1988 in Film: In Praise of Charles Grodin in Midnight Run

There’s something uniquely American about the genre of the “buddy movie.” Ever since Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy got into all kinds of trouble together in Sons of the Desert (1933), there seems to be no end to the permutations to the film type screenwriters create. In 1988, an unappreciated gem called Midnight Run saw the unlikely pairing of Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin in a variation on the theme. Grodin not only holds his own in scenes with the legendary De Niro, in at least a few, he steals them outright.

Maybe because the US is so huge and diverse in its regional cultures, but directors seem to love to film a pair of buddies on a journey across the country. In the case of Midnight Run the “buddies” are enemies for most of the film. De Niro plays a bounty hunter and Grodin is his prize to be brought in for big money that will fulfill his dream of starting a new life. Grodin is Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas, an accountant to the Mob with a conscience who has gone missing. Of course, Walsh finds him, and thus starts their trip for one of them to claim his reward, and one to face jail and in all probability, death before he is ever sentenced.

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De Niro does not play Walsh in his usual hypermasculine, aggressive style. He is an ex-cop, of course, so he still gets to be tough and use his typical four-letter vocabulary. However, there is a vulnerability, weariness and occasionally even warmth to his bounty hunter. This is chiefly due to Grodin’s brilliant portrayal of Jon Mardukas as a kind of Felix Unger, but lacking sinus infections and a whole lot savvier. He knows how to size up a person’s character, and we see him analyze Walsh through his endless probing questions, but mostly through his quiet observations. Grodin says so much with just his eyes and his facial expressions.

Despite some dated plot devices, Midnight Run stays fresh and hilarious, due to a crackling script written by George Gallo, best known for writing Bad Boys (1995) and its sequel in 2020. It’s an Elmore Leonard style story of tough men, tender hearted women, mobsters and various branches of law enforcement. It’s also about two men thrown together, who find they both have been burned in the past by their idealism and sense of decency.

Anyone who is a fan of the film knows that Grodin manages to give himself the best lines, probably because he improvised them on the spot. There is an infamous reference to bestiality that makes even the completely committed De Niro break character and laugh. There is also a still hilarious routine the two men come up with to grab some needed cash from an unsuspecting bar owner by claiming that they can prove the bills are counterfeit.

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The developing camaraderie between Walsh and Mardukas feels genuine and sincere. Even when Mardukas attempts to escape his predicament, there is no resentment or malice toward Walsh. Grodin gives a performance of surprising depth and nuance. We can see all the calculations he makes for each of his actions in his eyes. This is especially remarkable because he is handcuffed for most of the film so his body language is extremely limited, and yet he makes it work. Why neither he nor De Niro were nominated for an Oscar remains a mystery.