The world of entertainment suffered a huge loss last week with the passing of Charles Grodin.
How you remember Grodin best, depends on what part of his career you came in on.
Did you first discover him in his small but memorable role in Rosemary’s Baby? Or was it as part of a who’s who of young Hollywood in Mike Nichols’ uneven screen adaptation of the Joseph Heller classic anti-war novel Catch-22? Perhaps, like most, you were first exposed to his internationally acclaimed breakout performance in the Heartbreak Kid (later re-made with Ben Stiller), or was it his dark character turns in late 70s films like King Kong, or Heaven Can Wait? Younger viewers know Grodin mostly from his turn as the hapless father of the Newton family battling wits with their out-of-control St. Bernard in the wildly successful Beethoven franchise. And others might only remember him from his frequent talk show appearances opposite Johnny Carson and David Letterman that were so uncomfortably deadpan, Zack Galifinakis would cringe behind his ferns.
But for me, Grodin will always be the Duke from Midnight Run.
Midnight Run is a movie I always recommend. Besides being hilarious end-to-end, Midnight Run has a heart at its center that is almost impossible to describe. The film doesn’t exactly qualify as a hidden gem as it was a modest hit in the theater, was enormously successful on home video, and often runs practically year-round on at least one streaming platform or cable. It’s a good film based on nearly any metric, which isn’t too shabby for a rated R-road trip-buddy-action comedy. But classifying Midnight Run as merely a “good film” is criminally unfair. It’s a truly great film.
And Charles Grodin is a big reason why.
The plot of Midnight Run is simple enough. A former mob accountant jumps bail only to find himself pursued by the FBI who wants him to testify, mobsters who want him dead, and a hapless bounty hunter who stands to gain a big payday if he gets him back before deadline.
The stakes are extremely high for everyone in the film. Rarely, especially in a comedy, does a film allow the viewer so many sympathetic points of view. Most people would say the main audience point-of-view lies with the bounty hunter assigned to apprehend the accountant.
It makes sense, Jack Walsh the bounty hunter, played in a rare, yet pitch perfect comedic performance by Robert DeNiro, stands to gain a lot if he makes his ever-shrinking timetable. The payday of one hundred thousand dollars, will get Walsh who’s obviously down on his luck, out of the bounty business. Walsh intends to open up a coffee shop and build a better life.
So, we root for Walsh to win, right?
It’s not that simple. In order for Walsh to win, Jonathan “the Duke” Mardukas must lose. Jonathan Mardukas, played in one of the greatest comedic turns of all time by Charles Grodin, will surely be killed in prison if Walsh gets him back on time. There is a very thirty-pieces-of-silver vibe to the blood bargain Walsh undertakes. It’s also an interesting moral question for the viewer: Is one hundred thousand dollars enough to sell this man’s life?
A fairly heavy Faustian bargain for a comedy. Obviously, DeNiro’s Walsh takes no responsibility for this dilemma. After all, he is just the guy sent to bring him in. If he doesn’t do it, they will just send someone else (they do by the way-but more on this later). It isn’t Walsh’s fault that the Duke is in this mess. The Duke committed financial crimes and robbed from the mob all on his own. Walsh has all of the justification he needs to sleep well at night, besides . . . the Duke is a giant pain in the ass.
The crazy road trip that takes DeNiro and Grodin across the country from New York to Los Angeles is packed full of planes, trains, and spectacular car chases. There’s even a helicopter in hot pursuit of a station wagon.
But none of that, matches the battle of wits between the two leads. Grodin does such a masterful job getting under DeNiro’s skin it is everything to watch it unfold. In wanting to recount this I am struck by two notions. One, where to even begin, they’re all amazing. And, two, for those of you who haven’t seen it, spoiling it would be wrong.
The story behind how Grodin ended up playing the Duke is amazing as well.
Usually, Hollywood “casting stories” surround a big star turning something down and making the career of the actor who nabbed the part instead. In some cases, the actor went on to be huge or even win an Oscar. But that’s not the case with Midnight Run. The studio wanted plenty of big stars including; Robin Williams, Bruce Willis, and even Cher when one executive pushed the idea Walsh would fall in love along the way.
For those of you who thought that last idea would work, don’t worry, that movie has been made a bunch too, it’s just never been as funny. No, those other actors didn’t turn down the role, Grodin won it outright by being, well, perfect.
In Charles Grodin’s autobiography, It Would Be So Nice if You Weren’t Here, a must read for any aspiring actor, he goes into great detail of his experience working on Midnight Run.
Grodin recalled the production relocating to New Zealand to shoot the scene where the men are tossed helplessly through raging rapids. New Zealand was chosen due to the fact all the rivers in the US were ice-cold at the time and they didn’t want the actors to freeze to death. Although stunt men are used in the scene, veteran comedy director Martin Brest felt using the actors themselves in the rapids would look great. He was right, it did. The water in New Zealand was particularly rough, and after DeNiro went first he insisted Grodin not do the stunt. It would seem, just like in the film, DeNiro couldn’t help but look out for Grodin.
The surrounding cast are all equally perfect, especially; Joe Pantliano as Eddie Moscone the bail bondsman whose business will go under if the Duke isn’t brought back, the late great Dennis Farina as Jimmy Serrano the mob boss who wants the Duke dead, and another recent hard loss for the entertainment world, Yaphet Kotto, playing the no-nonsense FBI agent Alonzo Mosley.
Perhaps the biggest standout of all the wonderful supporting players is John Ashton as Marvin Dorfler, the dim yet cunning rival bounty hunter put on the case as backup when it seems Walsh can’t deliver.
I was fortunate enough to catch up with Ashton who remembered his time on the film fondly, especially working with Grodin, “He was a great guy and a great actor… we had a blast doing the film.” Ashton reminisced with a laugh at shooting the helicopter car chase scene, “There was a lotta ad libbing…and Chuck was so great at it, so was Bobby, the line about delivering a bottle of milk, Chuck came up with that on the spot.”
John Ashton hilariously holds his own against both leads without flinching. His performance as Marvin, along with all the other marvelous character actors, give such rich flavor to Midnight Run.
Another great thing about Midnight Run is it’s rated R for language. If you haven’t seen this, please watch it unedited. The “F” word appears over one hundred times and each time it is perfectly appropriate. It’s an adult comedy made for grown-ups and highlights a lot of grown-up issues. Like any good comedy it makes you laugh but can also pull at your heartstrings.
In a poignant scene Walsh is forced to ask his ex-wife for help when he unexpectedly runs into his daughter. He hasn’t seen her in nine years. The awkward exchange that follows is as beautiful as the rest of the film is funny.
Midnight Run’s lines are so iconic it is hard to watch fans of the film discuss it without actually acting it out.
If you’ve ever been at a party when someone suddenly shouts, “Serrano’s got the discs, Serrano’s got the discs!”, or “I’m Mosely!”, or, trying their best imitation of Grodin, “I’m sure, we’re completely safe”, you can’t help but laugh along.
I even watched a guy do a pitch perfect Eddie Moscone, “You’re telling me to go f#$k myself, he’s telling me to go f#$k myself, everybody’s telling me to go F$%K MYSELF!” But, for me the line that has taken on a new meaning is the Duke’s lament to Walsh about making better choices, “In the next life” to which Walsh responds, “In the next life.”
Thanks again to John Ashton for taking the time to speak about Charles Grodin, and his experiences working with him on the film. If you haven’t seen Midnight Run, just buy it. It should be in everyone’s film collection.
Charles Grodin, thank you for all of your wonderful work, for giving us the wonderfully deadpan Duke in Midnight Run, and for all that you’ve left behind.
We’ll see you in the next life.
