All Night Long: An Overlooked 1980s Comedic Gem of a Film
Timothy Sexton
February 12, 2007
Every once in a while a movie comes along that manages to completely slip under the radar despite having big name stars. Many times these movies are lower-budgeted, independent-minded, low-on-action movies that attracted the big stars precisely because they were an opportunity to show off acting chops rather than pad the bank account with an enormous paycheck. One of these kinds of movies is a comedy from the early 80s that is shockingly obscure for most people. Starring two huge—I mean huge—stars, it is titled All Night Long. The two huge—I mean huge—stars? Gene Hackman and Barbra Streisand.
If you haven't seen All Night Long, do yourself a favor and the next time AMC is showing the same James Bond movie for the tenth time in a week or TBS is airing the same movie three nights in a row, take the time to visit the video store and rent this. (Or line it up in your Netflix queue since your local video store probably won’t carry a copy.)
I've never been a huge Barbra Streisand fan, but All Night Long and What's Up Doc are two movies I can enjoy watching over and over again. Part of the fun of All Night Long is that Barbra Streisand actually plays someone who can't sing. That alone is worth taking a look at.
But the real reason to watch All Night Long—as it almost any movie in which he appears—is Gene Hackman. Gene Hackman is probably the most overlooked and underappreciated actor of all time. It was Gene Hackman’s misfortune to come along at the same time that his more flashy peers Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro and Jack Nicholson did. While Gene Hackman’s understated performances often got lost in the shuffle, time has been uncharacteristically kind to him, allowing Hackman to prove he may well have the most lasting power. While all four of those other actors have suffered downturns in their career--temporary in the cases of Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicholson, erratic in the case of DeNiro, tragically permanent in the case of Pacino who it seems is unable to detect the different between performing on stage and performing with a microphone placed inches from his face—Gene Hackman never for a moment stopped turning in quality performances.
All Night Long is one of Gene Hackman’s greatest acting jobs. While this guy could have become a sad sack that we merely pity, Gene Hackman turns him into a fighter, observing the insanity taking place around him, but never quite giving into it or letting it overpower him. He also invents the greatest product ever designed, which becomes a metaphor for the theme of All Night Long.
Gene Hackman’s character invents a mirror that lets you see yourself as others see you, as you really are, and not as the reversed mirror image that you normally look at when you peer at yourself in the looking glass. All Night Long is about looking at yourself as who you are and for what you are, rather than letting others define you. This movie’s failure at the box office was probably helped along by the fact that it seems to fit into what had become a little movie subgenre at the time, the middle-aged crisis movie, characterized by such films at “10”, A Change of Seasons, Middle Age Crazy and The Four Seasons. But whereas those movies really are about growing older and trying to chase down youth in the form of a beautiful and nubile younger woman, Gene Hackman’s object of lust is Barbra Streisand. Let’s face it, Barbra Streisand is Bo Derek when it comes to being a beautiful, nubile woman, so that right there should tell you this isn’t “10.” It's far more than that. "10" was overrated, unfunny garbage, All Night Long is brilliant.
In addition to the larger enjoyment of its theme, All Night Long is also worth a Netflix queue due to its offbeat, non-sequitur moments that remain with you long after the final credits. From Dennis Quaid's clueless comment that somebody had a "brain hemorrhoid" (instead of hemorrhage) to the sublime Apocalypse Now helicopter scene parody taking place inside a grocery store, All Night Long is filled with hilarious little touches. It is one of those movies that inexplicably came and went without notice.
If you haven't seen All Night Long, do yourself a favor and the next time AMC is showing the same James Bond movie for the tenth time in a week or TBS is airing the same movie three nights in a row, take the time to visit the video store and rent this. (Or line it up in your Netflix queue since your local video store probably won’t carry a copy.)
I've never been a huge Barbra Streisand fan, but All Night Long and What's Up Doc are two movies I can enjoy watching over and over again. Part of the fun of All Night Long is that Barbra Streisand actually plays someone who can't sing. That alone is worth taking a look at.
But the real reason to watch All Night Long—as it almost any movie in which he appears—is Gene Hackman. Gene Hackman is probably the most overlooked and underappreciated actor of all time. It was Gene Hackman’s misfortune to come along at the same time that his more flashy peers Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro and Jack Nicholson did. While Gene Hackman’s understated performances often got lost in the shuffle, time has been uncharacteristically kind to him, allowing Hackman to prove he may well have the most lasting power. While all four of those other actors have suffered downturns in their career--temporary in the cases of Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicholson, erratic in the case of DeNiro, tragically permanent in the case of Pacino who it seems is unable to detect the different between performing on stage and performing with a microphone placed inches from his face—Gene Hackman never for a moment stopped turning in quality performances.
All Night Long is one of Gene Hackman’s greatest acting jobs. While this guy could have become a sad sack that we merely pity, Gene Hackman turns him into a fighter, observing the insanity taking place around him, but never quite giving into it or letting it overpower him. He also invents the greatest product ever designed, which becomes a metaphor for the theme of All Night Long.
Gene Hackman’s character invents a mirror that lets you see yourself as others see you, as you really are, and not as the reversed mirror image that you normally look at when you peer at yourself in the looking glass. All Night Long is about looking at yourself as who you are and for what you are, rather than letting others define you. This movie’s failure at the box office was probably helped along by the fact that it seems to fit into what had become a little movie subgenre at the time, the middle-aged crisis movie, characterized by such films at “10”, A Change of Seasons, Middle Age Crazy and The Four Seasons. But whereas those movies really are about growing older and trying to chase down youth in the form of a beautiful and nubile younger woman, Gene Hackman’s object of lust is Barbra Streisand. Let’s face it, Barbra Streisand is Bo Derek when it comes to being a beautiful, nubile woman, so that right there should tell you this isn’t “10.” It's far more than that. "10" was overrated, unfunny garbage, All Night Long is brilliant.
In addition to the larger enjoyment of its theme, All Night Long is also worth a Netflix queue due to its offbeat, non-sequitur moments that remain with you long after the final credits. From Dennis Quaid's clueless comment that somebody had a "brain hemorrhoid" (instead of hemorrhage) to the sublime Apocalypse Now helicopter scene parody taking place inside a grocery store, All Night Long is filled with hilarious little touches. It is one of those movies that inexplicably came and went without notice.
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