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Jack Walsh is a skip-tracer, a former cop who now works for bondsmen, bringing back clients who have tried to jump bail. Jonathan Mardukas is an accountant who embezzled millions of dollars from the mob in Vegas, and then jumped bail. Oddly enough, what these two men have most in common is the way they see themselves as more ethical than the system.

The two men are played in "Midnight Run" by Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin , an odd couple who spend most of the movie trying to survive a cross-country trip while the FBI is trying to capture them and the underworld is trying to kill them. Along the way, of course, they discover that, despite their opposite natures, they really do like and respect one another.

This sounds like a formula, and it is a formula. But "Midnight Run" is not a formula movie, because the writing and acting make these two characters into specific, quirky individuals whose relationship becomes more interesting even as the chase grows more predictable.

Whoever cast De Niro and Grodin must have had a sixth sense for the chemistry they would have; they work together so smoothly, and with such an evident sense of fun, that even their silences are intriguing.

De Niro does not usually appear in movie comedies, and when he does, as in " Brazil ," it's usually in some sort of bizarre disguise.

Here he proves to have comic timing of the best sort - the kind that allows dramatic scenes to develop amusing undertones while still working seriously on the surface. It's one thing to go openly for a laugh. It's harder to do what he does and allow the nature of the character to get the laughs, while the character himself never seems to be trying to be funny.

De Niro is often said to be the best movie actor of his generation. Grodin has been in the movies just about as long, has appeared in more different titles, and is of more or less the same generation, but has never received the recognition he deserves - maybe because he often plays a quiet, self-effacing everyman. In "Midnight Run," where he is literally handcuffed to De Niro at times, he is every bit the master's equal, and in the crucial final scene it is Grodin who finds the emotional truth that defines their relationship.

The movie develops that relationship during and between a series of virtuoso action sequences, after De Niro finds Grodin in New York and sets out to return him to Los Angeles. Grodin is afraid of flying, so the two men set out on a long, cross-country odyssey that involves train trips, a shootout at the Chicago bus ter minal, hitchhiking, riding the rails in box cars, and being attacked by helicopters.

Their pursuers come in waves. The FBI is led by agent Alonzo Mosely ( Yaphet Kotto ), who is enraged because De Niro has stolen his FBI identification and is posing as a federal agent. The mob's team is deployed by Jimmy Serrano ( Dennis Farina ), who grows increasingly enraged as his hit squads miss their targets.

And all the time De Niro and Grodin feud with each other, as Grodin schemes to escape. He knows that if he is ever returned to custody, the mob will have him killed in prison, and so his strategy is to convince De Niro he was an embezzler only in order to combat the mob. Oddly enough, this seems to be the truth, and fits in with De Niro's story - he's an ex-cop who left the force because of all the bureaucratic interference with his crusade against evil.

What "Midnight Run" does with these two characters is astonishing, because it's accomplished within the structure of a comic thriller. The director, Martin Brest , came to this project after " Beverly Hills Cop ," but if the action in the two films is comparable, the characters are a lot more interesting this time. It's rare for a thriller to end with a scene of genuinely moving intimacy, but this one does, and it earns it.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

Midnight Run (1988)

123 minutes

Robert De Niro as Jack Walsh

Charles Grodin as Jonathan Mardukas

Yaphet Kotto as Alonzo Mosely

John Ashton as Marvin Dorfler

Dennis Farina as Jimmy Serrano

Joe Pantoliano as Eddie Moscone

Richard Foronjy as Tony Darvo

Robert Miranda as Joey

Jack Kehoe as Jerry Geisler

Wendy Phillips as Gail

Produced and Directed by

• Martin Brest
• George Gallo
• Billy Weber
• Chris Lebenzon
• Michael Tronick
• Danny Elfman

Photographed by

• Donald Thorin

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Why Midnight Run Is Robert De Niro's Best Movie

The year is 1988. Director Martin Brest is doing well, riding the attention he garnered from his previous movie, 1984's Beverly Hills Cop . His latest movie might prove to be an even greater challenge than developing Eddie Murphy's silver screen phenomenon.  Midnight Run  features Charles Grodin as an accountant, Jonathan Mardukas, on the run from the mob after jumping bail. The crime boss he used to work for, Jimmy Serrano, wants him dead for embezzling money, and the Feds want to track him down so he can testify against Serrano. 

The person charged with getting Jonathan into the Feds' hands is bounty hunter Jack Walsh, played by Robert De Niro . Given De Niro's previous roles and penchant for playing antiheroes, casting him as Walsh — a bitter but sympathetic loser — seems like a mistake. Shouldn't he be one of the gangsters hunting Mardukas?

Luckily, Brest and writer George Gallo had a plan to use the audience's preconceived notions about De Niro's type as fuel. Midnight Run  has heart and laughs, and might just be Robert De Niro's best movie. 

The obvious positive for Midnight Run

The elevator pitch for Midnight Run was probably something like, "Robert De Niro does comedy." 

It marked the first time that De Niro took center stage as a comic actor. Before this movie, he had a small but memorable scene in Terry Gilliam's Brazil  (1985). There was his turn as Rupert Pupkin in Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy  (1982), a comedy so black it inspired 2019's  Joker . These roles could have prepared the moviegoing public for  Midnight Run .

De Niro played Walsh straight, which is the chief strength of his performance. In later roles, he's gone much broader with his comedic performances; just look at  The War With Grandpa  (2020) and any of the  Fockers  movies as evidence. In Midnight Run , his annoyance with Mardukas sets off comic sparks. Mardukas is alternately neurotic (he is a hunted man, after all) and touchy-feely in a way that rubs Walsh, an ex-cop turned bounty hunter, wrong. Walsh has learned that you can't have feelings if you want to get the job done; if you slip up and get emotional, you'll get hurt.

The role is an understatedly brilliant comic performance because De Niro lets everyone else push the jokes forward, affording him the freedom to react to them. 

The Big connection with Midnight Run

The film could have been far different, and far stranger, had things gone as planned.

In the late 1980s, director Steven Spielberg was preparing to work on a movie co-written by his sister Anne and Gary Ross ( Pleasantville, The Hunger Games ). Spielberg eventually dropped out, and Penny Marshall took on the project. The movie, Big , about a boy who makes a wish to be an adult that comes true overnight, was to star Tom Hanks . 

But Hanks' star was on the rise at the pre-production stage, and his schedule was full, so he was initially unable to take the role. Marshall reached out to De Niro , thinking they might alter the script to accommodate him by making the protagonist grow physically and mentally, rather than just physically as initially planned. De Niro wanted to do a commercial project and agreed to Marshall's plan, but his price tag was prohibitive. Ultimately, the production could not afford him. By that time, Hanks was again available. The rest is history. 

Still, De Niro was looking for a crowd-pleasing, commercial role, so when Midnight Run became available, he took it. Audiences got two memorable films out of this little piece of Hollywood history. Had Twentieth Century Fox not flinched at the cost of having De Niro in Big , it would have arrived in a far different form without Hanks' remarkable "boy in a man's body" performance. Likewise, De Niro would have been too busy for Midnight Run . 

Chemistry with Charles Grodin

Road movies and chase movies tend to be two-character stories. The duo gets stuck together in close quarters for the majority of a film. They will likely have diametrically opposed personalities to promote some degree of conflict. The success of such stories hinges on whether you like both characters, no matter how polarized their traits may be. 

Jack Walsh is emotionally distant, cranky, and keeping secrets, but thanks to De Niro's skill as an actor, you still like him. That leaves the harder role of the morally conflicted accountant up to Grodin. He's a bad guy, a crook whom the audience is conditioned to want to see brought to justice. 

But Walsh is conflicted as well, which is precisely what makes the movie work so well. Midnight Run is about two people who are very different but equal in one crucial way: They're paying for their terrible past decisions. By being the broader comic presence, Grodin eases De Niro into the comedy, offering him something to react to. By the last act, we root for both lead characters. The story is strong enough that, had it been a pure action flick rather than a comedy, it would remain compelling entertainment.

De Niro steers away from anger fatigue

In 1988, Robert De Niro was still a few years away from his performances in Goodfellas (1990) , Heat (1995), and Casino (1995) . He'd just portrayed Al Capone in The Untouchables earlier that year. Prior to that, there was the controversial Angel Heart (1987) , in which he played the devil;  Once Upon a Time in America (1984), in which he played a former gangster; and Raging Bull (1980), in which he played a violence-prone boxer. That's not to mention his work from the 1970s. 

In most of these movies, De Niro's characters are angry and menacing. That's a type he does very well, but one can see why he'd pursue something more commercial, more crowd-friendly, and less dark.

Midnight Run is a perfect transition for the actor. It manages to keep a foot in the crime world we've come to expect his characters to live in, but there's a lightness (literally, thanks to director Martin Brest and cinematographer Donald Thorin's brightly lit compositions) befitting a comedy, as opposed to a drama with occasional comic flourishes.   

That doesn't mean Walsh is an uncomplicated character. On the contrary, he tracks down bail-jumpers for a living out of necessity. A former policeman, he wound up on the wrong side of a corrupt force, an event that also turned his personal life upside down. There are legitimate reasons for his cynicism and emotionally closed personality, setting up the odd-couple conflicts Walsh has to work through with the slightly New-Age Mardukas.

Apart from the f-words

Midnight Run was, in its time, one of the tamest films in De Niro's filmography. That might seem surprising at first glance, given the R rating , the organized crime plot element, and the promise of gunplay. 

De Niro talks like an ex-cop from Chicago. Crime boss Serrano (Dennis Farina) likewise has a colorful way of expressing himself. At times, bullets fly and people run for their lives. These are the reasons the film got the rating it did. Yet the overall effect is strangely endearing. It could have easily been edited down to achieve a PG-13 rating, a relatively new arrival in the '80s.

The joy of the film is watching Walsh's early irritation with Mardukas slowly turn into a spiky mutual understanding. The two reach a degree of toleration, but the audience never gets the impression that these two will become bona fide friends. When this vignette of their lives is done, it's done.

But this is Hollywood, after all. While the film ends "clean," offering no clear steps toward a sequel, there were three made-for-television additions:  Another Midnight Run, Midnight Runaround, and Midnight Run for Your Life . None of these feature the first film's primary stars, and none of them offers any performance equal to De Niro's comic attempts to hide his gradually revealed vulnerability. 

Midnight Run  ushered in De Niro's turn toward likability. It marked the arrival of his career's second phase and shook away the threat of being stereotyped into irrelevance. 

An underdog movie about underdogs

Midnight Run never fails to surprise audiences who tend to forget it among De Niro's other films. 

Midnight Run debuted in 1988 as an underdog. The summer of 1988 featured blockbusters like Willow , Big, Red Heat, Crocodile Dundee II, and Rambo III . In July alone, audiences had to choose between A Fish Called Wanda , the Dirty Harry sequel The Dead Pool , and a phenomenon called Die Hard . Success was not guaranteed.

The film earned a worldwide total of $81.6 million off of a $35 million budget. It earned glowing reviews upon release and retains a  fresh certification from Rotten Tomatoes, with a very positive audience score. Roger Ebert's   review stated, "Whoever cast De Niro and Grodin must have had a sixth sense for the chemistry they would have; they work together so smoothly, and with such an evident sense of fun, that even their silences are intriguing."

The chemistry Ebert mentioned comes in part from the movie's rich character backstories, which are as mature and poignant as anything De Niro had done up to that point, even with the laughs. It's a story about two seemingly opposite men who share regret about the choices they've made. That comedy could come from such a weighty subject is a credit to all of the filmmakers involved. It's especially striking to see that De Niro had such a pivot in him. 

32 Years Ago, Midnight Run Became the Best of the Golden Era of Action Buddy Comedies

In his greatest-ever comedic role, Robert De Niro has perfect, and unexpected, chemistry with Charles Grodin.

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In the winter of 1982, Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy’s 48 Hrs. hit theaters. At the time, it seemed like a pretty unlikely marriage of personalities: Nolte, the gruff, rock tumbler-voiced veteran tough-guy who looked like he’d just slept off a week-long bender in an alley somewhere, and Murphy, the ten-thousand-volt 21-year-old breakout star of Saturday Night Live in his film debut.

Paramount, the studio that bankrolled the film, had originally flirted with the idea of teaming Clint Eastwood with Richard Pryor. Which would have been… something . So we can all thank the movie gods for their divine intervention. Because the chemistry that shot like sparks off of Nolte and Murphy turned out to be pure magic. 48 Hrs. would become one of the biggest—and most surprising—box-office hits of the year, giving the SNL star a promising new movie career and Nolte a sorely needed second act to his.

Today, that sort of odd-couple pairing feels so commonplace that it’s become a hack screenwriting cliché. It probably even comes as a default setting in the latest software update of Final Draft. But back in the early ‘80s, it was fairly new. Well, maybe not new exactly, but long dormant. There’d already been movies like Some Like it Hot and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Freebie and the Bean . But the commercial success of 48 Hrs. kickstarted a rich, gold-rush era in the genre with subsequent ‘80s flicks such as Tango & Cash , Running Scared , and the Lethal Weapon franchise. And it kept rolling right along into the ‘90s with Bad Boys , Men in Black , and Rush Hour . Hell, even Tommy Boy . This era would come to be known as The Age of the Buddy Action Comedy.

If you weren’t old enough to experience this cycle first hand, I’ll just say this: It was a glorious period. You should have been there. But if you missed it (or just decided to sit it out) and want to belatedly dive in and experience that glory, then allow me to make a possibly controversial suggestion: The place to begin is at the top with what I’m convinced is the Greatest Buddy Action Comedy in an era of Great Buddy Action Comedies, Midnight Run .

Released on this day in 1988, Midnight Run takes the creaky, knee-jerk formula of pairing two mismatched stars with completely different acting styles and pushes it somewhere bizarre, unexpected, hilarious, and ultimately poignant. For those who may not be familiar with this under-appreciated gem, Robert De Niro plays a hard-bitten bounty hunter hired to bring a neurotic Mob accountant who’s embezzled $15 million from the Chicago Mafia (Charles Grodin) from New York to L.A. before he can skip out on his bail bond. He has five days. De Niro’s Jack Walsh is a former Chicago cop who looks at this no-brainer assignment as his last big score—he’s getting $100,000 for the job—so he can open a coffee shop and maybe even work his way back into the life of his teenage daughter. Meanwhile, Grodin’s Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas is a deadpan loose-cannon who claims that by taking the wiseguys’ money and going on the run he was trying to do the honest thing. Walsh isn’t buying it. Nor does he really even care. All he cares about is getting out of his bum racket.

Midnight Run

Since Mardukas is afraid of flying, or at least claims to be (“These things go down! These things go down!”), the short-fused Walsh has to escort the annoying, motormouthed fugitive across the country via stolen cars, lumbering freight trains, and even white-water rapids. The catch is: the trip is getting so tight deadline-wise that Walsh’s twitchy employer (a low-rent bondsman played by the weaselly Joe Pantoliano) sics a rival skip-tracer on them (John Ashton playing a gullible goon to the hilt). Also on their tail are the FBI (led by “Agent Foster Grant”, Yaphet Kotto) and a couple of dim, bent-nose hitmen dispatched by the Windy City’s cream soda-loving Mob boss Jimmy Serrano (Dennis Farina). Is it a lot of balls to keep in the air? Absolutely. But screenwriter George Gallo and director Martin Brest pull it off beautifully.

The path from script to screen on Midnight Run wasn’t a smooth one. Far from it. Brest, who had just made a mint for Paramount with 1984’s Beverly Hills Cop , was slated to make his follow-up for the studio. But Gallo’s script was full of so many spendy action set pieces, that Paramount balked at their $35 million budget. The studio also wasn’t convinced that De Niro was a big enough box-office draw—especially in a comedy. Nor could it agree with Brest on who should play De Niro’s foil as The Duke. Paramount wanted Robin Williams. They even considered switching the gender of the accountant character and casting Cher. But Brest was set on the very un-A-list Grodin, who had blown him away in his audition. With the two parties at an impasse, the project moved across town to Universal.

De Niro, who was just coming off The Untouchables , in which he played a brutal, baseball bat-wielding Al Capone to Kevin Costner’s Eliot Ness, wanted to do something lighter. He even pursued the body-swapping lead role in Penny Marshall’s Big , before Tom Hanks was ultimately cast. Well-trained in improvisational acting (e.g., his unscripted “You talkin’ to me?” monologue in Taxi Driver ), he would be energized by Grodin’s shoot-from-the-hip, ad-libbing comic style and also wasn’t put off by Brest’s perfectionist, Kubrickian penchant for doing countless takes . Midnight Run was just the ticket he was looking for. And it remains his greatest onscreen comic achievement. Sorry, Fockers fans. Don’t believe me? Just go back and watch (or re-watch) the film’s “litmus configuration” scene, where a broke Grodin and De Niro pose as FBI agents tracking a counterfeiter. As the cameras roll, De Niro looks like he’s hearing about this scene for the very first time, which is not only perfect for the moment, but also just flat-out great acting.

But Midnight Run is more than just a madcap string of comic detours and switchbacks. It’s also a chance for De Niro to show the soft chewy center that lies beneath his hard-shell exterior. When he and Grodin make a pitstop at the home of his ex-wife and estranged daughter, for a moment the films becomes something more than just a loopy road movie with a series of shootouts and riffs about chorizo and Lyonnaise potatoes. It actually becomes, dare I say, beautiful .

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In fact, for about five minutes in its middle act, Midnight Run becomes one of the best male weepies of all-time alongside The Shawshank Redemption and Field of Dreams , thanks not only to De Niro’s awkwardly tender father-daughter reunion (“Are you in the eighth grade?”), but also to the seemingly throw-away symbolism of a broken wristwatch and Grodin’s constant repetition of the question: “Why are you so unpopular with the Chicago Police Department?” De Niro’s assignment, in particular, wasn’t an easy one to to stick the landing on. Especially since his character’s warmest line of dialogue in the first half of the film is: “Here come two words for you: Shut the fuck up!” But stick it, he does.

You’d think that with so many buddy comedies out there, that they’d be simple to make. But they’re actually a high-wire act worthy of the Flying Wallendas. There’s a reason why there are so many bad ones. I love 48 Hrs ., Lethal Weapon , and even, yes, Tommy Boy . But Midnight Run belongs in a totally different class in any conversation of Buddy Action Comedies. Why? Mainly, because De Niro and Grodin—as unlikely a duo as you could conjure outside of a game of casting Mad Libs—deliver a masterclass in chemistry.

In a making-of featurette that accompanied the release of the film, Grodin describes the film thusly: “The story basically is a guy chases another guy and a third guy chases the two guys. And then a whole lot of other people chase all of the guys.” He’s not wrong. But, of course, he’s being modest a bit glib. Because Midnight Run is a classic that, more than anything, is really an old-fashioned love story in action-comedy drag. It’s a stealth romantic comedy between two guys who start off hating each other’s guts, but over time, through hardship and misadventure and chorizo and Lyonnaise potatoes, develop a reluctant mutual respect. And even something like… like . Do yourself a favor and check it out tonight. You can thank me later.

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By Alan Sepinwall

Alan Sepinwall

“Jack, you’re a grown man. You have control over your own words.”

“You’re goddamn right I do. So here come two words for you: shut the fuck up.”

Over the course of Midnight Run , bounty hunter Jack Walsh ( Robert De Niro ) and fugitive accountant Jonathan “Duke” Mardukas (Charles Grodin) travel over 3000 miles as they crisscross America by virtually every mode of transportation possible: commercial jet and biplane, passenger train and cargo train, three stolen cars and a borrowed station wagon, even a brief swim through rapid waters. They are being pursued at all times by a cadre of FBI agents, a kingpin’s henchmen and a rival bounty hunter. They get involved in three car chases and multiple gunfights; Jack shoots a helicopter out of the sky with a pistol. The film clocks in at two hours and seven minutes (an eternity by the action comedy standards of the time), features half the character actors worth their salt circa 1988 and includes extended riffs on a variety of food stuffs: chorizo and eggs, Lyonnaise potatoes, cream soda and fried chicken. Like Jack’s promised two-word insult to the Duke, it runs to excess. Yet all that ultimately matters – and makes the movie a classic worth revisiting on the 30th anniversary of its release – are two other words: Walsh and Duke.

Or, if you prefer, De Niro and Grodin.

The 1980s were a glorious period for buddy movies featuring abundant mayhem: 48 Hrs , Lethal Weapon , The Blues Brothers , Running Scared and Planes, Trains and Automobiles , to name just a few of the best buddy films ever . But there’s something special about the bond between Jack and the Duke, and the onscreen chemistry between the two stars, that elevates their pairing even above their contemporaries.

It’s a team-up that nearly didn’t happen. The movie gives disgraced ex-cop Jack five days to bring the Duke from New York to LA to collect a big reward that will allow him to open up a coffee shop, while the Mob accountant tries to avoid being murdered in prison by drug dealer Jimmy Serrano (Dennis Farina, in the best performance of his career), from whom he stole $15 million to give to charity. De Niro, who had been looking to do a comedy after a 15-year run as Hollywood’s most intense method actor, only took the role as a consolation prize when he lost out to Tom Hanks for the lead in Big . Paramount was originally set to make it as director Martin Brest’s big follow-up to Beverly Hills Cop. But the studio wanted to tweak George Gallo’s script to make the Duke a woman (the Duchess?) played by Cher, hoping to generate some sexual tension. Brest said no to that, and to having Robin Williams play the part, because he’d been so dazzled by Grodin’s audition opposite De Niro. At that point, Paramount abandoned the project altogether and it wound up at Universal, whose executives approved the unconventional casting.

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Grodin wasn’t a box office draw, and he was famously difficult to work with – I once attended a screening of the film that was followed by a Q&A with Grodin, who (when he wasn’t trying to change the subject to the advocacy work he does on behalf of non-violent criminal offenders) told multiple stories of on-set feuds, all of them painting him as the victim. Whatever spark Brest saw in that audition, however, was there on the screen. De Niro and Grodin’s energies are perfectly mismatched throughout the film: the former tweaking his famous alpha-male persona just enough to get laughs while still seeming like a genuine threat to punch his co-star into next week; the latter neurotic and deadpan, turning his fundamentally annoying nature into a weapon. And the Duke is as much a tough guy as Jack, just in a very different way – it’s why they manage to get one over on each other frequently, rather than the competition being unfair because Jack has a gun and handcuffs.

It had become something of a De Niro trademark in movies like Taxi Driver , Raging Bull and The Untouchables to repeat dialogue over and over; here, Grodin turns that against him, as the Duke repeatedly badgers Jack with the same lines (“Why are you unpopular with the Chicago Police Department?”) to get under his skin, and hopefully distract him long enough to make escape. We’re on Jack’s side at the start, but there’s something admirable and even endearing about how easily his traveling companion learns to push his buttons. He turns this simple-seeming job – the “midnight run” promised by the title – into the road trip from Hell, thanks to the combined efforts of the Duke, Serrano, fellow skip tracer Marvin Dorfler (John Ashton) and exasperated FBI man Alonzo Mosely (Yaphet Kotto at his liveliest).

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Grodin didn’t have the acclaim for his improvisatory skills the way that Robin Williams did, but Brest understood that the relationship between the two men would best be cemented through improv, and he gave Grodin frequent license to deviate from Gallo’s script. This is done to greatest comic effect when the Duke borrows the FBI badge Jack stole from Mosely to scam a grocery money out of a couple of gullible bartenders ( “Are you doing the litmus configuration?” ), but its most important use in the film comes a few scenes later, when the two men are riding the rails hobo-style:

Brest’s direction to Grodin at the top of the scene was very simple: do whatever is necessary to make De Niro laugh . And while it’s Grodin who ultimately unleashes the loudest laugh of the scene after the line about how they’d still hate each other under other circumstances, the “good-looking chickens” riff does loosen up his costar enough to make the emotional transition after possible. By this point, the men have been through an awful lot together, including several near-death experiences and a painful family reunion (we’ll get back to that), so it’s possible their brief moment of mutual vulnerability and kindness would feel earned even without the farm-animal jokes. But like so much of a movie that’s overstuffed on paper but never feels that way when you watch it, that added flourish is everything: Jack really might enjoy the Duke’s company in another life.

At a time when few believed he could be the star of a mainstream comedy, De Niro is completely comfortable in both the skin of Jack Walsh and the jokey tone of the movie. Even before his character finds the Duke, the actor is clearly having a blast playing a downtrodden wiseass with no fucks left to give, whether he’s busting the chops of bail bondsman Eddie Moscone (Joe Pantoliano) or deflecting Mosely’s queries about the Duke by asking the FBI agents about their sunglasses. (“Are they government issue, or do all you guys go, like, to the same store to get ’em?”) It’s particularly striking, and disappointing, to compare his work here to the more overt self-parody he started doing circa Analyze This and Meet the Parents . In those movies, De Niro is putting in minimal effort, assuming his mere presence is enough to sell the jokes. Here, Jack feels fully lived-in, which makes the punchlines feel richer, grounds some of the more ridiculous action set pieces (see: the helicopter chase) and makes the story feel just real enough for its outcome to matter as something more than a screenwriting exercise. If the star were coasting, the scene where a mortified Jack goes to visit his ex-wife Gail (Wendy Phillips) to borrow money wouldn’t feel quite so sad, particularly when their argument’s interrupted by the arrival of Denise (Danielle DuClos), the daughter Jack had to abandon when he wouldn’t go on Serrano’s payroll.

That scene – particularly the moment when Jack, at a loss for what to say to his not-so-little girl after all this time, asks “Are you in the eighth grade?” – is startlingly honest and raw for a movie like this. Yet it informs everything we’ve already seen and everything that’s to come. It makes us understand just how much Serrano cost him, how badly he needs redemption (even if it comes in the form of a coffee shop that would, according to the Duke, be a very bad investment) and, once Serrano’s henchmen get their hands on the Duke, how much we want to see both men get a victory over this gangster. (Even a detail so small as Jack making sure the Duke’s coat doesn’t get caught in the car door as they quietly leave Gail’s house speaks volumes about how much their relationship changes in the aftermath of this painful encounter.) And we have to believe the decision the bounty hunter makes about his ward at the movie’s end at least as much as we have to root for it.

All buddy movies are a delicate balancing act, particularly since so many of them involve “buddies” who plausibly hate each other’s guts for at least half the film. With so many action sequences, so many different forces working against Jack and so many shifts in tone from silly (the argument about who lied to who first) to deadly serious (Serrano calmly telling the Duke what he plans to do to him and his wife), the balance for Midnight Run was more delicate than most. Even when you factor in all those endlessly quotable lines (“Is this Moron Number One? Put Moron Number Two on the phone”), the murderer’s row of That Guys playing cops and hoods, Danny Elfman’s bluesy score and all the other things the movie has working in its favor, it could have all fallen apart if De Niro and Grodin didn’t click as spectacularly as they do.

Every now and then, there’s talk of a sequel. I get it. The movie was a modest hit in 1988 (and the first real commercial success for De Niro as a leading man), but it was a cable staple for years. Many screenwriters and showrunners who grew up on the film cite it as an influence. But leaving aside the usual problems associated with long-delayed sequels and the passage of time – a septuagenarian Jack who jumps into a raging river is scary in a much different way than when the middle-aged version did it – there’s the fact that every iteration has involved the character coming out of retirement to help the Duke’s son, because (among other reasons) Grodin won’t work outside the NY/NJ/CT area anymore. If he’s not part of another Midnight Run (not to be confused with Another Midnight Run , the first of three forgettable TV-movies starring Christopher McDonald as Jack), or just has a glorified cameo, what’s the point? Then it becomes another case of De Niro cashing in on a beloved role from earlier in his career, without the two combined words that made the old film so magical.

The Duke’s taunt of “See ya in the next life, Jack!” as he thinks he’s escaped his captor by train becomes first a running gag, then the movie’s emotional touchstone, as well as the last words these two unlikely allies say to each other. It’s nice to imagine them coming back together in the next life. But the journey they undertook in this one can’t be improved upon.

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Midnight Run Review

01 Jan 1988

126 minutes

Midnight Run

In this fast-paced action-comedy, bounty hunter Robert De Niro and bounty Charles Grodin generate sparkling chemistry while on the run from the usual array of mobsters, FBI agents and competing bounty hunters.

Grodin is especially good, whinging on about smoking while taking an indignant moral high ground -a kind of latter-day Robin Hood.

Director Martin Brest comfortably folds in the standard car chases and shoot-outs with deliciously handled comedy that oozes with quick-fired wit.

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Midnight Run

Time out says, release details.

• Duration: 126 mins

Cast and crew

• Director: Martin Brest
• Screenwriter: George Gallo
• Robert De Niro
• Charles Grodin
• Yaphet Kotto
• John Ashton
• Dennis Farina
• Joe Pantoliano
• Richard Foronjy

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MOVIE REVIEW : Murderous Fun in the ‘Midnight Run’

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Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin, stars of the expert, sometimes murderously funny chase comedy “Midnight Run” (citywide), aren’t the kind of actors you’d normally expect to see together. De Niro has a genius for full-blooded psychology and emotionalism; Grodin is a comic specialist in white-collar neurotics who tends to dance over his material lightly, ironically.

But in movies, as in life, opposites sometimes attract. In “Midnight Run,” De Niro and Grodin play characters as antagonistic as their acting styles: a kind of crime movie Odd Couple, a Laurel and Hardy on the run.

They’re cast as hard-case bounty hunter Jack Walsh (De Niro) and soft-shelled embezzler Jonathan Mardukas (Grodin), whom Walsh is bringing back to a sleazy, double-dealing Los Angeles bail bondsman, against almost Sisyphean odds.

Most of “Midnight Run” is set on a wild cross-country chase from New York to Los Angeles, with tough Walsh and beleaguered Mardukas trying to elude both the Mafia and the FBI--and, in the midst of chaos and jeopardy, learning to respect and even love each other.

It’s not a very original idea or a very inventive screenplay: one more buddy-buddy crime comedy, with a tightly suppressed homo-erotic undercurrent, loaded with car crashes, gunfights and exploding helicopters.

But who said movies always have to be original? This one is redeemed by execution and brilliant talent: De Niro, Grodin, director Martin Brest, composer Danny Elfman, most of the cast and technicians. It’s one case where the flaws of the script--Walsh’s incredibly rapid location of a man on the lam from both the mob and the government, the relative absence of women, the tight but predictable form--don’t really matter. There’s some soul behind the explosions, a heartbeat below the slick carnage.

In the film, Walsh and Mardukas, hunter and hunted, almost seem to be inhabiting separate planets--this charmingly naive accountant who embezzled millions of dollars from the mob and donated most of it to charity, and the embittered ex-cop, who initially despises him.

Walsh and Mardukas seem unlike in almost every possible way: street-wise versus college-smooth, rough versus genteel, junk food and cigarettes versus health food, loner versus family man. Walsh is stoical, the Duke a kvetch. Walsh is lean, mean, lower middle class; the Duke a bourgeois with smooth-skinned ideals and baby-fat rhetoric.

Brest and screenwriter George Gallo--who also wrote Brian De Palma’s nightmare Mafioso comedy “Wise Guys”--give these two a unifying trait and grudge. They’re both idealists, and both have been wronged by Mafia boss Jimmy Serrano, symbol of society’s corrupt center. That idealism draws them together. The movie is really about two inwardly cockeyed Galahads united against a stupidly violent world, riddled with greed, mendacity and hypocrisy.

Still, it’s essentially a comic vision. There’s one solidly evil character: Serrano, an ice-cold killer of a Mafia boss, whom ex-Chicago cop Dennis Farina plays with a frighteningly convincing brutality. Everyone else--except FBI agent Yaphet Kotto--is played largely for laughs. They’re mostly clowns, Damon Runyonesque oddballs: the sleazy bail bondsman (Joe Pantoliano) and his treacherous clerk, Serrano’s wheedling shyster (Philip Baker Hall) and two clumsy near-moronic hit men (Richard Foronjy and Robert Miranda).

Brest’s touch with “Beverly Hills Cop” humanized it; he got those idiosyncratic, offbeat little moments that can make a movie pop to life. The great scenes in “Midnight Run” aren’t gunfights or crashes, but moments of interplay or connection between the leads.

There isn’t a single performance in “Midnight Run” that doesn’t have a pulse, that doesn’t show the actors at their best or near-best, especially De Niro.

When all good actors die and go to heaven, do they get to be Robert De Niro? In the last decade he’s become a real symbol of excellence, somewhat as Brando was in his day, or Spencer Tracy in his. And De Niro deserves it; he’s a genius at specifics.

Here he has the jaded wariness and quick reflexes of an ex-cop, the swallowed pain of a longtime divorcee: He lets you feel everything as he runs a counterpoint between Walsh’s brusque exterior and his softer innards.

If “Midnight Run” (MPAA-rated R for language and violence) doesn’t really offer De Niro a great role, it does give him a great star showcase. And if Brest’s direction doesn’t seem to have advanced far enough past “B. H. Cop,” it’s still good to see his special balance of nimble wit, humanity and excitement back on the screen--and to see an action movie where the people clash and crash more memorably than the cars.

‘MIDNIGHT RUN’

A Universal Pictures release. Producer-director Martin Brest. Script George Gallo. Executive producer William S. Gilmore. Camera Donald Thorin. Editors Billy Weber, Chris Lebenzon, Michael Tronick. Music Danny Elfman. Production design Angelo Graham. With Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Philip Baker Hall, Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano.

Running time: 2 hours, 2 minutes.

MPAA rating: R (under 17 requires an accompanying parent or adult guardian).

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Midnight Run Reviews

Never has a movie belonged so wholly to its stars.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Sep 7, 2023

An extremely satisfying action-comedy, and one that still hasn’t fully received its due.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 31, 2023

They are a funny pair who have to look over their shoulders for the shadowy people who have a piece at stake. It is less of a run and more of a duck-and-cover from all the bullets being fired.

Full Review | Feb 14, 2023

The film is packed with impressive action scenes but is carried by the odd couple humor and comic chemistry between [Robert] De Niro, playing his first comedy role in a major Hollywood film... and [Charles] Grodin at his low-key best ...

Full Review | Feb 4, 2023

It's trite to say "they don't make 'em like this anymore," but listen, studios really don't make movies like Midnight Run anymore.

Full Review | Apr 27, 2021

There's a certain blue-collar demographic pocket in America where "Midnight Run" will live on forever. I still hear manly guys quoting it 30 years later. You wanna die laughing? Here's your chance.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | May 17, 2020

The comic chemistry between Grodin and De Niro is of a rare, and relentlessly funny calibre.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 13, 2020

...as funny as it is exciting.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 14, 2020

This could have been engaging fluff except De Niro's acting has grown as heavy as Jake La Motta.

Full Review | Feb 27, 2020

Midnight Run is a witty, low-key comedy with the accent on character. Individually, De Niro and Grodin are brilliant; together, they are hilarious.

Full Review | Oct 30, 2019

What makes Midnight Run so remarkable are its principals, and the supporting cast that keep the audience titillated, laughing and excited for the film's entire 128 minute-running time.

Full Review | Oct 9, 2016

The interplay between the two leads is pure gold.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jun 27, 2015

Who said movies always have to be original? This one is redeemed by execution and brilliant talent: De Niro, Grodin, director Martin Brest, composer Danny Elfman, most of the cast and technicians.

Full Review | Jul 30, 2013

A thoroughly engaging action film, Midnight Run boasts a superb cast that transforms its rather mundane story line into something memorable, funny, and moving.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 30, 2013

Wonder why De Niro doesn't do comedy this good any more.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 30, 2013

A performance like De Niro's, in a well-made entertainment like Midnight Run, is cheap at any price. And capable of restoring the audience's faith in the form.

Midnight Run is an inside-out, upside-down buddy film and comedic cross- country caper. It also is the entertaining excuse for Robert De Niro, the Method actor of his generation, to cut loose and play things light for a change.

As with all the best road movies -- and this is one of the best -- the picture really moves, as a simple air trip from New York to LA turns into a saga of trains and automobiles, car crashes, and skirmishes with the FBI and [other] interested parties.

De Niro is nervily hilarious and Grodin nervelessly exceptional in Midnight Run, a formula buddy movie exalted to insta-classic status by their performances.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 30, 2013

De Niro is probably the most intense and idiosyncratic actor of his generation; Midnight Run may be the most conventional movie I've ever seen.

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Midnight run.

Directed by Martin Brest

This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

An accountant embezzles $15 million of mob money, jumps bail and is chased by bounty hunters, the FBI, and the Mafia.

Robert De Niro Charles Grodin Yaphet Kotto John Ashton Dennis Farina Joe Pantoliano Richard Foronjy Robert Miranda Jack Kehoe Wendy Phillips Philip Baker Hall Tom Irwin Jimmie Ray Weeks Danielle DuClos Tom McCleister Mary Gillis John Toles-Bey Thomas J. Hageboeck Stanley White Scott McAfee Linda Cerasuolo Lois Smith Fran Brill Michael Hawkins John Hammil Lou Felder Cameron Milzer Sonia M. Roberts Sam Sanders Show All… Frank Pesce Paul Joseph McKenna Matt Jennings Rosemarie Murphy Jack N. Young Robert Coleman William Robbins Wilfred Netsosie Sherman L. Robbins Dale Beard Jr. Thomas Nez Richard Gonzalez Bill Fritz Pete Jensen Andy Charnoki Tracey Walter Robert Vento Joe "Tippy" Zeoli James Portolese Armando Muniz Dan York Rowdy Burdick Varnoy Lee Bob Maroff Martin Brest Lisa Burnett George D. Miklos Robert Minkoff Marguerite Nocera Terry Ray Jock L. Schloss D. Danny Warhol

Director Director

Martin Brest

Producers Producers

Martin Brest Dan York Margaret Hilliard Jeff Stolow

Writer Writer

George Gallo

Casting Casting

Michael Chinich Bonnie Timmermann David Gonzales

Editors Editors

Chris Lebenzon Michael Tronick Billy Weber

Cinematography Cinematography

Donald E. Thorin

Assistant Directors Asst. Directors

Jerry Ziesmer William M. Elvin Alan Edmisten Bryan Denegal Vicki Jackson-Lemay

Additional Directing Add. Directing

Glenn Randall Jr.

Executive Producer Exec. Producer

William S. Gilmore

Lighting Lighting

James F. Boyle Richie Ford

Camera Operators Camera Operators

Rob Hahn Michael Gershman Stephen G. Shank

Additional Photography Add. Photography

Jeffrey R. Clark Daniel Dayton

Production Design Production Design

Angelo P. Graham

Art Direction Art Direction

James J. Murakami John Ballowe

Set Decoration Set Decoration

George R. Nelson Peter J. Kelly Mychael Bates

Special Effects Special Effects

David Blitstein Gaile R. Brown Jeff Frink Thomas Love Paul Sabourin Neil Smith Randy Cabral Robert Cole Gary L. King

Title Design Title Design

Stunts stunts.

Mike Johnson Erik Cord Eddie Hice Thomas Rosales Jr. Larry Holt Pete Antico Geoff Brewer Tony Brubaker Roydon Clark Blair Burrows Richard E. Butler Brian Burrows Justin De Rosa Corey Michael Eubanks Greg Wayne Elam Gene Hartline Bill Hart Orwin C. Harvey Clifford Happy Kent Hays John Moio William T. Lane Spiro Razatos Glenn Randall Jr. Dennis Scott Jerry Summers Mario Roberts Neil Summers Dick Warlock Rock A. Walker Jim Wilkey Gary J. Wayton

Composer Composer

Danny Elfman

Sound Sound

Ian MacGregor-Scott Daniel J. Leahy Andy MacDonald James Bolt Joel Fein Rick Alexander John Stacy Glenn Hoskinson David A. Whittaker James R. Alexander Andrew Patterson Albert Romero David Spence Greg Stacy Marvin Walowitz Karen G. Wilson Kyle Wright Thomas Paul Croce Steve Kohler Solange S. Schwalbe

Costume Design Costume Design

Gloria Gresham

Makeup Makeup

Frank Griffin Daniel C. Striepeke

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Christine Lee Dino Ganziano

City Light Films Universal Pictures City Lights

Releases by Date

20 jul 1988, 28 sep 1988, 06 oct 1988, 07 oct 1988, 10 nov 1988, 01 jan 2000, 27 jan 2005, 05 sep 1997, 24 jun 2002, releases by country.

• Physical 16 DVD Folder
• Theatrical TP
• Theatrical 12

Netherlands

• Physical 12 DVD
• TV 15 Markíza
• Theatrical 15
• Theatrical R

126 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by kailey ★★★★ 11

i miss the way 80s movies feel. not glossy or sharp, a little fuzzy, a tiny bit dirty, thrumming, pulsing. there's something oddly sexless and sterile about a lot of our recent blockbusters. actors don't have wonky teeth, dust on their faces, sweat on their brows. they don't pant after running. they don't look exhausted or hungry: they quip after throwing themselves into danger.

i think that the charm of midnight run is that it's not really an action movie populated by action stars so much as the travelogue of just some guys. they're of average intelligence, not particularly skilled, constantly making mistakes. they bicker and smoke on buses (rude!) one of them happens to be a bounty hunter and…

Review by Patrick Willems ★★★★ 3

As soon as De Niro and Joey Pants were onscreen at the same time I knew this was gonna be good.

Review by Todd Gaines ★★★★ 31

What's cool about Midnight Run is it's one of the best buddy cop movies to not have one of the leads play an actual cop at the time. Robert De Niro is the ex-cop turned bounty hunter hired by Joey Pants to find mob accountant / bail jumper Charles Grodin. Not only is the mob chasing De Niro and Grodin, but the FBI is paying close attention too. Throw in another reckless renegade bounty hunter out to steal De Niro's bounty, and you know you're in for a wild ride. 

Midnight Run works because of the natural chemistry between De Niro and Grodin. De Niro is the Raging Bull, but Grodin steals the show. He's neurotic and quirky. Every word…

Review by David Sims ★★★★★ 13

real grilled cheese of a movie

Review by Mike D'Angelo ★★★★½ 11

Arguably the most inspired comic pairing of all time, and Brest deserves enormous credit for insisting on Grodin even at the cost of scuttling his initial studio deal. (I might eventually devote a Scenic Routes column to the Duke's impersonation of Mosely at the bar, a scene in which every laugh is inspired solely by Grodin's delivery and timing—not a single line is even remotely funny on paper.) At the same time, though, the film works so well in large part because De Niro, still a decade or so away from the laziness that now mostly defines him, takes his role utterly seriously. One need only look at We're No Angels , made the following year, to see how broad…

Review by Matt Singer ★★★★★

Robert De Niro playfully flashing Moseley’s badge to the camera is one of the purest things I have ever seen. Also good: Every other scene that involves some combination of De Niro, Grodin, or De Niro and Grodin.

Review by Patrick Willems ★★★★½ 3

Every other movie should try to be a bit more like Midnight Run

Review by Will Menaker ★★★★ 4

Folks, when you've got a cross-country action comedy road trip that unfolds by hook or by crook, by train, plane and everything in between, starring odd couple Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin at the top of their games, you've got no complaints. Toss in Yaphet Kotto, Joey Pants, Dennis Farina, John Ashton, and Philip Baker Hall and you're in for a real treat. They don't make 'em like they used to!

Review by Matt Singer ★★★★½ 9

“This calls for a celebration. I’ll get some donuts.”

Review by Angela Ferraguto ★★★★★ 3

Is this the most romantic movie I've ever seen

"You're a grown man. You're in control of your own words." "You're goddamn right I am. Now here come two words for you. Shut the fuck up."

Review by fran hoepfner ★★★½

dont ever put me in a situation

Review by Jamelle Bouie ★★★★ 1

you ever had sex with an animal, jack?

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MPAA Rating

Produced by, released by, midnight run (1988), directed by martin brest.

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REVIEW/FILM

REVIEW/FILM; DE NIRO AND GRODIN IN CROSS-COUNTRY CHASE

By Vincent Canby

• July 20, 1988

For Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro), who looks and talks like a mug but is an ex-Chicago cop turned into modern-day bounty hunter, the assignment is an easy way to make $100,000: find Jonathan Mardukas (Charles Grodin), a mild-mannered certified public accountant, and return him to Los Angeles.

Jonathan Mardukas made a name for himself by stealing $15 million from his firm when he learned that it was mob-operated. Jonathan is a save-the-whales sort of fellow. He doesn't smoke or drink and sticks to a low-cholesterol diet. He gave most of his loot to charity and then promptly disappeared.

Jack's employer is the bondsman who stands to forfeit the half million he put up as bail for the accountant.

In fact, Jack finds Jonathan in Manhattan within the first 15 or so minutes of ''Midnight Run.'' That part of it is a snap. There are difficulties, however, in getting the man back to the West Coast before the forfeit deadline. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, bumbling but persistent, want to make the metaphoric kill themselves. The mob wants Jonathan physically dead.

Their journey from New York to Los Angeles involves jumbo jets, biplanes, Amtrak, freight trains, buses, swimming, walking, helicopters and automobiles, borrowed and stolen.

This is the perfectly serviceable premise of ''Midnight Run,'' which might have remained a perfectly forgettable action-comedy if somebody hadn't had the inspiration to cast Mr. De Niro and Mr. Grodin in the leading roles.

''Midnight Run'' wastes more talent and money than most movies ever hope to see. The surprise is that there is still plenty of both left on the screen. The movie was directed by Martin Brest (''Beverly Hills Cop'' and its sequel) and written by George Gallo. They must be the luckiest manufacturers of sows' ears in Hollywood.

''Midnight Run,'' which opens today at the National and other theaters, isn't exactly a silk purse, but it contains two performances that are pure gold.

Like most fine actors, Mr. De Niro has never given a good performance that wasn't in some way illuminated by humor, which is not to be confused with laughs. Sometimes it is apparent in what appears to be the self-awareness of the character, as in ''Raging Bull'' and ''The Untouchables.'' Sometimes it can be seen in the actor's awareness of - and comment on - the character, as in ''Taxi Driver'' and ''King of Comedy.''

The fact that humor has always been an aspect of Mr. De Niro's intelligence as an actor should come as no surprise to anyone who remembers him in Brian De Palma's ''Greetings'' and ''Hi, Mom,'' two sublimely funny underground artifacts of the late 1960's. Now, with ''Midnight Run,'' he has the opportunity to be blatantly funny in a big, expensive, groaningly elaborate Hollywood formula comedy.

He brings to Jack Walsh's double takes, slow burns, furtive smiles and expressions of mock surprise the same degree of intensity with which he played Jake LaMotta in ''Raging Bull'' and Travis Bickle in ''Taxi Driver.'' Yet he's no Metropolitan Opera star trying to squeeze his tenor voice into the latest Michael Jackson hit. The laughter he prompts is big, open and genuine.

Mr. Grodin is an ideal almost-straight man. His Jonathan Mardukas is Jack Walsh's opposite. He is seemingly cool, utterly sane, an obviously caring individual, but he's also a guy who can ask Jack Walsh, as they are huddling in a freight car heading toward Los Angeles, ''Have you ever had sex with an animal?''

Mr. De Niro and Mr. Grodin are lunatic delights, which is somewhat more than can be said for the movie, whose mechanics keep getting in the way of the performances.

That's not being entirely fair. Mr. Gallo has written some funny lines, and Mr. Brest has made sure the movie was photographed in a way to tell a coherent story.

Throughout ''Midnight Run,'' however, the splashy obligations of the conventional, big-budget action-comedy frequently slow things down to a near halt. There are so many autombiles, trains and airplanes that the movie seems to be less about people than about vehicles, which are clearly driven or piloted by others.

Then, just when it seems that the movie is hopelessly lost to the stunt men and second-unit people and when you're convinced that almost any 10 actors in Hollywood could be doing this, Mr. De Niro and Mr. Grodin reappear to give the comedy their own very humane comic dimension.

The members of the supporting cast also do their share of revivifying work, particularly Dennis Farina as the mob boss and Joe Pantoliano as the bondsman.

Great pains went into the physical production. The movie, which is one long cross-country chase from New York to California, was filmed mostly on what are called ''actual locations,'' as well as on one stream in New Zealand. This stands in for some swirling rapids in the American West. Make-believe doesn't come cheap these days. Luckiest Makers Of De Niro and Grodin And a Sows' Ears MIDNIGHT RUN, directed and produced by Martin Brest; written by George Gallo; director of photography, Donald Thorin; edited by Billy Weber, Chris Lebenzon and Michael Tronick; music by Danny Elfman; production designer, Angelo Graham; released by Universal Pictures. At the National, Broadway at 44th Street; the Manhattan Twin, 59th Street east of Third Avenue, and other theaters. Running time: 128 minutes. This film is rated R. Jack Walsh...Robert De Niro Jonathan Mardukas...Charles Grodin Alonzo Mosely...Yaphet Kotto Marvin Dorfler...John Ashton Jimmy Serrano...Dennis Farina Eddie Moscone...Joe Pantoliano

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Richard Foronjy, Carlito's Way and Midnight Run Actor, Dies at 86

Character actor Richard Foronjy, whose other roles include Serpico and Repo Man, has died.

Character actor Richard Foronjy, known for his unforgettable roles in movies like Midnight Run and Carlito's Way , has died. He was 86 years old.

Foronjy's death was announced on Facebook by his family, who shared in a post that he'd died on May 19. The actor is said to have passed away peacefully, joined by his granddaughter Katerhine Fornjy Coburn, his live Wendy Odell Chiaro, and her daughter Lori. He'd been spending his final days with Wendy and her family, who'd "showered him with love and adventures."

"Richard was a legend in every sense," the family statement reads. "He has left an indelible mark on all who had the privilege of knowing him. With a spirit as vibrant as the sun, he embraced life with unparalleled vigor and enthusiasm. Richard's outgoing nature and infectious joy illuminated every room he entered, leaving a lasting impression on all who crossed his path. Richard Foronjy's legacy of living life to the fullest will continue to inspire generations to come."

The statement continued. "His journey as a father was marked by challenges and complexities. Richard's life serves as a reminder that we are all imperfect beings, striving to navigate the intricate depths of relationships and for some parenthood. May his spirit find peace, and may his loved ones find solace in the memories of his vibrant essence."

Foronjy's first notable role as as Corsaro in the 1973 movie Serpico , a crime drama starring Al Pacino. He'd later appear in 1984's Repo Man as the rent-a-cop Arnold Plettschner. In 1988, he appeared in Midnight Run as Tony Darvo, marking one of his most well-known roles. He reunited with Pacino for a role in the 1993 drama CArito's Way , in which he played the mobster character Peter Amadesso.

The actor has had several other film roles, which includes appearing in movies like Fun with Dick and Jane , The Jerk , Gangster Wars , City Heat , Once Upon a Time in America , Ghostbusters II , Oscar , and Fatal Instinct . He has also been seen in a variety of notable TV shows, such as Hart to Hart , Taxi , Kojak , Charlie's Angels , M*A*S*H , Silver Spoons , Who's the Boss? , and Love Boat: The Next Wave .

Aside from his acting, Foronjy is also known for his memoir, From the Mob to the Movies: How I Escaped the Mafia na dLanded in Hollywood , which was published in 2020 under the name Richie Salerno. The memoir detailed Foronjy's life, which consisted of a stint spent with the mob in New York before branching out to his acting career in Hollywood.

Foronjy's survivors include his son, Charles; daughter Susan; daughter Christine; son Richard; brothers Charles, Frank and William; and 17 grandchildren, along with a multitude of great-grandchildren.

Source: Facebook

The 7 best new movies and shows to stream this weekend

From sci-fi to music documentaries, here's what to watch this weekend

As another weekend rolls around, we're back with another batch of fresh streaming recommendations. If you're planning a movie night this weekend, new sci-fi action movie Atlas has just hit Netflix, while US viewers can catch Dune: Part Two on Max or Adam Driver-led biopic Ferrari on Hulu . There's also The Beach Boys on Disney Plus, a new documentary about the legendary band. 

As for TV shows, you can go behind the scenes of animated Disney Plus show X-Men '97 with a new installment of Marvel Studios : Assembled, and comedy series Trying returns for a fourth season on Apple TV Plus. Paramount Plus subscribers in the UK can also tune into new thriller series Insomnia, starring Line of Duty's Vicky McClure.

Available: Worldwide Watch now: Netflix

Jennifer Lopez stars in Netflix's new sci-fi actioner, Atlas. She plays Atlas Shepherd, a data analyst and AI skeptic, who is recruited to join a mission to capture a robot gone rogue – who also happens to be a figure from her past. Things don't quite go to plan, though, and Atlas realizes that the only way to beat the threat of AI may be to trust it. The cast also includes Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ' Simu Liu and American Fiction 's Sterling K. Brown. 

Dune: Part Two

Available: US Watch now: Max

If you didn't catch Denis Villeneuve's hit sci-fi sequel in theaters (or you're just ready for a rewatch), now's your chance to return to Arrakis. Timothée Chalamet is back as Paul Atreides, the supposed 'chosen one,' as he unites the Fremen people to fight back against House Harkonnen, the rulers of Arrakis and the people who killed his father. Franchise newcomers Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, and Christopher Walken join returning cast members Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, and Javier Bardem. 

Marvel Studios: Assembled – The Making of X-Men '97

Available: Worldwide Watch now: Disney Plus

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The first season of X-Men '97 may have wrapped up on Disney Plus last week, but now we can get the lowdown on how the show was made with the latest installment of Marvel Studios: Assembled. If it's anything like previous episodes on titles including The Marvels and Echo , we can expect an hour's worth of exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with cast and crew to give us the lowdown on how they brought the animated series to life.

The Beach Boys

After re-releasing The Beatles documentary Let It Be last week, Disney Plus is back with another doc about an iconic '60s band. The Beach Boys follows the titular band from their beginnings and formation throughout their decades-spanning career, featuring never-before-seen footage and brand-new interviews with the band's members, as well as other musicians including Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham and Janelle Monáe. 

Trying season 4

Available : Worldwide Watch now: Apple TV Plus

Apple TV Plus' comedy series Trying returns for a fourth season. The latest installment kicks off after a six-year time jump, so new parents Nikki (Cuckoo's Esther Smith) and Jason (The English's Rafe Spall) are now facing their next hurdle in their adoption journey: raising two teenagers. The first two episodes are available to stream now, and the rest of the reason will be released weekly every Wednesday.

Available: US Watch now: Hulu

Heat helmer Michael Mann returned to the director's chair for the first time since 2015 with Ferrari, which was released last winter and stars Adam Driver as car manufacturer founder Enzo Ferrari. Set over the eventful summer of 1957, the movie follows Enzo in crisis as he deals with the threat of bankruptcy, the death of his son, and a failing marriage with his wife Laura (Penélope Cruz). Shailene Woodley, Patrick Dempsey, and Jack O'Connell also star.

Available: UK Watch now: Paramount Plus

Line of Duty's Vicky McClure stars in Insomnia, a new thriller series from Paramount Plus UK. McClure plays Emma, a mother approaching her 40th birthday who suddenly discovers that she can't sleep. In a bid to cure her insomnia, Emma looks for answers in the past, but that proves to be more complicated than she expected. The first two episodes are available to watch now, with subsequent eps dropping every Thursday.

If there's nothing here that tickles your fancy, then you might have to start looking into each streaming service's back catalogue, which can be a daunting task given how many titles they each host. Fear not, though... if you're a TV fan, then we've got you covered with our lists of the best Netflix shows , best Disney Plus shows , and the best Amazon Prime Video shows .

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

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