Inspired by his neighbour Belinda (Shelley Long), former stockbroker-turned-morgue attendant Chuck (Henry Winkler) decides to turn the morgue into an escort agency for local sex workers to have a safe space to work in.
Aided by his new acquaintance Bill "Blaze" Blazejowski (Michael Keaton), Chuck’s new venture is successful - but its growing popularity is only increasing the chance of discovery…
The 80s are the era of the high concept, a one-line premise that is easy to communicate.
I was keen to check out more of Michael Keaton’s movies around the time Goodrich came out so I finally got around to this one.
The premise is wild, but the movie is way weirder than I imagined.
The first half is more of a farce as our strait-laced hero tries to maintain composure in the face of escalating nonsense.
While the film does have some similarities to the raunchy comedies of the time (there is a scene involving a frat party in the morgue), it is far more dramatic and less interested in exploiting its subject.
While it only has one real character, the film seems to want to create a more empathetic portrayal of sex workers.
Despite their innate likeability, our leads are pimps. They do not do anything that sinister - Winkler uses his financial acumen to help the workers build a safety net through financial investments - but it feels like they are holding agency for their employees.
The casting of Winkler and Keaton is a big help in selling the premise, and they share good chemistry.
What also helps selling the premise is Shelley Long - she is a standout as sex worker Belinda. In a film that veers toward cartoonish extremes, she provides a warmth and hard-won wisdom that gives the specificity and humanity that the film needs.
As the film progresses, it segues into more of a drama. This a result of the story rather than a lack of gags - our heroes find themselves on the run from a pair of dirty cops unhappy that they are not getting their cut.
Introduced early with a grisly murder, these antagonists are not played for laughs, and present a looming threat throughout the runtime.
What is fascinating watching the film from a contemporary perspective is how it commits to its dramatic elements.
There is a grim sense of verisimilitude to the miss-en-scene: dinge-y, claustrophobic apartments, and smokey, grime-y streets. This is a world the characters want to escape from.
An interesting film - not as funny as the casting implies, but pretty involving.
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