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‘Night Shift’ With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan

September 3, 2024 · Night Shift (1982) · Comedy · 1:15:37 · ▶ Listen on Spotify

IMDb ↗Letterboxd ↗

Categories

Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Bill Simmons▶ 4:55Reggie Hammond, Billy Blaze Jowski, and Brian Flanagan are the three funniest movie characters of the 80s
Bill Simmons▶ 50:16Movies aren't doing well enough with sex-worker characters anymore — nobody pantheon-level in the last 31 years; 'let's step it up'
Chris Ryan▶ 50:25Takes it a step further: the spectrum of humanity among the women in the pitch scene (the Pat Benatar lookalike, Lupe, Drew Barrymore's mother) is something movies have lost

Casting What-Ifs

Chris Ryan▶ 23:00Marsha Mason — Compares Shelley Long to actresses from Neil Simon adaptations like Marsha Mason and Jill Clayburgh, suggesting these as similar casting types

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 28:38Billy's first scene - where he introduces himself as an idea man and demonstrates edible paper
Chris Ryan▶ 29:47Agrees with Billy's first scene, relates it to workplace dynamics and discusses how such characters don't exist in real offices

What's Aged the Best

Bill Simmons▶ 41:47Ron Howard promoted this on SNL with Eddie Murphy's Raheem Abdul-Muhammad character, discussing the movie's lack of diversity in a very 80s way
Chris Ryan▶ 40:44All the asides that get made in the movie, specifically everybody reacting to pictures of Charlotte and Lupe saying 'don't be snobs, I used to be a pickle girl here once'

Den of Thieves Benihana Award

Bill Simmons▶ 42:59Paradise Found (the sex club location)
Chris Ryan▶ 43:18Agrees with Paradise Found, describing it as a Jane and Tarzan themed indoor water park slash sex club

Big Kahuna Burger Award

Bill Simmons▶ 44:14Vincent Schiavelli taking Chuck's tuna fish sandwich with yellow mustard ('I took the mustard off for you')

Butch's Girlfriend Award

Bill Simmons▶ 44:35Considers Charlotte character but seems to lean toward Belinda being a lady of the night as weakest element, questioning why her character needed that profession
Chris Ryan▶ 45:15Discusses Chuck's career change from investment banker to mortician as questionable character motivation

Is There a Better Title?

Bill Simmons▶ 48:31Love Brokers
Chris Ryan▶ 48:26Stiffs

Bill's Mount Rushmore for prostitute characters in movies

Mount Rushmore · Bill Simmons · ▶ 49:48

  1. ·Vivian Ward (Pretty Woman) (1990)▶ 49:48
  2. ·Lana (Risky Business) (1983)▶ 49:51
  3. ·Ophelia (Trading Places) (1983)▶ 49:57
  4. ·Alabama (True Romance) (1993)▶ 50:07

Categories, continued

Apex Mountain

Bill Simmons▶ 58:19No to Keaton, Winkler, Shelley Long (but close), Ron Howard; suggests Tom Hanks for Cruiser Hanks category
Chris Ryan▶ 58:27Michael Keaton — Agrees Keaton not Apex Mountain but significant career climb; discusses prostitute comedies and morticians categories

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:00:36Billy appears coked up in every scene; nobody dies in the morgue during night shift in 1982 NYC; they get their jobs back because the city finds it embarrassing; Chuck's girlfriend disappears halfway through; how long were they running the business
Chris Ryan▶ 1:00:31Billy being coked out of his mind; the morgue night shift being quiet in Times Square 1982; Chuck's business plan economics don't make sense with only 10% cut and high overhead costs

Movies Referenced (39)

Risky Business (1983)

8 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons▶ 3:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Batman (1989)

7 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 3:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rushmore (1998)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 2:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bachelor Party (1984)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 11:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Trading Places (1983)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 14:12IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Beetlejuice (1988)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 3:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

City Slickers (1991)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons▶ 6:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Johnny Dangerously (1984)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 8:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Pretty Woman (1990)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons▶ 45:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

2 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 3:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

A Quiet Place (2018)

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 28:19IMDb ↗Lb ↗

After Hours (1985)

1 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 3:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (5)

Ron Howard

12 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for A Beautiful Mind▶ 15:44IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sean Penn

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Mystic River, 21 Grams, Dead Man Walking▶ 15:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Iyi Tubi

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Ex Machina, World War Z▶ 19:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roger Corman

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for The Silence of the Lambs, Apollo 13, Little Shop of Horrors▶ 6:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sean Baker

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Red Rocket, The Florida Project▶ 45:48IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (64)

Michael Keaton

30 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Spotlight, The Founder▶ 2:42IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Henry Winkler

15 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Night Shift▶ 8:06IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Shelley Long

8 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Troop Beverly Hills▶ 13:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Clint Howard

6 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Terrifier 3, Solo: A Star Wars Story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas▶ 30:29IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Diane Chambers

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Sharknado▶ 22:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Eddie Murphy

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Harlem Nights, The Nutty Professor, Beverly Hills Cop II▶ 4:21IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jamie Lee Curtis

4 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for True Lies, Everything Everywhere All at Once▶ 14:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Joe Spinell

4 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Taxi Driver, Rocky▶ 5:38IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Al Jarreau

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Dick Tracy, Out of Africa▶ 40:26IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Drew Barrymore

3 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for Charlie's Angels, 50 First Dates, Never Been Kissed▶ 50:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Emma Stone

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for La La Land, Easy A, The Help▶ 37:27IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Harrison Ford

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, The Fugitive▶ 15:28IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (4)

Lowell Ganz

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Parenthood▶ 6:28IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Babaloo Mandel

2 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for Where the Heart Is▶ 6:28IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Neil Simon

2 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for The Odd Couple, The Goodbye Girl▶ 6:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

David Mamet

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for The Spanish Prisoner, House of Games, State and Main▶ 49:04IMDb ↗Lb ↗