Sorry, this movie sucks

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Chuck Lumley (Henry Winkler) is a pushover. His boss takes away his day job at the NYC morgue and relegates him to the night shift. He eats the food even when the restaurant gets it wrong. A dog keeps chasing him to his apartment. His neurotic fiancée Charlotte Koogle is obsessed with losing weight for their upcoming nuptials. The loud-mouth night shift driver Bill Blazejowski (Michael Keaton) is always scheming to make a few extra bucks including turning the hearse into a limo. His neighbor Belinda Keaton (Shelley Long) is a hooker. Her pimp gets killed and all her friends are left on their own. She befriends Chuck and soon, they're running a prostitution ring out of the city morgue.This early Ron Howard has a little edge. It's irreverent fun. Keaton is pre Mr. Mom. Winkler is against type with the Fonz. Long is new. Everybody's great. It's the first Howard movie that shows his directing potential.

"Chuck Lumley" (Henry Winkler) is an unassertive, mild-mannered New Yorker who has a bossy girlfriend and works at the city morgue. He is a genuinely nice guy who simply wants to live a normal life. As luck would have it, however, two unexpected events suddenly turn his life upside-down and things will never be the same for him afterward. The first major change is when he gets a new office worker by the name of "Bill Blazejowski" (Michael Keaton) who is the complete polar opposite of Chuck. Whereas Chuck is quiet and considerate, Bill is totally loud, spontaneous and unpredictable. The second person to suddenly appear in Chuck's life is a prostitute named "Belinda Keaton" (Shelley Long) who has just lost her pimp and needs someone to help her out. While Chuck is sympathetic to her plight, Bill sees an opportunity and soon all three of them become part of something that none of them can control. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was an exceptional comedy which benefits from the great chemistry displayed by the three aforementioned actors. It was like each of them tailor-were made for their specific characters. Be that as it may, while the subject matter might be a little risqué, I found this to be an enjoyable film and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

One of my favorite movies of all time with so many great lines I wouldn't even know where to begin. From 'Love brokers' to the driving across the bridge scene, everything flows perfectly through this movie without anything wasted, Ron Howard really pulled it together. Sure it has a dark side but the comedy trumps it. The chemistry between the actors is so good, Shelly Long playing a prostitute was a bit of a stretch but she too was basically kind of nerdy. Short of 'Pretty Woman' most films involving the lives of prostitutes don't end well but this one has a kind, soft finish. There are lots of cameos in the movie, you should IMDb it before watching. Richard Belzer plays a bad dude which is scarily believable. Highly recommended movie that everyone can enjoy.

Like STRIPES (1981; see review elsewhere), I was too young to catch this adult comedy – best-known today for being former actor Howard's sophomore directorial effort and for providing Michael Keaton with a star-making role. To be honest, I am rather ambivalent towards Howard's supposed talent as a film-maker: well-suited to light-hearted, life-affirming fare such as this, SPLASH (1984) and COCOON (1985), he has regrettably failed to convince when tackling more serious subjects. Anyway, this was certainly an auspicious beginning: an original, if not exactly credible, premise wherein two morgue attendants (mild-mannered Henry Winkler – Howard's ex-buddy from his HAPPY DAYS TV series – and charismatic Keaton) decide to turn their literally inert shift into a booming call-girl business! Keaton's uncontained exuberance here may have lead to his getting the title role in BEETLEJUICE (1988) but nonetheless comes across as essentially overstated; Winkler though, miles away from his iconic and ultra-confident Fonzie character, is wonderful and he is matched by Shelley Long (of CHEERS fame, hence another established TV performer trying to break into movies) as the call-girl abused by customers (after her pimp is flamboyantly 'executed') who seeks comfort in the arms of neighbor Winkler (himself engaged to a neurotic woman dominated by strict parents). For all the seediness on display (involving partying in morgues, courtroom exhibitionism and exclusive sex clubs), the film proves a generally agreeable and entertaining ride – faltering only on occasion due to overlength (106 minutes). Consequently, there are plentiful felicities throughout (not least an early rendition of the Burt Bacharach/Rod Stewart song "That's What Friends Are For") in the way of situations (notably a running-gag involving Winkler being chased by a hound let loose in the corridors of his apartment building) and dialogue (particularly when, ending up in prison and being accosted by a murder-happy cellmate, Winkler sarcastically thanks Keaton for having made possible his acquaintance with Peter Lorre's son!). Joe Spinell has a small role towards the end as the slimy manager of the swank brothel to which Long relocates after her association with Winkler and Keaton is disrupted: the latter happens to work at the same joint as a towel-boy(!), while the former follows her there on summing up the courage to finally express his love. By the way, a pre-stardom Kevin Costner can be glimpsed during the party-in-the-morgue sequence!