentions to Paul that her friend KiKi makes Paper weights and has some for sale. Paul is interested as his work papers are in a complete mess. They exchange numbers and the same night Paul calls up to see if he can come and collect them. Marcy agrees and Paul turns up but really wants to see where his sudden friendship with Cecile could lead but not before be introduced to Kiki. Kiki is more than unusual and Marcy is more than paranoid. From here leads to the most oddest and terrifying night of Paul's life. From chasing robbers to actually being accused of being the robber himself, meeting a barman and his stupid still living in the sixties waitress, a woman who loves the fact she works for Mr Softy and just a complete insane bunch of people in New York he never really dealt with before, till now. All this takes him into a night of complete hell in the Big Apple. Scorsese works the film from story to story and couldn't have found anyone better to play Paul than Griffin Dunne who is pretty much extinct as far as Hollywood talent goes. He goes on the list of where are they now?
Out of all of Martin Scorsese's films this stands out the most as it's a movie you wouldn't think by watching was directed by him. It's dark humour is a bit like The King of Comedy but this has more eye opener scenes. It's fast paced from place to place in typical Thelma Scoonmaker editing is excellent. I was expecting a lot more from the start but that's the way it is but I found myself loving every minute of it the more it went on and the more the story unfolded into all the coincidences that happen to him. If Paul was played by anyone else other than Griffin Dunne then I think it's fair to say I would have hated this film as Dunne is the man who makes this film. It's not Scorsese it's him that makes it all the more enjoyable just for his fantastic facial expressions. The story is very original especially for 1986 or whenever it came out around that era but it's nowhere near what Scorsese is capable of. To me this was a an experiment to where he can take a film like this and see where it goes. I just find it a huge shame that this film didn't do for Griffin Dunne what Mean Streets did for Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel but one day there could be a comeback I can only hope.
Not Scorsese's best but well worth a look and very enjoyable with extremely funny moments throughout.