MovieChat Forums > Midnight Run (1988) Discussion > Two words, missed oppurtunity

Two words, missed oppurtunity

posted 10 years ago by whosit
15 replies | jump to latest

Another fan of this underrated movie.

There was a missed opportunity for Grodin to have uttered one of his hilariously annoying comebacks. In the scene on the bus when DeNiro says "I've got two words for you 'Shut the *beep* up'" Grodin could've replied "That's four words" I was even expecting it but alas it was not there.

Not that anyone cares but until this movie I didn't appreciate Charles Grodin's subtle low key humor and generally monotone delivery but now do.

[–] hnt_dnl 10 years ago

No, what made that moment funny is just the fact that DeNiro (purposefully) flubbed himself by saying 4 words, instead of just 2. Grodin retorting to that would have just been cliche and comic overkill. That's the kind of thing that comedies made NOW would do.

[–] whosit 10 years ago

@ hnt_dnl
I agree with what you're saying, in theory anyway. But what's not considered in your scenario is the intangebile....that's to say how even a mediocre line or scene can be saved by the delivery/skill/performance of the actor(s) along with direction and editing etc

An off the wall example of this (sort of) is how Sidney Fields in the "Niagra Falls, slowly I turn" sketch with Lou Costello delivers his line. Actually its his inclusion of a pause which changes the entire dynamics. He says "I wasn't always a filthy bum.......like you"

I'll try to find this scene on YouTube etc and post a link later as my description doesn't do it justice.

[–] snelling 10 years ago

Great sketch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr6VBg1SiYI

"I will not go down in history as the greatest mass-murderer since Adolf Hitler!" - Merkin Muffley

[–] whosit 10 years ago

@ BrownTrout211
Ba dum bum! Thank you ladies and worms. Nice twist and I ain't talking 'bout Chubby Checker.

@ snelling
That's the one! Thanks for posting the link. I didn't get around to it but it wasn't my fault as I had a flat tire during a flood caused by an earthquake and then was inundated by locusts. Many of the episodes of that series have a surreal flavor to them which by itself is unusual but more so when you consider they were made in an age of conformity. Looking back at this, I think I might prefer that era to today's overly sensitive PC double talk and the soon to come federally mandated surgically implanted nano-drones.

Never give up and never surrender the purity and essence of our natural fluids! (let's see how hip the room is)

[–] MrBlondee 10 years ago

Agreed. And comedies NOW are terrible.

[–] LikeAParasite 10 years ago

I was just watching this again and had the exact same thought. I actually wondered if maybe he did say that, because after De Niro's line, Grodin looks at him and there's a quick edit to the next scene. I couldn't help but wonder if Grodin had made the comment about four words and it got cut. Maybe it would have been obvious and made some people roll their eyes (like the other person in this thread), but I would have liked to hear the line too!

[–] BrownTrout211 10 years ago

What might have been even better is if Grodin had said:

"Well, could you at least make it five words and add,..PLEASE?"

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] DracTarashV 9 years ago

Who doesn't expect to hear "that's four words"?

If you ask me, it would have been predictable+less funny if the Duke had said that to Jack. So yeah, the scene works better the way it is.

Hey there, Johnny Boy, I hope you fry!

[–] Elephantlips 9 years ago

Agree. And these suggestions are terrible.

[–] brannsaar 9 years ago

The fact that you thought he would say that is the reason he didn't say it, and that made it funny

[–] doubl3 9 years ago

What I was waiting for was when De Niro's character was hit with the car door near the end that he'd find a way to get up and point and knock out the other guy to get grodin's character back yet again. I was hoping he would.

I just saw this for the first time last night. there are tons of good movies I have seen for the first time ever in the past few years, since I went decades watching almost no new movies and somehow missed this back in the times I did watch movies in the 80s and 90s.

[–] jwalsh-22781 9 years ago

I wish Charles Grodin had done more comedy. He seems to have dissappeared.

[–] sage2112 9 years ago

Nah - that was a funny recurring part in the film - where scenes would cut off on a comedy note where the next thing was implied and didn't have to be spoon-fed.