RIP Charles Grodin
Actor Charles Grodin died yesterday at the age of 86. He was fabulous in one of my favorite movies of all time, “Midnight Run.” In the movie, Grodin played an accountant who had embezzled money from a Chicago mobster, and De Niro was the bounty hunter attempting to bring Grodin in.
I could choose any number of clips from the film featuring Grodin, because the entire movie was wildly funny and entertaining from start to finish, but I’ll settle for these. Clips don’t do the movie – or Grodin – justice, but they’ll have to do:
Spoilers for this one, if you haven’t seen the movie and ever intend to see it:
It was a very enjoyable movie.
A shame. My personal favorite of his was either “Taking Care of Business”, where he was the excellent straight man to Jim Belushi (and probably Belushi’s best movie) or, alternately, a smaller role where he was one of the “ghosts” haunting Robert Downey in “Heart and Souls”, an excellent kinda-sorta-not-really 90s RomCom (it looks like one, but it’s really not — and it’s a Downey Tour-de-Force/Farce — mild farce)
Both of these movies are excellent, BTW — highly recommended, for when you want a fun, not too serious movie night.
Taking Care of Business
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103035/
Heart and Souls
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107091/
“I got just two words to say to you—Shut the fuck up!”
Boatbuilder:
So many great lines and great moments in that film! So funny, too. I bet I’ve seen it seven or eight times. The acting is phenomenal from everyone involved, even the smaller parts. The scene with Jack’s ex-wife and daughter bring me to tears every single time, too.
I think he played the treacherous doctor in Rosemary’s Baby.
She finally found her way out of the maze and to a sympathetic, real world grounded rescuer …
Well, nope, actually.
Of course that was another fundamentally dishonest movie … a stacked deck. But it sure made an impression on people.
I never saw it till years after its release, it showed up on late night TV
I guess other people noticed it too. As if the guy’s CV would have been forgotten about by everyone but sharp-eyed DNW.
Was right there in the link
“Early in his career, Grodin was in the running to star as Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate (1967), then played an obstetrician in Rosemary’s Baby (1968).”
That’ll teach me.
Not sure what, exactly. But something.
That was a great and fun movie. I haven’t seen it as often as Neo, but more than twice which is true of only about 10 films for me. It is one of those movies that when I come across it surfing the movie channels, I will stop to watch it for 10 or 20 minutes.
And, yes, that scene with the ex-wife and the daughter is very moving.
“I’m a white collar criminal.”
Grodin’s delivery of that line, and the kid’s reaction, really tickled me. I had to rewind it and watch it again about five or six times.
I thought Grodin was excellent in “Heaven can Wait” as well. He seemed to specialize in the characterization of a polite, cringing, deferential, devious ingrate, in a very understated and funny way.
Midnight Run is a great film. One of the most underrated of my lifetime.
May he rest in peace. Midnight Run is a fantastic movie. I have fond memories of it because it was one of the first ‘R’ rated movies I was allowed to watch with my dad when he rented the VHS. We laughed ourselves silly.
Midnight Run is one of the best movies ever.
Grodin and De Niro basically seem to have played themselves, personality-wise, particularly DeNiro as this arrogant ass who stands for little that is moral or of spiritual value. Until the end of course.
I like morality plays, like the Western movies of the 1940s-1950s, when you could tell the bad guys because they wore black hats, and you knew they would end up in hell well before the movie’s end.
I hope Grodin had a happy life.
You got me to watch the movie again. One of the best road trip and buddy movies of all time. They were so young and beautiful.
For the record, chorizo and eggs is awesome.